Painting a Book During the Pandemic

Here in my studio sits a 48 page picture book. THE DARK WAS DONE. The story was written during a writing retreat on a small island on Rainy Lake where Minnesota meets Canada, two years before the pandemic began. Other picture books were finished and published before the illustrations for this story were begun. When I began making small sketches in January of 2020, I had no idea what was coming…

I found out a few things about myself. My imagination and creative spirit, both necessary for painting a book, do not function well during a pandemic. Especially a pandemic happening during a polarized election year in the U.S., and especially a pandemic happening during the tragedy of George Floyd here in my hometown. My heart and mind were so often elsewhere, slaves to my “lizard brain”. Finding the calm space for experimenting, inventing, and painting often eluded me.

Thus, a year and a half later, the 22 paintings are finally matted and stacked in my studio, ready to be packed and shipped to my publisher, Beach Lane Books. This is a time of celebration and grieving. Celebrating the birth of a new picture book and grief at having to say good-bye to the art often go hand-in-hand at this stage, for me. I have been having a conversation with these paintings for a year and a half. Sometimes they are very noisy— calling out to me what they need next. Other times, they are silent and I need to prod them back to life. By the time I paint the cover, I feel as if I finally understand how to paint the book and wish I could start over from the beginning.

THE DARK WAS DONE will be published in fall 2022. I am excited to share this story and pictures with you!