Walt's Imagination

 I can never thank God enough for giving me the opportunity to illustrate the life of Walt Disney in the recent book "Walt's Imagination".  The book was released Tuesday, July 10.  It is a Disney Hyperion publication and it is the latest installment in a series called "Big Words Books" by author Doreen Rappaport.  Her previous subjects include Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Junior, and a host of other well-known and historic figures all for the 3 to 8-year-old listener and reader. Now she's written about Walt Disney. I was contacted back in 2012 by Disney Hyperion as a referral from my dear friend Glen Keane.  Being a painter and illustrator of  historic subjects as well as animation I jumped at the chance. I didn't receive the approved text until a year and a half after the initial signing of the contract. The process began and proceeded much the way an animated film is made, with selecting and storyboarding the main parts of Walt's life,  followed by an enormous amount of photo reference and research. Then on to pencil layouts, color comps, and finally full-size final art. I finished the last illustration in April 2017 depicting Walt with arms folded admiring  his Sleeping Beauty Castle under construction. What an honor! Please head to a local bookstore and take a look. 

"Walt's Imagination"