Whew! This has been a long time coming, hasn't it! Sorry, life got in the way. It can be cruel like that.
When I first saw Dan's image of the girl, walking off the page, into the unknown, I was overwhelmed. One, it is even better in person. Two, the ideas were flying out at me. There were so many that it actually became difficult to settle on any one thing. I did know that I didn't want it to be predictable. A line of ducks or cutesy little somethings is the first thing to pop into my head. I didn't want to be cute. I wanted something unexpected. I wanted to throw Dan a curve ball.
That said, I'm not happy with what I ended up going with. I had settled on a trapeze artist hanging from the top looking like he/she was swooping down on the girl. I couldn't find a good reference photo that I liked. Now, you're probably thinking, what on earth made her decide to do the dinosaur?! Well, like I said, life has been cruel lately and I was desperate. This was a sketch in my sketchbook from my last trip to Vegas to see the in-laws. We stopped at a dinosaur museum in Tucumcari, New Mexico for a rest break. This is a 'hesperosuchus', by the way. Never even heard of it before that day, myself.
Well, I look forward to seeing what Dan does with this.
Oh, well done! Dan will love it, and what a fun thing for him to work with. Hope things are looking up a bit for you and yours. nancy
ReplyDeleteHello Raena (and Dan),
ReplyDeleteOh my word this is just getting better.
I think you went with the right idea here. It just seems to fit. It looks like it all came from the same pen (and brush).
I know this is going to be fantastic. Not too sure what I would add to this great painting - of course, I don't need to worry about that do I Dan? ;-)
Stew.
stewcrowther.wordpress.com
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This is fantastic Raena... I know you didnt want something cute, but oh, thats one cute Dino (sorry)... But its totally something one would not think of and thats what I like about it, and now its getting super exciting, cant wait to see what will happen now. Bravo to both of you!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't think you made a bad choice at all, it's great. Now I want to see what Dan does!
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed looking not only at this (and I think the dino was a great choice!) but at the whole project. It's an inspiring idea and wonderful to see it unfold.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so much fun, and amazingly cute =) I love it!
ReplyDeleteOH this is such a fun twist. I am eager to see Dan's reaction also!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait! I love your twist. Sorry life has been throwing curve balls at you.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Now that I look at it, I have to say I wouldn't want to be in Dan's position. I have no idea where I would take it next!
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about, Raena, it's a great position to be in! I love your addition to the page - love the possibilities..!! No problem that it is a dinosaur that you saw in a museum. Creativity is not only inventing something out of whole cloth - it is also juxtaposing unexpected images, and this is delightful! Completely unexpected and great fun. So...now what do I do?! :)
ReplyDeleteI just got the sketchbook and the dinosaur just takes my breathe away! I showed it to some friends by first showing them my girl and covering her addition, When I uncovered it, there was literally an intake of breath. They were blown away!
ReplyDeleteThe dinosaur just jumps out of the page at you! The internet does not do it justice.
I had some ideas, which my 22 year old son blew away. Now I have nothing. Now that I've seen her addition, I really have nothing! But I'll figure it out.
Curious, Dan, is it friend or foe?
ReplyDeleteDon't know yet..it's smiling, but she could look delicious.
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great as a dinosaur and/or a pet. It goes perfectly with the girl! Working on a page of one's own can be hard enough but you two are doing something very difficult and doing a great job of it.
ReplyDeleteHippopotamus crackers! I missed this post because in my blog escapades and meanderings and such, I forgot to resubscribe.
ReplyDeleteLovelovelove the whimsical feel of Raena's dinosaur following Dan's little cave girl. Can't wait to see more!
Amazing how your styles are so similar. Great work guys!
Sharing a sketchbook is such a great idea! I'd like to do it some day :) The result looks great! Love the girl and the dino :)
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ReplyDeleteI love doing this sort of thing and used to have some people that were willing to join in on some projects...one would start with a painting found someplace, such as an old second hand shop...and then we would pass it around for each one to
ReplyDeleteadd what ever they wanted... another one was , a richly sprinkled with photos book was passed around and each one had to do a collage related to some part of the book that inspired us, that was our Bookblabbers Society group---at some point we met for wine and cheese and the opening of the different collages...at any rate---these people are gone now and I am left
without the joy of that sort of fun.....so you can see how great I think what you are doing !