Cinda Jo Bauman: Children's Book Writer & Illustrator, Cut-Paper Artist, and More!

Posts tagged ‘art’

Introducing Eli and Tucker Tenacious From My Upcoming Book Titled GALLOP (to be published by Editor-911 Books)

What I’ve Learned Creating the Book Cover Art for GALLOP

A thrilling ride on an untamed horse gives Eli a moment of peace from the anger over his parents’ divorce, especially with the setting sun on his face and the rising moon at his back. I gotta admit, I’m in love with this piece I created with cut-paper for the cover of GALLOP!

This is your sneak peek. I’ve edited the final photo to remove blemishes from glue specks and unwanted paper seams. I can’t wait for you to see the finished cover. The title will be on top and the series name on the right side!

Here are some things I’ve learned creating this piece:

  • The background composition is the hardest part and it takes me forever to decide what I want. Once I get that part figured out, I love creating the main characters. In this case, they are the boy and the horse.
  • I learned not to be afraid to play. If I trim something too small, or glue on the wrong color, I can just go over it. I’m learning not to make everything so precious!
  • It’s okay to ask for help and advice! This is SO necessary, I’m not sure why I get embarrassed asking.
      • My daughter, Brittany, has a GREAT eye. She can instantly tell me when something is off with a proportion or angle.
      • My husband, Greg, will come hang out on the giant beanbag in the art room while I work. Once in a while he’ll say, “That looks funny…” Eventually, I see what he meant and I can correct it.
      • My cousin, Teresa, was an art teacher. She has helped me with all three cover pieces. She gets to see the very rough and usually very ugly first sketches. She always has tips and suggestions that are spot on.
      • My friend, Jill, from my old illustrator’s group is a watercolor artist. She helped so much with improving contrast and suggesting changing lines that were causing confusion.
      • My friend, Martie, has owned horses and raced horses for years. The knowledge she’s shared with me has made such a difference in the final details. She has been surrounded by horses and can tell me things like, “maybe a skoosh wider at the forearm/knee junction.” This is information I can’t always get from reference photos.
    • I can use whatever colors I want and like! The colors don’t have to match what they would be in real life. Actually, I like it better when they don’t! That realization is what is making me an artist.
    • And lastly, few things compare to the feeling I get when I finish an art piece.

    You’ll be hearing more about GALLOP in future posts. Thanks for reading!

    Category:

    Book promotion, cut paper art, Middle-grade novel, News, Writing for children

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    Envy

    Happy Monday!

    Today, I am grateful for fans and air conditioning, and I’m praying for those who are suffering from this heat. Since I’m stuck indoors, I’ve been studying the painting on the wall that I finished a few weeks ago. I’ve also been watching videos of my new favorite artist, Vladimir Volegov, on YouTube. He recently posted videos of himself painting a family portrait, and it is exquisite! That’s not a common word in my vocabulary, but it came to mind as I watched him work. The painting glows. I could feel the warm sun on my skin and hear the water lap against the rocks as I watched him paint. Then, I looked at my own painting again. Insert sad face. I’m proud of my painting, but it’s going back to the art room tomorrow. I know it will be years before I can paint like Mr. Volegov, but I am inspired to try to see the way he sees and learn to add more liveliness and vibrancy to my work. If only it could be as easy as he makes it look! I’ll keep you posted.

    I’ll keep you posted.

    Category:

    Painting

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    Have you ever watched time lapse painting videos?

    I’m so addicted to them! My friends and family know that more than anything I want to be an oil painter, but I can’t seem to get past all the head games that go along with it. Those voices that tell me this looks awful, you’re joking yourself. The truth is, painting is hard work! Most paintings look awful in the beginning! I so admire artists who’ve reached the point where painting is not so hard anymore, and they can trudge through those ugly phases knowing it will soon be beautiful.

    What I’ve learned from the speed painting videos is that painting is made up of two main things: darkening your darks, and lightening your lights. Over and over the artist does this. They even darken the same places they just made lighter! Again and again, on and on. I watch and wonder what is the point! But, each time the artist makes a tiny adjustment, and in the end it is always beautiful. I could spend hours watching these. (hours I should be spending painting through the ugly phases)

    I’m so glad I discovered cut-paper sculpture art. It takes all the fear and negative self judgement away for me. It lets me play and move things around to check composition before I make them permanent. Cut paper illustration is so easy to just start over if I mess up. And, with cut-paper art I can play with my camera and computer to get the shadows and effects I love.

    I’ll keep making my children’s illustrations in cut paper while I work through the head games of oil painting.  But, I’m not giving up on becoming an oil painter.  I’m just stubborn like that.

    Category:

    cut paper art, Painting

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