Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Lost!



When I was little I used to worry a lot about getting lost and even had frequent nightmares about it. One of the scariest times was when I got lost in Europe at around age 7. No one spoke English so they couldn't understand what was wrong when I tried to explain in between sobs! I drew the above illustration with some of that fear in mind. It seems your own world stops while everyone else rushes around you lost in their own goings on. The little red bird there is watching out for her though. ;-)

Well today I got another assignment, this time from Scholastic. I'm going to be illustrating an adorable early reader with all sorts of animals. Much of it takes place at night so that's right down my alley. I love drawing night scenes. I think I'll be remember the month of April '08 for the rest of my life with all this exciting work coming in!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is lovely even though it reminds me of the terrifying feeling!
I'm very excited for you about the new assignment and can't wait to see your night pictures!:)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Congratulations on all the projects. I love how you've done both the adults in this scene, they're clearly just moving on by.

Phyllis Harris said...

This piece is brilliant Paige! I love this style! It even has a European feel to it. I also love how the background is more muted and the little girl in the foreground is bright and crisp.

My daughter used to have the same fear. Her kindergarten bus passed her bus stop and she had to ride the bus until everyone else got off. She didn't think she'd ever get back home.

Congratulations on all the new work! I am so thrilled for you!

I knew it was only a matter of time before folks started discovering you and your talent!

Rachelle Anne Miller said...

Oh this is so cute - you've really captured the feeling! I love how the bird is concerned for her :o)

Congrats on the new job!

Paula Pertile said...

I'm so happy things are going well for you Paige!!!

I love the little birdie watching over her.
And glad you got "found"! :~)

roz said...

YAY! Very happy for you Paige.
Love the illustration btw.

lil kim said...

Congratulations Paige! Keep flying high my friend... You deserve it!!

I love how you've done this scene with the darker outlines and more saturated colours for the baby - makes her emotion stand out even more. great work!

Unknown said...

Great piece! Love the colours. Reminds me of the time when I was little and I somehow started following the wrong person in a big department store. I thought they were my mom. Congratulations on the Scholastic contract.

Paige Keiser said...

Thanks so much for congrats and comments about this piece!

Eric - I had the same thing happen. I used to hold on to my mom's purse if we were in a crowd. Well I somehow ended up holding on to another lady's purse--for a while too! Then she looked down and went, "Oh!" - and I started crying :-) And Phyllis, I too missed my stop when I was a kid. I was good at getting lost wasn't I? lol. My brother has the worst story though. In Europe, trains will split off and go different directions! My brother ended up on one end and my family on another. His train went to some other town. lol. We did finally find him though after lots of phone calls to the station.

Laura Zarrin said...

I feel like we should have a virtual party for you! Congratulations! I, for one, will do a little happy dance in your honor.

Kathleen Rietz said...

I am happy for you! Congrats on all the work.