American Bystander #11

American Bystander #12 is almost upon us, which means I really should blog about my contribution to issue #11, which arrived with a plop on my doorstep about a month ago.

David Chelsea is reading: The Last Cruise
by Kate Christensen

My illustration is for a humor piece by Jay Ruttenberg, which takes the form of instructions for the temperamental key to a B&B rental. The piece was an appropriate one for me to take on, since Eve and I are in the process of converting the built-in apartment in our house to a B&B.

Here are my rough ideas, with the editor’s pick:

Line art layer:

Watercolor layer:

Much color-corrected final:

This is something of a reunion for Jay Ruttenberg and me. In 2008, I illustrated his essay for the New York Times Modern Love column. That illustration is one of my personal favorites:

Read the piece here.

And be sure and stay at our B&B! Available- probably- around the end of the year.