Doodle

This sketch I made of Charlotte will soon be making its way to a frame.  I really enjoy doing these, but somehow, always felt like this was cheating a little bit--to draw from a pic of my very photogenic daughter.  Then, just the other day on Pinterest I found redemption!

As it would seem, Norm and I share this little ruse.  His paintings started out as an elaborate photograph that he directed and produced.  Here's how mine started out:

At the beginning of last summer, when Charlotte was headed off to her annual beach trip, I decided to draw her some pics, secretively, of course, which means after she had gone to bed. (I like the great thrill of a surprise, probably more than Charlotte does.) I leafed through our vacation album from last year and found this one:

which became this sketch:

(note the comic bubble:  I thought Charlotte would enjoy the lyrics to a little diddy Howard made up on that vacation.)  Then I made up a riddle. (because I actually did two drawings)  I folded those bad boys up 80s style:

and hid them in her suitcase, so the riddle on each one led her to the other.  Oh the joys of racking your brain late at night to come up with a clue that rhymes, so that you can introduce your 10 year old to the coolness that could only come from paper folded a certain way in the 80s!