Dragons and such

Okay, I'm back - it's been a while. I have been so busy lately. Still am and will be until xmas (the very site of that word terrifies me.) This time of year is often crazy. Why the hell should xmas be a deadline? Anyway, I'm working on a picture book for Scholastic, an Aussie Bite for Penguin (Jen Storer's new one) and a bunch of School Magazine stuff including this dragon for a poem titled 'Dragon's Lament.' It's about a dragon who's tired of scaring people and has lost the energy to instill fear. I don't have the opportunity to draw dragons very often so I was pleasantly surprised how easily this little dragon came to me. I guess it was already there, plucked from my boyhood subconscious - the swirling, unfocused cavity between my long-gone youthful ears. My whole world was fantasy then - yes, even more than now. Only, these days I don't have the same amount of time to spend staring out windows.

Website

Well, it's taken a little while but I finally got my website started yesterday (http://www.gusgordon.com/). It's not much yet but it's something. It's at least a sign of things to come and the general kind of feel that I'm looking for. There's something quite exciting about a postcard isn't there. Like a photo, it's a moment - a snapshot of a place or time, real or not. Old ones especially evoke a certain kind of magic; like all this time has passed since and that little moment, words on a card, were just what was happening at that particular time - happy or otherwise. Mostly happy stuff though. Postcards were never really reserved for sad times. Mostly for pretending that everything was good.

Anyway, it's a start. Take a wee look. More to come soon.

Knights & Castles

Following up on my 'Nay!' post a while back; above is how the final 'Knights & Castles' cover illustration turned out - before the title and accompanying text was added. This is pretty low res but it will give you the general idea.

I enjoyed this one. There was an amazing amount of historical research that went into it - even if it doesn't look that way! The brief was as thick as I've ever received. The knights had to have particular colours, tunics, swords, helmets, armor. The castle had to be a Welsh 12th century castle. The horses couldn't have funny bendy legs (as previously mentioned). I even had historical illos of the boats in the distance. Not a waterskier in sight! There was a good deal to consider. As a consequence, my linework was quite a bit more laboured than usual - not as free and lose as I would have preferred but in the end it was a fun job. Apparently, this will be at Frankfurt bookfair next week. Maybe a book to come...

Random lazy posting of 'Wendy' illo

Nay!

Drawing some cover roughs for a knights and castles type book for a UK publisher at the moment and having fun with horses. All my horses seem to have very bendy legs. Rubbery ones that bend like ours do. I know it's not anatomically correct but I think they look better this way!

Our place is a mess!

We are renovating at the moment so it's just madness here. I am out of my studio (mostly) and we are living elsewhere - our third house since we've been on the run. We are gypsies. Still, I try to meet my deadlines in the dark (apart from my computer, our power is off) and also try to keep on top of my normal emailing and bookwork which, for those who know me, is a fruitless exercise anyway. I have also found time to do some writing which has been nice.

Wendy is due to be released at the end of this month so am excited and nervous at the same time. I'm having a book launch in early September which will be a fun way to thank all those folk who have invested some time in Wendy. As a friend said recently, 'this chicken has had the gestation period of an elephant!'

The illo is a new one for School Magazine. Just about to start a cover for a UK publisher. The world is small. See you soon.

The Good Life

Sorry for the lull in blog posts. Haven't been tweeting much lately either, sorry. We've been renovating. Chaos all round. Dusty as crap and noisy as hell. You'd reckon someone would've invented a silencer for a nail gun by now.

I've been out of my studio mostly. Not long finished illustrating Michael Wagner's last 'Undys' book - 'On The Move' (book number six). Sad to finally wind up what has been a thoroughly enjoyable series of books. So long Josh and Fillmore Undy!

I've been writing here and there whenever I can and doing other odd jobs. Received my advance copies of 'Wendy' and am really happy with the results. It can be a nerve racking process waiting for the real thing to turn up in the mail. So nice to have the final product in your hands - all hardbacky and spot-glossy. Sweet. Looking forward to the end of August for the release. Still nervous...

Another sneak peek of Wendy. Here she is at the top of her game, living the high life a chicken of her stature would naturally embrace. Vintage poster moment.

Blur's 'Good Song'

I just love this. So beautiful and sweet, yet so sad and strange and even a little violent - has it all! Cool animation too.