This month you will finally meet Poetry! Poetry materialized in my life in 1997 as I was getting my oldest ready to go off to college. I still had two at home, but it felt like my family was being dismantled, and I needed something to refocus my thoughts on. The adventures of Poetry the Calico Cat and Gabriel the Snowman sprung from someplace within me that I did not know existed. I wrote 13 little stories about their adventures that year. Then in 2011 I made a website about them, posting a new story each month. This past year I've been "illustrating" the new story I wrote in 2009. I have redrawn Poetry a little differently from the original Poetry. In 1997 I'd never drawn anything in my adult life, so she was quite a surprise when she showed up. These past three years of practice have shown me that with more practice I can improve and may even develop a style of my own that I like. One thing I've come to realize is that I love colorful scenes. I discovered this when I painted the first two illustrations this month in vivid colors then realized the room, as I'd written it, was supposed to be dark! So I used a photo editing website to darken the edges to give the illusion of a darkened room. I also took most of the color out of the second illustration using the editing tools. What I've learned this year is that illustrating is NOT EASY. But I am glad to have Gabriel's Tale and all my other stories to pass on to my grandchildren. Who knows....maybe one of them will illustrate my stories and launch a career in Children's Book illustration. In fact, I would be greatly pleased if my postings this past year have encouraged one of you to pick up pen and brush and discovered for yourself a story just waiting to be told.
Chapter 11 – How Can This Be?
Last month the story left off with Gabriel arriving in Edinburgh and striking out on his own to try to find Poetry. Meanwhile we find out that a calico cat has gone missing and the family has posted flyers all over town. Here are excerpts from Chapter 11. . . .
Chapter 11 – How Can This Be?
