Ballentine's Blue Devils | Editorial Illustration

Create two illustrations to accompany Poe Ballantine’s the story “The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue” one landscape and another in square format. One created with black and white ink wash, the other done in watercolor.

The colorful description of Sambeaux house with its “walls
upholstered like the seats of a car, red plush with brass
studs.” The ceramic Buddha and potted Venus flytraps that
stood out the most. The Jack–in–the–Box with its clown
who would take your drive-thru order to fit nicely into the
square black and white format since they no longer use the
clown drive–thru the constraint of black and white ink wash
added a nostalgic aspect and made for the ideal solution.
Jack–in–the–Box from —Ballantine’s “The Blue Devils of
Blue River Avenue”
Poe’s extraordinarily descriptive writing style makes the
the single most difficult part of the project deciding which
elements to include and which to leave out. So many
images and ideas dance in my mind as I read the story.
Thankful to have input from others to help come up with
the best solution.

Around the corner was a Jack-in-the-Box, where you could talk to the clown and get a hamburger for fifteen cents. ~Poe Ballantine from The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue

Inside the Sambeaux house the walls were upholstered like car seats, red plush with brass studs. Coal red lanterns hung from the ceiling, and a big, gold, ceramic Buddha sat in a lotus on the hearth. Potted Venus’ flytraps thrived in the cool green shade of the enclosed patio. ~Poe Ballentine from The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue

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