Link to my video \”Dream\”

I made this video as an experiment back in November and didn’t post it right away. I’ve always viewed watercolor as the purest form of painting because you are trying to control water, a basic element (yes science people, I know it’s a molecule, not an element). Water flows, water is very easily effected by gravity and processes like diffusion. It’s unlike other media because it’s very pure compared to the complex chemical natures of acrylic and oil paint. I decided, therefore, that to paint on paper was cheating, and that the only way to capture the purity of the medium of watercolor was to paint directly on another simple compound. I chose salt.

Trying to paint on salt was fun–something that can evaporate easily from any art practice if one is not careful. I appreciated the quick diffusion, the way the salt crystals captured the pigments, the splashing of the water and how it parted the crystals as it dripped off my brush. Once I cleaned up the considerable mess, however, I did not pick up a brush again until this past weekend.

One of the things about my art practice is that I often try to put it to practical use. Hence my dabbling in illustration. My father wrote a story entitled “Snowflake” not too long ago and he wanted me to design a cover for it (it will soon be available on barnesandnoble.com for those who are interested). An interesting thing happened as I started to paint the design–I realized I was right! Painting on paper, even after such a long time had passed since I had painted on salt, just seemed too easy. Am I at the end of painting on paper? Have I made a breakthrough?

My cover illustration for "Snowflake" by Richard James

©Elizabeth Kingsley 2011

This was my original sketch for “Lonely Sun”. In this picture, I wanted the sun to look small compared to the lush greenery of the Earth below. I spent a long time working out how to show the vibrant imagery described in the text, but when I was done, I felt like there was something slightly off about the composition. I did a little tweaking and I feel like the final painting has a much better flow to it. Here it is:

©Elizabeth Kingsley 2011

Here’s another excerpt from the book: “But after a long time the sun became lonely. He began to look around. He was all alone in the wide blue empty sky, and he began to feel the slight chill of sadness.” ©Richard James 2011

© Elizabeth Kingsley 2011

This is an illustration for the upcoming book “How the Sun Fell in Love With the Moon” written by Richard James (richardjamesomnibus.com). Here’s an exclusive excerpt:

“Long ago, when the world was new, the sun shone all alone in the sky. At least he thought so. He would never bother to notice the little pin-pricks of stars appearing just around the time he set. Compared to his red-hot burning brightness, they were just a dim sprinkle of dust.” © Richard James 2011