Nightmare

I can hardly believe it, but I'm nearly finished with the book! Not quite though, because I'm a crazed tweaker. It's especially hard to let go of a series, because whenever I look back at a piece with fresh eyes I always see something I want to change! But at some point you just have to surrender.

In this image the old man is dreaming of the black cat, & fearing for his magic flute.

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 9x12".
Click for a closer view & to find the hidden cat.

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

Food & Warmth

Yet another illustration-in-progress from the book I'm working on. Here the formerly greedy cat learns to savour simpler fare... a timely example for all of us who overindulged in Thanksgiving bounty yesterday!

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 9x12".
I haven't put the hidden cat in this one yet, so hold off on the search... but do click for a closer view.

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

p.s. If this image seems curiously familiar, maybe you've seen this one-- the original Cricket illustration that started it all!

Musical Mischief-Maker

Yet another illustration-in-progress from the book I'm working on. In this scene that sneaky cat learns he can summon the birds & beasts with the magic flute. Uh-oh!

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 4.5x5.4" detail of the full painting, which is 9x12".
Please click for a closer view-- can you find the (sneakily) hidden cat?

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

Burning, Man?

Another sneak-peek snippet from the same spread as the last fiery post. No hidden kitties in this bit, so don't burn your eyes out searching!

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, ~4.5x6"" detail of the full painting, which is 14x18".
Please click for a closer view.

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

(Full disclosure: I've never been to Burning Man, which will probably come as no surprise, but I am addicted to hoop dance & I must admit I've watched quite a few videos of the amazing hoopers there!)

Flames & Flute

Another illustration-in-progress from the book I'm working on. I'll let you guess what is happening in this one!

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 8x11" detail of the full painting, which is 14x18".
Please click for a closer view-- can you find the hidden cat?

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

After-Woods

Please forgive the dreadful pun! Another illustration-in-progress from the book I'm working on. In this scene, the morning after the storm, the old man is carving a flute from wood recovered from the tree that was struck by lightning.

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 8x11" detail of the full painting, which is 14x18".
Please click for a closer view-- do you see the hidden cat? (And the not-so-hidden flute?)

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

Spooky Halloween!

It was a good day to be working on this one... I think I'm nearly finished.

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, Detail of original 9"x12" Please click for a closer look. Prior states can be seen here

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

p.s. If you'd like to see my Alfred-E-Lantern, check out my Flickr page.

Curious Art by Leah Palmer Preiss

Spooky Progress

These are details from a painting-in-progress-- another illustration from the book I'm working on. In this scene the old man is walking home, feeling uneasy after encountering a mysterious black cat with huge, greedy eyes.

"Perhaps, even now, it was watching him from somewhere in the forest."

Acrylic on text & maps on canvas, 9"x12" Click for details, & check back soon for the final art!

For The Old Man and the Cat, by Anthony Holcroft, to be published in 2011 by Penguin NZ.

Curious Art by Leah Palmer Preiss

Storms & Brainstorms

August in NC is thunderstorm season. I always feel a bit crazy as the storms approach-- maybe it's the electricity in the atmosphere.

I've been full of crazy ideas lately too, all waiting in the clouds, impatient for the moment when they can make their way across the atmosphere to earth. I finally have a stretch of time without tight deadlines, & I'm so very ready to release that storm of ideas!

This is an illustration from my children's book in progress, The Old Man and the Cat by Anthony Holcroft (see earlier posts on my main blog, Curious Art).

The background texts & diagrams are scanned from antique encyclopedias, music books, maps, dictionaries & science textbooks. These are printed on archival paper, mounted on stretched canvas, & the painting is done with Golden acrylics & Winsor & Newton Sceptre Gold watercolor brushes. I'll show more about this process in upcoming posts.