King George III for Scholastic

King George III for Scholastic By Greg Newbold

Earlier this year I did a cover and interior spot for one of Scholastic's news publication. If you remember from elementary school, they are the little folded educational paper flyers that came about every two months or so with all sorts of interesting classroom articles and games. I have done a few things for them in the past including one on Ben Franklin and they are always fun projects.

Cover Rough #1

This one featured the Declaration of Independence and they wanted a portrait of King George III reacting to news that the colonies had broken free. One of the biggest problems with historical recreations is that there aren't any photos. I had to rely on old paintings to come up with somewhat of a likeness.

Cover Rough #2

When my first two takes on what the cover would look didn't quite fit the editors' vision, it was finally decided that they really wanted me to riff a political cartoon from the era.

Period Political Cartoon of George III

I was asked to pretty much mimic the expression and exaggeration from the original cartoon, but obviously handle it in my own style and this is what we ended up with. Digital technology made it possible for me to take a photo of one of the original prints of the Declaration and warp it to fit my illustration. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and so was the client. Thanks to Sandy Mayer at Scholastic for running interference when needed and giving encouragement at that moment of hair pulling. Always nice to work with a great art director.

There was also an interior spot of colonists celebrating the news which actually took more time and work than the cover, but oh well. that's how assignments go sometimes and often you don't realize what you have bitten off until you start chewing. All in all, I am happy how it turned out as well.

Ben Franklin for Scholastic

Ben Franklin, Inventor by Greg Newbold

In the last few months I have done several jobs that I couldn't show immediately and this one for Scholastic's Science Spin was one of them. I got the chance to do one of the classic inventors and statesmen in American history, Benjamin Franklin. When I was in elementary school, I loved the Weekly Reader and other publications from Scholastic and now I get to work with them. This project involved a cover depicting Ben along with of several of the things he invented, namely, The gas street lamp seen out the window, a book grabbing tool, the famous "Franklin Stove", bifocal glasses and one that didn't catch on. In case you can't locate this lesser known invention in the picture, Ben is sitting in a chair that he engineered with a foot pedal powered flapper that would move the air above his head to shoo away flies while he was reading. Needless to say, it didn't catch on.

Ben's Lightning Rod- by Greg Newbold

The interior article illustrates a live demonstration of his lightning rod, a concept that all modern lightning rods are based on. Not only was Franklin a great inventor, he was a writer, printer, theorist, statesman and diplomat, along with being a signer of the Declaration of Independence. I had a great time working on this, and I'm currently working on another similar project for Scholastic that, of course, I will show at a later date when it is published.

Delivering the Truth

Delivering the Truth- Digital over graphite by Greg Newbold

Here is another book cover I just finished. The book is a mystery novel called Delivering the Truth and deals with a Quaker midwife in 1888 Massachusetts. She doles out advice, delivers babies and even solves mysteries in her spare time. I wanted to do something that gave the flavor of the era as well as a sense of mystery.

The client proposed an arrangement similar to this

The client proposed a shot of the character from behind that focused on the apron strings. I secured a great costume through my connections at the regional theater here in town, Pioneer Theater and had a great photo shoot that gave me multiple options. I created three possibilities of which I liked one the best.

I felt that a cropped shot of the figure holding the doctor bag was strongest and would be more to the point. By zooming in closer on the hands, and not showing the face, that cover option would add a sense of mystery as well.  Thankfully the art director and designer agreed and I got the go ahead. I was asked to add the town and landscape behind the figure in the distance which I had left out of the sketch.

I was not sure that my favorite option would be chosen, but it was simple to drop a few buildings in behind the figure. The monochromatic color scheme allows for the hands to be the true focus of the piece as well. I enjoyed painting them and tried to say a lot with the gesture of the hands. I think it gives a sense of confidence, gentleness and a bit of apprehension all at the same time. Perfect for the tone of the book. Thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide Publishers for the chance to work on this project..

A House Divided

Here are a couple of illustrations I just finished up for Boys' Life Magazine. They are for an historical fiction piece about a young man that witnesses the surrender of Lee and his troops to the forces of General U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. In the first spread, The young man is captured by Union troops when he tries to catch a glimpse of General Grant on the eve of the surrender.

I thought the most dramatic moment of the story was when he is captured and interrogated at bayonet point. Since the moment in question takes place  in the late evening, I wanted to focus on making strong silhouettes of the figures. I proposed two options of this idea to the art director. One had a low angle and the other was slightly from above looking down. After some discussion, I was given the go ahead with the top option.

The second spot illustration depicts the young man as an eavesdropping on the moment when U.S. Grant accepts the Confederate surrender from General Lee. I wanted the composition to reflect that Lee was backed into a corner.

By placing him behind the doorway, cropping him on the left  and placing a picture frame and shadow above him, he is effectively trapped within the composition as he signs the surrender papers. Grant on the other hand is seen full figure and leans forward expectantly but respectfully. Period pieces are always a challenge, mostly on the research and costuming end of things.

I spent some time finding pictures of Lee and Grant and I also found a great Union Soldier costume I was able to rent for a few days for the reference photos on the first spread. I combined details from all of these sources to arrive at the finished piece. Unlimited time and budget would have been nice, but given the deadline and resources, I am pretty pleased with the results. 

Battle of Bosworth 2 - Finished

For Want of a Nail - Oil on board, 19" x 10" by Greg Newbold

As I explained when I posted the sketch version of this piece, the symbolism of King Richard III's fall is carried by the rumpled battle flag on the ground and the thrown horseshoe. I preferred this to the the proposed mob battle scene. I think it says more with less and the first piece is plenty to set the battle scene. This ended up being more fun than I thought when I took on the project. I especially likes painting the contrasting textures of the flag, the grass and the horseshoe.

Battle of Bosworth 1 - Finished

Richard III falls in battle signaling farewell to the Plantagenet Dynasty in Britain. I  think this one is done, barring any feedback to the contrary from the client. I enjoyed the challenge of creating a battle scene and overall am pretty pleased with the result. Despite the vibrant primary colors in the heraldry, I think that the neutrals carry the show which is what I wanted. What do you Think?