Homage to Charles Schulz
Ahhh…the crisp fall weather finally arrived! I love summer, but the changing of the season hits me deep with the falling leaves and the colorful backdrop of my life in North Carolina. Nostalgia grows ever large and I begin to look for those familiar things around this time. I am not always sure what it is, but I love the feeling of those familiar things….so I chase it.
Maybe it has to do with growing older and/or my children growing older or how quickly time passes, or maybe I am just a nostalgic person. My recent curiosity had me diving deeper into the life and work of Charles Schulz. Charles Schulz is the creator and artist behind Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang. This was a comic strip that was syndicated in over 2600 newspapers worldwide until his retirement in 1999. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was a film released and aired in 1966.
I decided one day I wanted to try and capture the feeling I get when I see the pumpkin patch in particular from that movie. The above artist trading card was my attempt to convey that feeling in my own artwork. I was not sure where to begin, so I thought about breaking down the imagery and see what the must haves were.
I decided that the following needed to be included to try and convey that feeling:
Pumpkin (my style which is somewhat realistic)
Night sky (using indigo blue and some dark green with white coloring pencils)
Simplistic background (minimal shapes with large chunks of color)
Black and white sign (I first thought moon, then I came to the term pumpkin moon - which I totally made up and how it is coming soon - like the Great Pumpkin)!
Did you know that the movie was based on a child’s confusion between Christmas and Halloween? Schulz took that idea first to a comic strip and then eventually the movie.
I absolutely loved that movie as a kid and of course still today…many moons later! (For my pun-lovers out there) What do you think - did I capture “the feeling”???? I am not so sure, but I did create something I loved and enjoyed the process.
I kept drawing and drawing…more pumpkins, fun leaves in a variety of colors and even some little figures that are loosely based on my own children’s costumes years ago.
Check out the photo gallery below:
I got carried away and had the best time drawing and color blending. Though they are still a bit away from exactly how I want my characters to look, I worked hard to keep the illustrations and parts as simplistic as possible to convey a nostalgic feeling.
So, here is my homage to Charles Schulz! Thank you for your dedication to your craft along with the wit and humor you shared through your illustrations and comic strips. Your inspiration continues to live on today!
Want to learn more? Check out these links:
Hear the sound of Vince Guaraldi, the musical creator behind the movie here with The Great Pumpkin Waltz.
There is a Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA! Check it out here.
SHAPE OF THE MONTH:
TRIANGLE
Just having a little fun cutting out triangular shapes that could be on a jack-o-lantern. The many faces triangles could make:
This month’s coloring page:
October 2023
Grab some coloring pencils and try your hand at color blending! Also, don’t forget your artist trading card for this month.
What a fun fun time I have making these little drawing treats and also curating this month’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did putting it together. Just last month, I had a serious creative block and though that happens from time to time, I thankfully pushed through it. Now I can say, I have a bit of inspiration that I hope I can ride out for the remaining 2 blog posts this year.
Stay creative and nostalgic out there~
Hannah