I recently finished this painting for a re-packaging of Diana Wynne Jones's Howl's Moving Castle. I will also be doing a new jacket for her book Castle in the Air, as well as the latest in the series, which I cannot reveal the title. (But I read it, and it is good!) I am new to reading Diana's work, and I am already a fan. I saw the movie "Howl..." and it was hard to get those images out of my head when I was working on this cover. The first image is the initial sketch. The publisher liked the general direction, but wanted it to be a bright, sunny day in a lush green hillside. They also wanted me to place Sophie inside the castle. I gave in to the bright sunny day part, I think that will "pop" more. But I had to stick to my guns on keeping Sophie outside the Castle. If you have read the book, you know that Sophie is the tough one. She is the one who enters Howl's castle and reaks havoc, so I wanted her to look like she was in control of the situation somehow. As if she was the lone person standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square. The middle image is the final painting, and the last image is a detail.
