linda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustratorlinda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustrator

How I Work
 

I always begin a project the same way... Once I know all the details, I spend time just "living with it," taking time to mull it over. Sometimes I go for long walks, other times I go to museums or bookstores... I keep my eyes open for something that might spark an idea.

Ideas can be the simplest things... Fall leaves swirling around my feet while taking a walk... (Leaves appear all over Teatime with Emma Buttersnap)...A person on the street wearing a beautiful color combination .... (which later becomes a color palette for a painting or a book). I just spend time doing things that I know inspire me and ideas eventually show up!

I also have some favorite artists who's work I keep tacked all over my studio walls for inspiration. The sculpture Alberto Giacometti... I love his elongated figures! Mark Rothko... his colors are so yummy! Marc Chagall ... his work is so wonderfully whimsical! And my all time favorite .... Alexander Calder! (Calder's Circus was the inspiration The Circus Alphabet!)

Once I have a picture in my mind, I start to sketch.

I use tracing paper for this. That way I can get results quickly without having to do a lot of erasing. I simply copy the section of a drawing I'm happy with onto a new piece of trace and throw the old sketch away .... I do this over and over again .... using pieces from each sketch, until I have a finished drawing.

linda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustrator

linda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustrator

It's painting time! I work in acrylics on illustration board. First, I gesso the board to get the surface ready for paint. When it's dry, I trace my drawing onto the board using transfer paper. Finally, the painting begins! In the case of a picture book, I always work on at least four paintings at the same time. I do this for two reasons:
1) To make sure the color palette I have chosen works well throughout the book.
2) I don't want one color to predominate three pages in a row!

When I'm satisfied with how it looks and the acrylics are dry, I glaze the painting. I do this by mixing Liquin (a thinning, drying medium) and oil paint (burnt umber or phalo blue depending on whether I want the finished piece to be warm or cool in tone). I wipe this mixture over the whole painting so that it seeps into all the brushstrokes... (for a minute it looks as if I've completely destroyed the painting!) ...then I wipe it away until I'm happy with the effect. Glazing gives the painting a luminousity I just love!

linda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustrator

linda bronson, bronson, children's book, author, illustrator

 

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