Something different

I didn't get to paint today, so no picture.

I did, however, meet a fascinating artist and children's book illustrator, Delia Wach. When she first called and wanted to spend the day with my students, I thought, "oh, great... another day of instruction lost to some guest speaker who wants to come in and promote something." Well, she did, but the day was far from lost. In fact, it was the most fun I think I've ever had with a guest artist in the classroom. She had a really neat lesson plan about illustrations using nothing but crayons, and she underscored everything I've been teaching about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design all year long. The kids had a blast, and I think it was good for them to see a "real life" artist using the same techniques they've been studying in school.

Plus, her art is just fascinating! Aside from her book illustrations (which are really gorgeous) she had some very nice botanical illustrations done with graphite and watercolor.

Her website is here, by the way: http://www.teddybearguardians.com/ She'll be at Taylor Books tomorrow (4/8) , if anyone's interested.

So, while I didn't get to paint any today, I did get some inspiration -- not only from her work but just talking to her about working as an artist, making a living and all that. I can't wait to get back to my painting, but it's probably going to be a few days. I have some non-painting art stuff to deal with over the weekend.