urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:litajudge Lita Judge Lita Judge 2009-09-02T14:48:43Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:litajudge:18897 2038-01-19T03:14:07Z 2009-09-02T14:48:43Z <p style="text-align: left;">Yellowstone Moran was a really exciting book for me to create. My parents are wildlife photographers and I grew up spending long hours sitting still in wildlife blinds, waiting for animals to show up. It was often cold, bum-numbing, and with mosquitoes so thick it could drive a person mad. We had to sit very quietly while we watched. Not having a camera myself, I often carried a sketchbook and wrote and drew about the animals we saw.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-815 alignnone" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Grizzly at Yellowstone National Park" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/grizzly-36-ynp.jpg" alt="Grizzly at Yellowstone National Park" width="450" height="271" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-816" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Bear Sketch" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/bear.jpg" alt="Bear Sketch" width="450" height="260" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;">As I grew older I dreamed of being an artist explorer, like Thomas Moran, exploring the wilderness and painting it. Eventually I became a landscape painter, toting a French easel and a backpack full of canvases as I traveled to places to paint. The experiences made me respect what Moran had set out to do with his art even more- preserve the natural beauty of the land by painting it and convincing others it should be protected. I knew I wanted to write his story, how he played a vital role in the creation of our first national park.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-817" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone by Lita Judge" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/v3_falls_full.jpg" alt="Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone by Lita Judge" width="450" height="237" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Creating the art for this book was a challenge. How to capture spouting geysers, huge landscapes, and men and horses climbing over fallen timber. I had never painted horses before this book. But I found a rancher kind enough to take me out on horseback so we could explore land Moran had traveled. Both the rancher and my husband, Dave posed as models in the book.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-818" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Dave and Mr H.A. Moore" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/img_8337.jpg" alt="Dave and Mr H.A. Moore" width="450" height="300" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-823" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="HA Moore for Yellowstone Moran" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/hamoore.jpg" alt="HA Moore for Yellowstone Moran" width="450" height="295" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;">My favorite part creating the illustrations for the book was capturing the natural beauty of the land. I drew form the experience I had as a landscape painter. Though I now use watercolors instead of oils, the principles are the same, and it was a joy to pull out the field easel again and paint on location throughout the Yellowstone.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-819" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Field Painting of Mammoth Hot Springs by Lita Judge" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/moran_mammoth.jpg" alt="Field Painting of Mammoth Hot Springs by Lita Judge" width="450" height="229" /></p> <p style="text-align: left;">Here are a few of the paintings I did before I created children’s books, when when my focus as an artist was to paint on location. I often combined my painting travels with trips to Europe to study art in museums. The experiences I gained painting from life, on location were vital to my creating this book.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-820 aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Brittany, France" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/france.jpg" alt="Beugency, France" width="450" height="327" /><br /> Brittany, France</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-824 aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="Venice Canals by Lita Judge" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/venice.jpg" alt="Venice" width="450" height="351" /><br /> Venice</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-825 aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" title="New Hampshire in the Winter by Lita Judge" src="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/nh.jpg" alt="New Hampshire" width="450" height="356" /><br /> Thanksgiving in New Hampshire</p> <p style="border: 1px solid black; padding: 3px;"><strong>Originally published at <a href="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/2009/09/02/painting-yellowstone-moran/">Adventures at Wilder Farm</a>. You can comment here or <a href="http://wpblog.litajudge.com/2009/09/02/painting-yellowstone-moran/#comments">there</a>.</strong></p>