I received a call from art director Susan Eugster from Rodale this past Spring. She had been admiring my work for some time and finally decided to have me do the illustration for the May/June cover of Organic Gardening Magazine featuring cherries. I couldn’t have been more thrilled!
The art would be used for the cover of the magazine
and also for a possible poster and t-shirts.
Susan indicated the images of mine that inspired her….
…and provided a rough sketch of the cover composition…
I got busy working on sketches.
This last sketch was an after thought.
I threw it in because it seemed more iconic and better suited for use as a poster and t-shirt.
Susan loved them all but she and the Creative Director finally decided on number three, probably for the same reason I submitted it. All she needed were eyes….
…Here are the color sketches with the refinements…
I really liked the pinkish combination. It seemed more cherry-like to me but in the end it was decided to go with the blue, red, gold, colors that would appeal to the greater number and catch your eye from the news stand. I had to agree in the long run as you can see in the final result.
My husband wondered why she didn’t have her eyes colored in and to tell the truthI did fill them in at one point
but some of the “magic” seemed to go away when I did,
so I left them alone…
…And here it is on the news stand!
