Is it just me or do the woman and children in the engraving appear not too thrilled? Their facial expressions are what launched me on a path of altering Victorian illustrations. "Bet they wish they were at the beach," was my first thought when I came across the illustration. So, why not add the beach? In this case, it came in the form of a recycled book publisher catalog cover. I colored their cheeks a rosy hue and added snow as scattered dots and large circles of acrylic paint.
I learned a valuable lesson after finishing: a map should be relevant to a narrative piece, not added for the sake of composition. Found that out when I made this into a card for friends Jon & Carol Falk, who took my husband and me on a fantastic trip to Napa Valley last fall. Carol, a former teacher, just happened to mention that she looked closely at the map, expecting to see California. Ouch. Lesson learned. 5" x 5" on acid-free watercolor paper.
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