Watch Me Pull a Rabbit Outta My Hat!

Earlier this week, Chuck Wendig, a writer I am very fond of who also has an active social media presence, posted a piece to his blog which was entitled Battle Song of the Storyteller. You can read the post on his website, terribleminds. (Mild swearing warning, for the sensitive types, but a lot of the things Chuck posts are entertaining and pithy, certainly worth the read.)

It reminded me a little bit of a wild free-form poem and I immediately decided that it needed...something. This thing was a potential piece of multimedia art, just waiting for the other elements to be brought to it. So I figured it could be illustrated. I offered to take a stab at it.

As a result, and since the writing has been stalled out for a bit, I've put away the slouchy writer hat (I imagine it's a bowler, when I picture it) and dusted off the sketchy beret (which is black, but covered in flecks of paint). I have the text formatted and the pages are printed. What I ended up with is five regular letter size pages, with the text at 14 points in italic High Tower Text font, in black. The illustration will be hand sketched in pencil, then finished in black ink or black acrylic paint, with color accents at different points. When it is finished I'll make a print for myself and send it to Chuck. I'll also post it, if he gives the okay since the words are his.

This is in addition to the cat sketch/painting I am planning for someone else, and another little surprise piece I have on the back burner. It's nice to be able to switch mediums and take a break from one project to work on another. To me, arts is art, so I like to dabble in a lot of different kinds. I've been sketching, doodling and drawing since I was little, although I haven't seriously worked out a pencil sketch in quite a while. This will be fun, I think.