Ramona & Me

What do you say when you are asked to draw one of the great characters of children's literature? YES! And YES, PLEASE!

That's what I answered when the Oregon Children's Theatre approached me to provide a drawing of Ramona to promote their upcoming production of Ramona Quimby. OCT of course had forever endeared themselves to me for their stunning production of The Storm in the Barn two years ago. I leapt at the chance not only to draw Ramona but to work with these great folks again.

As luck would have it, I was reading Ramona the Pest to my daughter when OCT contacted me. But although she was fresh in my mind, capturing Ramona on paper took some work. Here is a sample of the many, many, many sketches I made of Ramona...

Everyone liked those last two, but ultimately we decided the poster needed a bit more of the rambunctious side of Ramona.

One more try, and we settled on the final image.

And that's that! Here's an interview I did with OCT  about the project.

If you are in Ramona's home town of Portland next May, be sure to catch the show!