THUMBNAIL AND PENCIL RENDERINGS WFIT: PLUM BAYOU MOUNDS

I thought I’d share a glimpse into the process behind my current project. Here are a few drawings from the upcoming What Follows Is True: Plum Bayou Mounds graphic nonfiction book.

In the upper left is the initial, small, thumbnail sketch, just 1.5 by 2.5 inches, where I map out composition and pacing. On the right, you can see how that idea develops into the full-size pencil drawing at 11x17. From here, the next phase is building the image in watercolor, where the atmosphere and depth really start to take shape.

The image in the lower left is from a separate panel in the book, offering a look at how these moments come together across the broader narrative.

FIGURE DRAWING AT COMMUNITY CREATIVE CENTER

Join us for Figure Drawing, a six-week studio course at the Community Creative Center!

Led by draughtsman and educator Sean Fitzgibbon, this introductory course sharpens both your eye and your hand through essential figure drawing practices. Working from a live, undraped model each session, students will explore gesture, expressive line, structure, proportion, anatomy, and foreshortening while developing a deeper understanding of the human form.

Whether you're new to figure drawing or looking to strengthen your skills, this course offers a focused and supportive environment to build confidence, improve technical proficiency, and discover new ways of seeing and drawing the figure. Click HERE for more info.

Mondays, 6:30-8:30 • starts Aug 10 runs for 6 weeks • Community Creative Center, Fayetteville, AR

Satchel Paige

This is from a watercolor illustration I created some years ago of baseball legend Satchel Paige for the documentary The First Boys of Spring by Larry Foley, which chronicles early 20th-century spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Paige is often celebrated on Juneteenth because his life reflects what the day represents: freedom delayed, but not denied. Like the formerly enslaved people who were not informed of their freedom until Juneteenth, Paige spent most of his prime excluded from Major League Baseball by segregation despite being one of the greatest pitchers ever to play the game. He dominated Black baseball, proving Black excellence long before MLB integration, and finally reached the majors at age 42. The recognition came far too late, but it came. His story embodies resilience, dignity, and the long distance between justice promised and justice delivered.