A few months ago I was contacted by The Saturday Evening Post to create an illustration to accompany a J.D. Salinger story set to run in their July/August 2010 issue.  Seeing that e-mail in my inbox was a real thrill, let me tell you, and I couldn’t wait to get started!  And I confess, though I consider myself a well read person I had never read any of J.D. Salinger’s works before the beginning of this assignment (I know! Bad, Ashley!).

The chosen short story, “A Boy in France,” was written during Salinger’s time in army service during World War II, and was originally published by The Post in 1945.  From its tone and realism the story made it clear that Salinger was writing about experiences and feelings of a war that he knew intimately, not from the distance of American soil.  I wanted to capture this feeling in the final illustration, and to really hi-light the difference between the nostalgic glow of home and the dark reality of life in a WWII foxhole.

Working with the art director at The Post was wonderful, and when I presented her with my three sketches she chose one that we were both excited about.  From there it was a straight shot to the finish, and then many weeks of excited waiting for it to be published before I could share the final.  And then a couple of weeks ago, this arrived in the mail:

So there you go – my first job with The Saturday Evening Post!  I’m really pleased with the final painting, and thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone over at The Post.  You can still find this issue on newsstands through August.

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