An Alligator Goes Stargazing...

A SCBWI MT Sparks Prompt

Hi friend,

In previous posts (here, and here) I’ve shared work generated from our SCBWI MT region’s Sparks Co-working sessions. Every month, we are given a prompt by Megan Emmot and we make some new work! This event isn’t just for illustrators- the writers make great work too! But I wanted to share the work from the November 2023 prompt “An Alligator goes stargazing…”

When I first started brainstorming for this prompt, I thought of an alligator floating belly up in a sea of stars. That seemed like a beautiful image, and one I would be interested in painting, but I really like ideas that are a bit sideways and out of the box when it comes to interpreting prompts like this. Maybe that comes from reading a lot of Gary Larson as a kid. In any case, I thought of different definitions of “star.”

One that I hit on was “pop star.” Since about 11 years old I have pretty much listened mainly to metal and alternative music (with a bit of folk music thrown in for good measure) but there was a period in my elementary school days where I was a bit interested in Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys and the like. Seeing how frenzied young girls especially get around celebrities I thought it would be fun to have a young gator attending her first ever concert! Thankfully, her dad scored tickets to the amazing ALLIE GAZER and she and her friends are going to totally ROCK OUT.

Did you know alligators twerk?

Every band has to have a hot guitar player- it is mandatory.

This one was a fun experiment for me. I wanted to try dropping in some watercolor texture I painted to make a sort of collage with them. It didn’t turn out quite like I planned but I had a lot of fun anyway! You can watch the process here:

What was your first concert experience? Mine wasn’t until college when I got to see Tool. Nothing like a girl’s first concert!

Thanks for reading!

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