A secret about
Red 

One time, I was afraid of red. I know that sounds silly. How can you be afraid of red?

It was before I began doing children’s books. I was doing only paintings. One day I had a big canvas on my easel. I was painting a wise old man dressed in a suit of black starry sky. All of a sudden, I knew he wanted to have red wings.

“Oh I can’t possibly do that,” I thought. “Wings maybe, but red? It’s too…I don’t know what…too much. Everyone will think it’s dumb. Everyone will think I’m a stupid artist. I will be embarrassed. I will feel like a fool.”

But I kept seeing the old man with these big, red wings. So I put my brushes down and went out for a walk in the woods. (I often do that to take a break and clear my head.)

The red wings would not leave my mind. I began to see how yummy and gorgeous they would be. Where did this idea come from anyhow? Then I remembered a children’s book I had loved long ago as a child. It was about a little rabbit who ran away because he wanted wings, and he got red ones. “Oh no,” I thought. “It’s just a silly, babyish idea. I can’t do it…”

But the secret truth was that I really wanted to!

So I went back to the studio and painted red wings on the wise old man.

An Old Man Steps, 1975, acrylic on canvas, 54"x36" (click here for detail view)

Sometimes you have to be foolish and brave, being an artist. The old man taught me that. With his own red wings he showed me sometimes you need to go ahead and do it anyway, even if you’re afraid of what other people will think. Don’t let it stop you.

Now, I love red. I really do. A picture often feels “thirsty” for a touch of red. It is a powerful color, and a little goes a long way. There is always at least some red in my books.