This was the first illustration (click to enlarge) I completed when I switched my career plan from fine art painting to freelance illustration. It is from my whimsical story Petunia's Slightly Slow Adventure. I usually don't like to post my early pieces because they don't reflect the quality of my current work. They are not the highlight of my career by any means. And this piece has some clunky areas. But there are things I still like about it. I love the mushroom's vibrant color and the watercolor technique of the grass. And the rays of light fit the theme over at Fridays are Hawaiian shirt day
Here's my favorite paragraph from my (unedited) story...
They came to a clearing and all looked around. And what they saw was so scary they didn't utter a sound. A campfire glowed with five Witches dancing around. They were swinging their arms wildly first up and then down. They had crazy gray hair and ratty black gowns. Petunia was scared and so was Mr. Mouse. But the Black Cat didn't know what all the fuss was about. Then as the Queen watched a smile slowly spread across her face She snorted, shook her head and let a little giggle slip out. What they thought was so scary turned out to be sweet. The Witches were catching fireflies for little Toad to eat!
Petunia was thrilled they had found Toad at last. And do you know what? She hadn't even been flying that fast.
The end.