blast from the past

A few weeks ago I got a call from a kind soul at Wizards of the Coast (Hazbro Wizard). While cleaning out a closet or something, he found a pack of artwork that I had submitted ten years ago. Ten years!

My son, now twelve and only an inch or two shorter than me, was a toddler then, and the now-famous Kim Rosen was my intern. Kim took this photo of Gray on the beach at Tybee Island, GA.

If you don't know Kim, be sure to check out her stuff. She is an illustration rock star, with a keen side-interest in pattern design. Also: stellar person. Follow her on facebook and Tumblr, and tell her that Violet sent ya.

I made almost two hundred illustrations in two installments for this job, which was a proposed trading-card project for 'tween girls. The project didn't fly, despite lots of money spent—I certainly cashed in, and I was only one of several artists involved.

Looking at all of that work, I am amazed: they are tiny gouache paintings, incredibly fine and detailed. It wasn't long after this job that I left my paint pots behind for the *speed* (ha!) of illustrating digitally.

Anyway, it was such a gigantic project and it's so odd the way it resurfaced yesterday when the postman rang my bell, I decided I had to share it with you.