Here is Chapter 5 of my original illustration work for author Karen Meyer. These drawings are 5 1/2" x 7," pencil on paper, for her children's book, The Young Man From India.
I also edit them on Photoshop to enhance the contrast a bit.
Chapter Five – Black Crappie
Jim was impressed with the sign Spencer had made. He said that he would see how it looked once it was hung. He told Spencer that ‘Jim’ was the name he wanted, so all was good.
Quincy came out of the house with a half-eaten piece of pizza. He told Spencer that boughten pizzas weren’t his favorite, but it had been convenient for his mom since they were busy unpacking. He said boughten pizzas needed a lot of parmesan cheese added in order for him to get them down.
Quincy’s horse’s name was “Brown.” This gave Quincy and Spencer something to laugh about right away since Spencer had named his horse, “Red.”
“My horse is reddish and your horse is more brown. In fact, your horse is a rich, chocolate brown. How come you didn’t name your horse, ‘Chocolate?’ or ‘Brown Sugar?’” Spencer asked.
“I was three when I got Brown. I guess that was as original as I could be at age three,” Quincy laughed.
“They got you a big horse for a three-year-old!” Spencer mused.
“How old were you when you got Red?” Quincy asked.
“I was six,” Spencer answered. “I first had a shetland pony that was spotted because dad didn’t want me to ride a tall horse until I was older. We still have the pony. We know a couple who are having a baby boy and they want to buy ‘Spotty’ from us. I guess I was I wasn’t very original when I named ‘Spotty’ either.
Quincy chuckled.
“Well, I didn’t ride Brown much at first,” Quincy explained. “I fed him and led him to pasture when I was with him. You see, we lived in a city and drove out to a farm whenever we had time to ride my horse. Dad rode with me in the same saddle at first.”
“Did you like the city? Did you come from a city near here?”
Spencer had never thought about city living much. He had grown up on the ranch.
“We lived in Philadelphia. There is a lot of history there. I liked the museums. This place is really different. I think I like it, though,” Quincy told Spencer. “I was limited when I rode Brown in the farmer’s field, but here, I will be able to ride on and on.
“How come your dad moved out here?” Spencer asked.
“He was tired of living so close to people. He was a professor at a college, and when he retired, he said, ‘we’re movin’ to the West.’”
“Wow! That’s a big change. Was your mom okay with it?”
“Mom’s favorite past time is cooking. She said she didn’t care where she cooked, as long as she could do it. So, I guess, mom is fine anywhere she happens to be.” Quincy marveled at his mom.
“What does your mom like to cook?” Spencer was curious.
“A variety of things. She made a lot of seafood when we lived in Philadelphia, some Italian, some French and some Indian recipes. She just about cooks anything and everything.”
“Indian food? You’re kidding. Corn, squash and buffalo?”
“No, Spencer, not American Indian food. They don’t even eat that way anymore. East Indian food.”
“Well, I know nothing about India – or their food,” Spencer admitted. “But before you think I was being silly, we have buffalo burgers here.”
“Really? You’re kidding.”
“No. Well, I don’t know, because we don’t go to town to eat very often. But they used to be on the menu,” Spencer claimed.
“Shall I invite you over for dinner when Mom’s cooking Indian?” Quincy asked.
“I like to try other foods,” Spencer said, even though he wasn’t sure if he would like Indian.
“Indian recipes usually have curry in them. Do you like curry?” Quincy asked.
“I don’t know what curry tastes like, but I’m willing to try anything once,” Spencer assured.
“How did we get onto the subject of food?” Spencer asked. “Let me show you where the river runs through our ranch.”
“You have a river going through your property?” Quincy was excited.
“It’s a small one and sometimes it drys up for part of the summer, but right now it’s flowing,” Spencer explained.
“Wow! Lead the way!”
Their horses galloped together side by side. It seemed that Brown didn’t want Red to be ahead of him.
Quincy was excited about the little river – especially when Spencer said there was a place where the river pooled and it was perfect for swimming.
“Something to look forward to when the weather is warmer in a few weeks,” he said. “Are there any fish in the river that are good for eating?”
“We don’t fish. Dad said he’s only noticed junk, Spencer replied.
“What kind of fish are junk?”
“Dad said, he thought he saw a tiger muskie and a Black Crappie in the river. He said he didn’t care for either one.”
Quincy began jerking and shaking. Spencer was scared. He was afraid Quincy was having an epileptic seizure. Spencer had never seen anyone have such an attack, but thought it must look like this.
“Are you okay? Are you okay?” Spencer yelled.
“I’m okay. Just can’t keep from laughing,” Quincy assured.
“What’s wrong, then?”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just so funny!” Quincy started shaking all over again.
“Tell me. What’s going on?”
“We had black crappie all over our yard back home,” Quincy began.
“You had dead fish in your yard?”
“No. . .not quite. But it was my job to pick up after our dog because I was the one who wanted him. My father can be a little crude sometimes. When I was lazy, my dad would say, ‘get out there and pick up the black crappie!’”
It took Spencer a minute. Then, he began laughing, too.
Hope you enjoyed this post. I'll be sharing more on this story, along with my illustrations, soon.
All the best,
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See more of my artwork at: MattPhilleo.com
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