Image of the Week: Coyote Rides the Sun
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Coyote Rides the Sun was the title of this native American story that I illustrated ten years ago. Published by "A Child's World," the book is part of a series of multicultural folktales. In this story, Coyote's mad pursuit of the sun goes awry, resulting in a singed black tail and driving this hapless trickster to become nocturnal.
The whole project was a rush job that offered only modest compensation, so I had to find a way to work quickly and keep the illustrations simple. I painted in gouache on watercolor paper, with the white paper showing through a great deal. Whenever possible, I used washes, "pulling" the thickness of the paint away from the edge of the color field to thin it out. Gouache paint can actually be mixed or thinned right on the paper. It also lightens in tone as it dries, which can really drive you meshuganuh until you get used to it.
It wasn't hard to minimize details in these illustrations, given the desert setting. I worked with a restricted palette, using the same colors over and over. Gouache can be mixed in advance and rewetted on the palette or in a mixing cup.
Designing the sun was the fun part. In this story, the sun plays the part of a character, teaching the mischievous Coyote a lesson. I couldn't bring myself to put a face on the sun – but something was needed to give it personality. Finally I settled on a geometric pattern derived from the decorative baskets woven by the Pauite Indian tribe of eastern California and western Nevada, where the story finds its origins.
The same geometric patterns continue in the land, interrelating the sun and earth. The hunter's clothing is embossed with the same pattern – he, too, is woven into nature. Have you ever seen such a benign-looking hunter? That's because the book is targeted for children aged 5-8. Publishers do not want young readers to feel scared or sad, unless there's a reason for it. This hunter is teaching the clever and curious, selfish and impulsive Coyote to hunt for rabbits and squirrels.
Poor Coyote! He learns his lesson too late, and ends up with a charred tip on his lush tail. But it's not too late for us to learn from this "cautionary tail" about how not to be.
He may look like an animal, but Coyote is surely human.
A good week to all, and happy June!
D Yael Bernhard