Talented author and illustrator Sarah Brannen is with us today. She is the creator of the beautiful picture book Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. Read on to see what she has to say about her books and her creative process.

Hi Sarah. Thank you so much for visiting.

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When did you get started illustrating for children? What did you do before?

I’ve always been an artist; I spent a number of years pursuing painting, and showing in galleries. At the same time, I did architectural renderings to pay the bills. I had wanted to illustrate children’s books for a long time, and I finally decided to go after it seriously in 2001.

Tell us a little bit about the recent book you wrote and illustrated, Uncle Bobbie’s Wedding.

Uncle Bobby’s Wedding tells the story of a little girl and her favorite uncle. When he announces to the family that he and his boyfriend are planning to get married, Chloe is afraid that they’ll lose their close relationship. Bobby and Jamie start including Chloe in their lives together, and after she gets to know Jamie better she realizes that two uncles are better than one.

Oh, and they’re guinea pigs.

I understand this book caused some controversy. What happened and how did you deal with it?

Of course I knew that some people would have a problem with the Uncle Bobby’s Wedding because it shows gay people (guinea pigs) in a favorable light, and because Bobby and Jamie actually get married at the end. Same-sex marriage is legal where I live and the people I know don’t make a very big deal about it.

The book has been challenged a number of times. Usually this means that library patrons have requested that the book be removed from the shelves or shelved in a special area. I’ve gotten some hate mail and I’ve read some very nasty talk on message boards.

I wish that people would read the book before criticizing it. Also, I can deal with criticism of the book; not everyone has to like it. But I get upset when I read vicious hate directed towards gay people. That’s not ok.

What are you working on right now? Do you have any other books or art projects you’d like to talk about?

I’m currently illustrating a non-fiction book for Charlesbridge Publishing, Troy and the Trojan War. I’m also finishing up a book about a figure skater. I can’t announce it yet but it will be soon!

Do you do non-children’s book art (licensing, fine art, etc.) or art just for fun? Is that art similar or different from your children’s book art?

All art is fun!! I draw for pleasure whenever I can, and I sell it if people want to buy it. I’m not showing in any galleries at the moment – there just isn’t time. My watercolors are similar to my illustration. My oil paintings are quite different.

Do you illustrate full time? If not, what else do you do?

I write and illustrate full-time.

When you illustrate a picture book how do you decide what scenes and details to draw?

I read the story several times and decide on the page breaks if they’re not already determined. As I read, images come into my head. I start sketching and things develop on the paper. If I get stuck, sometimes I’ll ponder a scene or character while I’m out walking.

When illustrating picture books do you include a visual storyline not mentioned by the text or include animals or people you know?

Whenever possible, I try to add interesting details. This might include another storyline. It’s fun to use people or animals from my life in the illustrations. I haven’t done it much yet though.

Can you explain your art process?

I sketch on layers of trace. When I have a final view I do a fairly careful line drawing and scan it and turn up the contrast before I print, so the lines are really black. I trace the drawing onto watercolor paper fairly loosely, just to place all the elements. Then I redraw, hoping to maintain some of the freshness of the sketch.

My watercolor technique uses several thin glazes; it’s an old Beaux Arts technique that’s great for big washes and allows a lot of control.

Do you have a favorite color or palette?

I have some pigments I like, which probably results in a similar palette. I experiment with new ones though.

What is your favorite medium to work in? Have you always worked in this media? If not, why did you switch?

I’m happiest sitting and drawing with pencils and watercolor. I used to work in oils and I felt like it was a fight, every day. I finally decided just to use what I enjoyed most.

Did you always want to be an artist when you grew up?

There was no decision. I always knew I was an artist. My father gave me drawing lessons before I could write.

Do you use models/source pictures or do you draw from your

memory/imagination?

All three. I use all the resources I can find if I have to draw something I’m not familiar with. If I need to use photos I try to take my own. I’m a semi-professional photographer, although I mostly just take photos of figure skaters.  (http://sarahbrannen.yellapalooza.com/skating/index.html)

If you could be anything other than an artist, what would you be?

An opera singer.

What gets you through an illustration when you’re stuck for inspiration?

Like I said earlier, I just walk and walk and try to clear my head.

What book do you remember from when you were young? (list one or multiple books)

Oh, goodness, everything! I couldn’t possibly make a list.

Is there a children’s book illustrator whose work you gravitate towards in the bookstore now? (list one or multiple illustrators)

I love Brian Lies, Lizbeth Zwerger, Shaun Tan and Lisa Kopelke’s work.

If you could illustrate any writer’s new work, who would it be?

Gail Carson Levine!!! Are any art directors out there listening??

Who do you want to be when you ‘grow up’?

Exactly who I am now, with more book contracts.

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Thank you again, Sarah, for your time. Best of luck with your upcoming books. I can’t wait to see them on book store shelves.

You can visit Sarah on her web site at: http://sarahbrannen.yellapalooza.com/

Okay. That was a bit dramatic, but given how long it’s taking me to get better from the accident, I do feel like I have lost a limb at times.

Sometime on Friday I got a call from my mother-in-law. Several relatives (who I barely know or if I ever met) have passed over. One was my age, actually a few weeks younger. He was feeling tired at work one day and went out to his car for a nap and never came back in. Some of his coworkers went looking for him and found him dead in his car. The other one was the sister of my father-in-law and lived to the ripe old age of 92. The wake was Saturday night and the funeral was yesterday.

I went to my doctor today to get the physical therapy referral. She looked at my back (where the scar is) and agrees that something is ‘not quite right.’ We are both hopeful that the PT will fix whatever it is and that will be the end of it. She also mentioned nerve damage as a remote possibility. I refuse to accept that possibility and will do my utmost to get ever last bit of helpful goodness from the PT referral when I get it. I am to expect a call from the office with the information.Which means more doctor visits and etc. But what are you going to do. I am not a spring chicken any more and as much as I’d like to bounce back as fast as my younger friends, it doesn’t appear to be likely.

I did today’s doodle in the doctor’s waiting room.

And here are the doodles from Saturday and Sunday.

It seems like a good time to stop and break for lunch. Afterward, I will buckle down on finishing the monthly coloring page.

Thanks for reading everybody! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

So I took my kid to the doctor today. She’s not sick or anything, but she’s worried something is not quite right with her. Given that she has a phobia about needles and she’s willing to have blood drawn to make sure there is nothing wrong with her, I figured it would be a good thing to ease her mind. Frankly, I think better eating and exercise habits would solve 80% of her concerns, but what do I know, I’m only the mom.

Anyway, I made her drive home from the doctor’s office. It’s only a couple of miles, but this was the first time she’s driven my car. It’s a bit bigger than the Scion they used for driver’s ed. She was totally nervous. She drove maybe 25 mph on the main drag through town which has a 45 mph posted. She did great. No hitting of anything. I am relieved. I am the only one allowed to put dents in Casper.

Speaking of Casper, I spent way too much time today trying to locate roof racks I can install on him. I even went down to the Toyota dealership in search of answers. The problem being he has a moon roof and rain gutters. All the after market roof racks I have been able to locate say they work on cars WITHOUT rain gutters. I even emailed one place with the question. I don’t think they read my message since the product they recommended also said clearly ‘not suitable for cars with rain gutters.” Grrr.

I did find an after market roof rack for the model but not the year. I emailed to ask if it could be used on Casper’s roof and if not why not. It is the same car, right? Just a newer model. I have a month to get this all set before it is absolutely necessary to have an exterior luggage option. And I thought this would be easy. HA. That’s what I get for thinking.

I have not been able to figure out why my doddle images won’t show up on LJ. I have been over and over all the settings in both word press and my host. I give up. Folks will just have to surf over to my blog to see the doodles. And sadly, the image link goes to a forbidden error page. So much for easy cross-posting options. I guess it’s a week where the easy way isn’t available. Maybe next week will be better. One can always hope.

I can’t believe that the summer is nearly over and the children are headed back to school. Yesterday was open house at the high school. Tomorrow my baby starts 10th grade.

And as if to rub my nose in the fact that I am not quite needed any more, today she is going to the mall with her friends. In her friend’s car. With said friend driving. I am nervous about this jaunt. It’s the first time I have let her go on the highway with a non-adult driver. O_o

Not much else is going on. I will be working on web site edits the rest of this week after finishing up a few more illustrations.

Next week I will give my school visits section of my web site my full attention, as well as the companion print brochure which I will begin mailing out to schools after Labor Day.

Most of my time right now is spent on the waiting game. Waiting for replies to emails, returns to phone calls, waiting for checks to arrive in the mail, waiting for my daughter to get home. I guess my task is to become a connoisseur of patience.