Old Grandfather revisited

Back in 2007 I illustrated a Tolstoy short story for a school textbook project. It was just one painting but I always felt I could have done a better job. My original sketch that I liked ended up being changed pretty heavily due to feedback from my client. So recently I repainted it the way I wanted to. Here it is...

My own Mount Rushmore is now complete!

In honor of President's Day I recently completed my painting of Mount Rushmore. Late last year I posted a blog entry about its inspiration, a sketch and color study. If you have the day off today enjoy!

Copies are in of Clara Morgan and the Oregon Trail Journey!

I recently get a stack of copies of my new book Clara Morgan and the Oregon Trail Journey written by Marty Rhodes Figley, our 4th book together. I am really pleased with how they art was reproduced in this book! If anyone is interested I can send out a signed copy including shipping for $20. Just send me an email to craig@craigorback.com.

It is a wonderful story of compassion and generosity set on the Oregon trail in 1864. Here is a description and thanks for your interest:

Eleven-year-old Clara Morgan traveled the Oregon Trail with her family. While her mother cared for the baby, Clara struggled with the cooking. Finally, she made her first batch of perfect biscuits. But she gave them up to a hungry American Indian who stopped by. Little did she know they would meet again. Would her family’s act of kindness help them farther down the trail? In the back of this book, you’ll find a script and instructions for putting on a reader’s theater performance of this adventure.

My first graphic novel book

In the last week I finished all of the art for my first graphic novel. It is a 24 page book with 45 individual paintings. To say it was a lot of work was an understatement! I'm not one to shy away from a challenge though and this was a fun creative one. With picture book projects I am used to editing double page spreads of story and text into large full size paintings capturing the essence of whats being said. With a graphic novel though you get to break down the action into little scenes and play more with composition, perspective and viewpoint. It feels a little bit like I would imagine a film director would feel when it comes to depicting action and playing with camera angles.

The art will later have bubbles and banners with dialogue and story added by the designer. I look forward to seeing it come together. Unfortunately for now I can't post the art here. I worked smaller than my usual oil paintings in gouache paint to save time and for easy detail work. Recently I bought a large format scanner so I was able to scan the final art myself and download it as digital files to their FTP site. Very convenient as the art never add to leave my studio. Clients are preferring that more and more these days so it feels good to change with the times. I hope you enjoy the art!