Momotaro, pen & ink and watercolor with acrylic glazes, 1987
Castle Waiting creator Linda Medley asked us to pass along the following message, and we are more than happy to oblige!
The painting I donated to the CAPS auction to benefit the Sakai family back in December is now up for bids! Here’s some info about the painting, if you are interested: the illustration is from the Japanese folktale Little Peachling and was originally done for the front cover of one of my earliest children’s books, Favorite Tales from Many Lands, written by Walter Retan and published by Grossett & Dunlap in 1989. This was painted on illustration board (basically, a piece of bristol board attached to a chipboard backing), then "stripped" (peeled off the backing board) because back in those days, children, artwork was color separated by wrapping it around a drum scanner. Because of this the backside is a bit fuzzy, but so is your cat's so don't judge.
Left to right: Linda Medley, Stan Sakai, Mark Crilley, and Jeff Smith. Not pictured: Charles Vess. Old Man's Cave, Ohio, November 1998
There's been tons of wonderful artwork donated, and right now you have the opportunity to bid on pieces from three of my old buddies above, counting Charlie who was there but didn't show up in the photo because faerie glamour.
A cool pen & ink sketch from Stan himself!
Mark Crilley's fantastic watercolor of Usagi. Go watch the amazing video Mark made of him coloring this piece, be soothed by his awesome weatherman voice, then bid like crazy because this auction ends on Sunday.
Also ending Sunday is Charles Vess's huge, gorgeous watercolor spread which comes with bonus Neil Gaiman cooties! So it's well worth your consideration. And paycheck.
Also well worth it are the Sakais. Seriously, they are the nicest people in comics — and beyond — and Stan is a LEGEND. Even if you can't bid in the auctions, you can still donate via PayPal, and every little bit helps.