Watercolor Pictures of Peter Three Toes

The illustrations in this series are first sketched in graphite pencil on #140 cold press watercolor paper. Then the illustration is painted in with watercolors in a style called Glazing.

What the glazing style does for a painting is add dimension by layering the colors that are used. You’ll notice that I’ve left some white in places, that is to say that it is paper without paint. The white paper further adds to the dimension of the painting. This is a series of paintings I finished for a children’s book that was never completed by a college professor.

Illustration 1:   Dreams

As you can see Peter is a little bear who only has three toes on each foot. He feels that having only three toes is a handicap. All of his other friends have five toes and are great at sports. Peter tries and tries, but he just can’t compete with his friends and this makes him so angry. Casy is Peter’s best friend, and boy can he swing a bat. Peter tries and tries to play ball only to get mad, then gets even madder to the point where he becomes bitter and resentful. Peter spends much of his time dreaming of having five toes per foot and becoming a great athlete.

Illustration 2:  Peter cooking

Peter cooks breakfast: Peter knows that for him to be good at any sport he has to eat well. Every morning Peter gets up and rushes out to cook his own breakfast. Peter eats so much food everyday that he puts on about 3 pounds of weight each day. Peter’s weight makes him very slow when he tries to run. This is normal for bears; they need the extra weight to sleep thru the winter. Peter blames his slow speed on only having three toes on each foot. Peter’s friends try to work with him. They try to tell him that it is his temper and his size that gets in the way of him playing any type of sports. Peter doesn’t realize that his only having three toes per foot isn’t his problem.

Illustration 3:  Casy at bat

Casy, as one can see, is filled with confidence when he’s up to bat. In Peter’s little part of the world, Casy is the best baseball player around. What’s worse, Peter can’t play ball with Casy because he’s on a team. Peter feels that he isn’t good enough to play; after all, he only has three toes on each foot, so he doesn’t even try out for the team. It makes Peter so mad that he begins to resent Casy. Peter is very confused.

Illustration 4:  Peter shoots

Peter has another friend who rules on the basketball court, his name is Fred. Fred also plays on a team. Once again Peter feels that he isn’t good enough to play, so he doesn’t even try out for the basketball team. Peter’s friend is so good on the court, that he averages 30 points per game. Even though Fred has a big shell on his back, he is able to out jump anybody he plays against. This makes Peter very mad when he plays with Fred.

Illustration 5:  Peter jumping

You see, with all the weight Peter puts on thru the year, it’s difficult for him to jump. Once again, Peter blames his missing toes. Peter gives up all the time on basketball and gets angry with Fred for blocking his shots.

Illustration 6:  Wagon

Peter thinks that he’s only good at one thing, pushing his wagon. When all else fails, Peter takes to his wagon and rides the hills. When it comes to riding his wagon, Peter’s a daredevil. Peter loves to jump his wagon off the highest hills. Peter never worries about crashing his wagon, because he is so well padded. Peter likes to show off and brags to his friends about his exploits. Peter dares his friends to jump with him, but they tell him it’s too dangerous and walk away. This really angers the little bear. Peter thinks his friends believe that they are too good to play his game. Once again Peter resents his friends, and this time it’s only for showing a little common sense. Peter races off for his next hill. Maybe one day, Peter will see it’s not his friends, toes, or a team that prevents him from being good at sports. He’s just a little bear with a temper.

Are you interested in writing the story for these wonderfully illustrated characters?

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