Untitled, ca. 1939–1942
"Traylor’s ability to make do with available materials is a trait common to people who grow up on farms. In their youth, he and his friends built a platform on the Alabama River, near the plantation, where they would spend hot summer days drinking and diving into the water. This lively drawing seems to be one of several in which the artist depicted that scene."
Poster paint and pencil on cardboard
"Bill Traylor (1854?–1949) was born into slavery on a plantation in Alabama. After emancipation, he continued to live and work on the plantation until sometime before 1928, when he moved permanently to Montgomery. There he worked as a laborer and briefly in a shoe factory until he was physically unable to continue, then began receiving modest government assistance. Under the challenging conditions of Depression-era Alabama, Traylor survived on the streets in the then primarily black enclave of Monroe Avenue (now called Monroe Street). He slept first in the storage room of a funeral parlor, then in a shoe repair shop, and spent his days sitting on the sidewalks, creating the more than 1,200 drawings he is believed to have produced." source: High Museum website.
It's a really rainy miserable day here in the western suburbs. Sketching sketching and more sketching for two books. Coming up for air to show some of the clutter that accumulates when lots of fun projects are in the air.
a rough storyboard for a new picturebook
Since there's no sun today The Song of the Moment (an oldie but goodie) is:
For laughs, read a few of these explanations of the lyrics for "Blister in the Sun"
Back to work!
