...more sketches

Today was a productive one. Four new rough sketches for illustrations, done.

I wanted to have at least one sketch done by today, so exceeding that goal was a pleasant surprise. If the creativity wants to flow, let it, I say.

Here is a pre-lim sketch I did today.

A future two-time World Champion stands for the very first time...
UC Lyric and her 1978 colt by Waseeka's Showtime--soon to be called UC Ringmaster, The Great Red Horse:

By special request--another illustration

A Facebook fan wanted me to post the completed illustration from the rough sketch of UC Lyric nuzzling her foal, UC Ringmaster. Happy to oblige!

UC Lyric and her foal, UC Ringmaster, 2013. Watercolor and ink illustration for The Great Red Horse, copyright Helen Scanlon.


His mother would nuzzle him as he dozed, and he loved that most of all—more than the flowers, the sunbeams and the grass. ~excerpt from The Great Red Horse by Helen Scanlon

first completed illustration

I wanted to share with all of you the first completed illustration for The Great Red Horse:

UC Ringmaster, 2013. Watercolor and ink illustration for the forthcoming book, The Great Red Horse, copyright Helen Scanlon.


This portrait of UC Ringmaster was created with watercolor and ink on Arches hot-press watercolor paper, and will be offered as a print in the near future.

I hope you are having a wonderful 2013 so far--I am. Snow blankets the quiet corner of Northeast Connecticut, and everything is delightfully frigid (I love winter!). The design on my first book, My Horse, My Heart: The Morgan Horses of the University of Connecticut, is coming along nicely, and I am still shooting for a spring publication. I love spring, too!

The illustrations for My Horse, My Heart will look a bit different from the ones for The Great Red Horse. My Horse, My Heart will feature loose pencil sketches in black and white, and The Great Red Horse will be in full color. How could it not be? UC Ringmaster had the most amazingly brilliant auburn coat, and the book will be a celebration of that shade of red.

Thank you to everyone for your support as I embark on this important project. It is a distinct honor to create a lasting tribute to the immortal UC Ringmaster.

Oh, and another thing--a dear friend of mine just sent me a BIG box of gourmet chocolate. Winter, chocolate, horses, friends, books, art---doesn't get any better than that! I feel very grateful today.

A New Year

2012 marked the passing of a great Champion, UC Ringmaster.
2013 will be the year he will have a book written just for him.

I would like to thank my teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School for encouraging a young artist and writer to pursue her dreams. My school is forever in my heart.

2013 is a shiny new year, full of opportunity....

The Great Red Horse is moving along, I have several illustrations that are ready for the ink and watercolor. I am still playing around with the prose. I want it to be appealing and easy to read. Sounds simple, right? Nope. It's not. I have to be patient and wait for a bit of magic, and then capture it with a pen. It may sound frustrating, but it's not. It's fun, it's exciting--because when the magic hits it feels pretty great! It's almost as if Ring is speaking to me, and that is quite a wonderful feeling.

It's a profound experience to write an entire book on one of the most incredible horses I have ever met. A good friend, an inspiration, a comforting presence. I hope my words and drawings adequately capture what UC Ringmaster meant to me and countless others.

Happy New Year, take the next 365 days and fill the canvas with color and joy!

Blessings,
Helen