New Book Illustration Project, Chapter 1

I am doing more illustration work for author Karen Meyer. She's writing a new children's book about two boys, a ranch, some horses and a lot of adventure.

Here is the illustration for Chapter 1, along with the actual story I'm endeavoring to bring alive. It's a pencil on paper illustration, 5.5" x 7."

Chapter One - It’s a Boy!

Spencer ran into the house. “Mom! Mom! Where are You?”

“You must be very excited. You just ran right past me. What is it, Spencer?”

“Mom, it’s a boy!”

“Oh, did Connie have her baby? A little boy. You’ll have to teach him how to ride and to love horses as much as you do.”

“No, mom. An older boy, like me, moved onto the ranch next to ours. I saw the truck and the horse trailer.”

“How do you know from such a distance that it’s a boy and not a girl that moved in?”

“Mom, really. I saw him ride. No girl could ride the way he did. He must be like me because he couldn’t wait to take his horse out onto the ranch. He might have a sister. Or his mother is a very short woman.”

“I think you’re looking at things from too far away.

Why don’t you take Red and ride over. Introduce yourself. Ask if they want to come for dinner. There’s so much to do when moving in – they might appreciate a meal they don’t have to think about.”

“That’s a great idea. I can’t wait to meet him. I wonder if he’s in my grade.”

“You’ll soon know . . . and don’t forget to be polite to his parents. And don’t jump the fence with Red. Remember your dad said Red’s knee isn’t the same anymore since that day he fell with you. Take time to open the gate before galloping away.”

A faint okay was all his mom could hear as Spencer was already riding away.

I finally have a friend close by. This has been my wish for a long time and now it’s happened. I hope he’s in my grade and that he’s as excited to meet me as I am to meet him. It will be so much fun to ride over the ranch with another person. I miss riding with dad now that he has become an auctioneer in town. We seldom ride together anymore.

Spencer’s house was close to the border of the next ranch. Their house was on the hill but their neighbor’s house was a little closer to the road. At the neighbor’s place there were two tall poles with a hanging sign at the road that read, “The Thorton Ranch.” Spencer remembered when Mr. Thorton carved that sign and hung it.

Mr. Thorton was fun at one time to be around, but he got old. He had trouble walking and went everywhere on his horse after that. He stopped joking. That was the saddest part. He sold his cattle and moved away.

Spencer missed him – at least the way Mr. Thorton had been at one time. He had shown Spencer how to carve letters in wood. And stain them so they would show up. That was when he hung the sign at the road letting everyone know it was the Thorton ranch.

He had also been very funny. Spencer found himself laughing nearly every time he was with Mr. Thorton. He liked his sense of humor. Spencer tried to retell some of the jokes to his parents, but he realized there were always parts missing which he couldn’t remember. Spencer guessed that was why his parents never laughed at them.

Spencer’s parents were more serious. They were both on the same wave length. His parents were fun to be with, but it wasn’t because of the things they said – it was more they things they did with him. Spencer felt loved and enjoyed all the activities he did with his parents, but they never really made him laugh. At least, not the way Mr. Thorton did.

Mr. Thorton was not the same man as he got older. He complained about aches and pains and about the surgery on his foot, saying this foot never felt right in his cowboy boot anymore. Spencer felt sorry for his rancher friend and tried to cheer him with some of his own jokes to brighten his day, but Mr. Thorton’s laugh never seemed sincere.

End of Chapter 1

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Hope you've enjoyed this story and illustration so far. Next time, I'll post Chapter 2 and the illustration I did, and keep this going...

Have a blessed day,

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