For every finished painting I complete, I generally do three or four preparatory sketches. These are submitted
to the client to give them options for the book cover, and only is approved. Since I have done over 2000
paintings during my career, a lot of ideas never went to finish. I often wonder why one idea was chosen when
another was so obviously superior, but I don't make the decision as to what goes on the cover of a book I have
been commissioned to illustrate. Sometimes I prefer the sketch to the final painting, since the sketch often has
a freshness and directness that can be lost in a finished painting. Here is a selection of sketches I have done
over the years, mostly rejected ones, but sometimes the sketch that I took to final.
