The Artistry of Illustrator Grant Campbell

Growing up I was surrounded by imagery and artwork that inspired me to become the artist and illustrator I am today. One of those artists was someone who's name I didn't know at the time. His work was featured in several of the Big Golden Books I enjoyed as a child, most notably, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."

I literally laid my head to rest each night on to his artwork. My Mom had gifted me a pillow case with a Campbell Grant illustration.

His depiction of Snow White was stylized and simplified and the illustrations in the book were definitely Disney and definitely his. I poured over these images and loved them and learned to draw from them. Check out a sampling of his work from that book. I hope it inspires you as well.

Born in Berkeley, CA on Nov. 7, 1909.  Campbell Grant graduated from Oakland High School and then entered the CCAC.  In 1930 he received a scholarship to the Santa Barbara School of the Arts and moved to that city.  In 1934 he moved to Hollywood and began a 12-year period as an animator and story director for Disney Studios.  He then settled in Carpinteria, CA where he remained.  In the 1960s Grant began teaching at the Cate School in Carpinteria, and became interested in prehistoric Indian cave paintings which led to six books and several articles on the subject.   He died on March 24, 1992.  He was the nephew of artists Gordon H. Grant and Douglas M. Grant, and the brother of artist Gordon K. Grant. 

Reboot

Yesterday was an up and down day. My mood just bottomed out. Alot of it has to do with how I allow myself to react to outside stimulis. I really should breathe in those moments. Take the moment to take deep breaths. I don't. The only breathing are heavy sighs of exasperation. My body freezes like an app no longer able to function properly and when you try to do anything, it just doesn't. When this happens, instinctively, I have learned and know to close the app and reopen it to reset it. So I have to also learn how to reset myself.

Perhaps humans are beginning to evolve to behave like this. When we are overwhelmed, we cease to function and the only way to resolve this is to reset ourselves like an app gone wonky.

So, we have focus our knowledge and what we have learned with computers on ourselves. Apps were created to function like human beings but faster and immediate. We have become addicted to this immediacy and are frustrated when we ourselves, cannot perform this way.

We have to now turn around and teach to ourselves what we painstakingly taught the computer. Now, the computer is set on course to teach itself. We keep getting blocked.

We have to train ourselves to reboot.

Its how we must now function.

It may be the only way we can survive.

Using your paper planner as a journal

There are a lot of people who prefer keeping their calendar on their phone. For some it is more convenient and in some cases it is required by their job. This doesn't mean you have to give up a paper planner.

A paper planner can be so many things. Instead of jotting everything down on a peice of random paper or writing it on an envelope or your hand, reach for your paper planner. Even if you dont record your appointments in the planner, you can still use the spaces in the month and week to jot reminders. This way it is all in ONE book and not scattered about on postits or on crumpled paper in your pocket.

Its nice to have ONE place to jot everything down and it doesn't just have to be notes, it can be all the things you can't do with your electronic calendar. You can put pen to paper and write little journal entries or document your mood for the day or use it as a scrapbook and tape in photos and imagery to inspire you on your life journey.

Pen to paper is very powerful. You wouldn't want to miss out on an experience that grounds you and gives you a moment of the day to sit with your thoughts and write messages to yourself. I find writing in a journal and in my paper planner very theraputic. It can be a meditative practice.

Here are some of the things you could write in your paper planner:

Meal Planning

Dream Journal

Gratitude Journal

Fitness Journal

Quick mini on the go journal entries.

Social Media Content record and planner

Use your imagination, trust your instinct.

The sky's the limit.