by EdKoehler | Feb 28, 2018 | Art and Whimsy
I don’t recall that our grade school baseball team had a name. Our uniforms were white with red trim, caps, and stockings, emblazoned with St. John’s across the chest. I suppose we were simply called St. John’s. We were in the CYC league and played...
by EdKoehler | Nov 26, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
Wie treu sind deine Blätter! Even if you don’t speak German you may know the song. Roughly translated, that line is “How faithful are your leaves!” A Tannenbaum is a fir, or evergreen tree. This song was a standard in the predominantly German...
by EdKoehler | Oct 23, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
I’m in an astronomical mood once again. Some time ago, earlier this year, I drew Astronomy Girl, that big-headed kid gazing up at the stars. That was followed by last month’s Corn Moon, the big orange moon waking from a daytime sleep to light up the night....
by EdKoehler | Oct 12, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
One of the joys of being a children’s book illustrator is the frequency with which I get to create whimsical animals. I’m not a nature artist in the traditional sense, so I don’t often paint realistic flora and fauna. My animals lean cute, or as I...
by EdKoehler | Sep 15, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
As I continue to play with these simple circles, I’m kind of surprised by what I come up with. All these simply start with a circle. No preliminary sketches, and truth be told, no actual idea. First I drew two circles. I picked the green and blue from my custom...
by EdKoehler | Sep 5, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
Corn Moon Of course the big astronomical event happened on August 21, with the solar eclipse. I didn’t catch it, but for me, the Harvest Moons, or these earlier Corn Moons, are spectacular sights, and I don’t need special glasses to enjoy them. With the...
by EdKoehler | Aug 27, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
I was born in August. Being born during summer vacation meant that I never had to go to school on my birthday. The only draw back was that it also meant I was one of the youngest kids in my class. When I started Kindergarten, you only had to be five years old anytime...
by EdKoehler | Aug 21, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
I like to think most kids adopt a neighborhood squirrel at some point. We had a regular visitor during one childhood summer. We fed him nuts, and with each feeding he became more trusting of our relationship. Gaining confidence in our good will,...
by EdKoehler | Aug 10, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
A few years ago I wrote an article for the Christian Small Publishers Association Newsletter about what self-publishing authors should expect when contracting with a professional illustrator. The article was a walk through the process: initial consultation, fees,...
by EdKoehler | Aug 2, 2017 | Art and Whimsy
Marquette Pool, a public facility in our city, was pretty much an everyday destination when I was a kid. It was quite a few miles from my home, but that didn’t stop us from rolling up our trunks in a towel and walking the distance to get some relief from the...
