All Hail the Mighty Tome

I was super into working in my various sketchbooks this semester. Here are some pearls that have happened over the semester from my personal illuminated manuscripts.

 

Scelerophobia

My first big illustration assignment was to illustrate a phobia. I chose Scelerophobia.  We started the project out with ideations. I knew that I was going to create something of an image montage, so I churned out a bunch of compositions for the elements of my main piece out in my sketchbook:

I then created the sketch for the actual composition:

Then the final piece, composed with goauche and color pencils. I tried to figure out how to work the contrast in this image to make the female the obvious focal point. I decided to make the images that represent the phobia as a transparent, make-believe membrane that was encroaching on her reality. This worked out pretty nicely as far as balancing out the contrast. And I'm happy to report that I finally found a place for Albert Fish in my artwork. Even the Zodiac!

Scelerophobia

gouache and color pencils

Valerie Herron 2010

Cimaruta, the original Lucky Charms

Cimaruta

micron in sketchbook

June 2010

YES, that entendre was doublé ! Anyway, Cimarutas, or Cima di Ruta (sprig of rue) are traditional Italian folk-charms which possibly originate all the way back to the Etruscans. They are pendants, usually silver, and the folk tradition is to place them where one would want protection (baby’s cradle, hung in a doorway, worn as a necklace etc.) They are always a sprig of rue with charms/symbols hung from the branches. The symbols are often a mixture of Pagan and Catholic motifs.

I just discovered these things and thought they were neat, so I drew one.

Chee-ma-roo-ta, doesn’t it sounds like child’s programming?

Sketchbook Shinannigans!

Work from my sketchbook was integral to my curriculum this semester. Up until this point, I mostly used my sketchbook to hash out compositional thumbnails for bigger pieces, practice through my own sketches of other people's work, and for general rough sketches. This semester I took Illustration Word and Image from sketchbook luminary Kurt Hollomon. It has been YEARS since I created any complete compositions of my own in my sketchbook, so I wanted to display here some of the pieces from my sketchbook this semester that I was especially happy with.

My version of a Tara McPherson piece, acrylic

Still Life. Simple, but I like it. Ink.

Portrait of Aleister Crowley, ink

Another portrait of Aleister Crowley, goauche

experiment in naturalistic illustration, goauche and micron

The only drawing I have made start to finish with only ink, no graphite preliminary sketching!