The Chad Frye - Illustration GuyWhen a balloon wins the affection of a child’s heart, beware of the scorned cat.
This is a recently created drawing that will be sold by auction at a benefit on March 29 for the Epilepsy Foundation Washington! It’s always a treat to get to draw these fellas after having spent two television seasons with them a while back on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
If you are in the Seattle area, info about the benefit can be found here: https://epilepsynw.ejoinme.org/%20LTF2019
Yesterday I shared with you a Valentine’s Day card I made this year. Perhaps you might like to see parts of the art up close and personal, kind of like that kiss was about to be?
For those curious, the art was created in mixed media fashion. Which media was mixed? It is primarily a traditional watercolor painting, some gouache was used, colored pencils, and then there are some touches in Photoshop.
I did try my best to really get some interesting lighting into the art. So often it feels as though the lighting in my work is more even, without much drama. This image just needed to have aspects of moonlight coming from one direction, and candle/lantern light coming from within the palace. Hopefully the cool light and the warm light is believable and interesting.
Well, there you go. A few close-up shots of how this illustration looked to me while I was working on it. Often a lot goes into a piece like this, but whether a lot or a little bit of work, hopefully the art is always entertaining to YOU!
I made my own Valentine’s card this year featuring Romeo & Juliet, but with a twist in this classic tale of love….
Lest you miss the joke, it’s important to know that this piece is firmly rooted in William Shakespeare’s tale of Romeo & Juliet – teenagers so deeply in love with one another that they gave up their lives for each other. But, what if Juliet was two-timing on Romeo, and really didn’t love him at all? She’d probably marry the next sap right after breaking Romeo’s heart.
Well, it’s funnier if the joke doesn’t have to be explained.
Earlier this summer, I created a summertime illustration that debuted on a promotional card for my attendance at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference held the first weekend in August in Los Angeles. It was inspired by a pencil sketch in my sketchbook created this past spring (which you can see if you CLICK HERE.)
I remember silly images like this in my favorite picture books when I was a kid, overcrowded with visual stimulation that made my little mind soar with wonder and amazement. This was likely how the seed was planted in me to one day wish to illustrate children’s books.
While in recent years I’ve worked primarily in animation, my career actually started in children’s books with the first one published way back in 1992. Hard to believe it has been that long. I have worked on around 30 or so books both on my own and together as a team with other illustrators. Maybe one day a blog post about that should be in order.
So, I’d like to do more children’s books, which was why I went to that conference earlier in the month – to get an idea of the state of the industry today. It would be nice to think that my brand of silliness could find a place once again on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or any number of small intimate bookshops scattered across the country.
For now, though, I leave you with some close-ups of this traditionally watercolored and colored pencil painting. (Only the lens flare was added digitally for those of you curious about such things.)
If you would like to see the major steps in the creation of this piece from rough sketch to final art, feel free to seek out my Instagram page where those were posted earlier this summer. You can get to it by CLICKING HERE!
I generally don’t get too personal here on the ol’ blog, but today is a mighty special day in the Frye family. On this day in 1968, my parents were joined together in holy matrimony.
I wanted to do something a bit special for their 50th anniversary. I hope they don’t mind, but I decided to interpret their 1967 engagement photo in my own little way. A time when I could only possibly have been a mere twinkle in their eyes as they prepared to spend their lives together.
As my own experiences have taught me, that had to have been a HUGE decision for them to make. I often marvel at how two total strangers from different upbringings can find each other and choose to craft a life together – a life that will undoubtedly have many ups and many downs.
Through thick and thin, and always with an eye towards the Lord, my parents have come through the ups and downs that 50 years together have presented. They have four children who love them, and love the Lord because of them. They have two sons-in-law and a daughter-in-law who are grateful to them for the children they taught and nurtured. And they have nine grandsons, all in varying stages of awareness of what their 50 years mean to our family.
Due to some mitigating circumstances, we all gathered together on their 49th anniversary last year. It is unfortunate that we couldn’t all be there to jump up from behind doors and couches to surprise them today on the day.
To my folks, thank you for always putting Christ first, and training up your children in the way we should go, so that when we reach your age, we will not depart from Him. (Proverbs 22:6) I love you.
Just a little something from my sketchbook today. And no, it is not a self-portrait.
Welcome to the month of May!
Hopefully spring is happening all over the country by now after a prolonged winter in many places. With spring comes a renewal of life. Grass grows, flowers start blooming, and babies are born.
Well, maybe that last one isn’t true for all. But it is true for a friend of mine who is about to have her first baby. I did this little watercolor Pooh for the impending little one. Spring abounds!
