The Bankrupt Circus and Other Misadventures

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lksukany

The Bankrupt Circus and Other Misadventures by J. Bradley Minnick has been published! You can buy a copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org.

The book is a compilation of short stories “Together, the stories form a portrait of America at its edges-where working-class rituals, childhood games, and neighborhood legends are transformed into metaphors for endurance.”

I worked on five of the story cover illustrations including “Notes from Tennis Camp,” “Fly Stand, Inquire Herein,” “Innocently to Amuse the Imagination in this Dream of Life is Wisdom,” “The Twisted S,” “The Last Telegraph,” and the dedication. Some of the stories that have links, you can read on East of the Web website.

I was working on story illustrations for J. Bradley Minnick prior to this project. His publisher suggested we collaborate on more, and that I be added to the book. I worked on these for about two months to meet the publication deadline. It was a very exciting time.

Here are a few studio pictures of the project!

“Notes from Tennis Camp” was a really fun illustration because it was interactive. We purchased a tennis racket and tennis balls to get a feel for the story. The kids got to play tennis and we ended up with a really nice image on that one because of it.

“Fly Stand, Inquire Herein” was the grossest illustration to work on because of the pictures of flies and rats. I was trying to look without looking while I was painting.

“Innocently to Amuse the Imagination in this Dream of Life is Wisdom” was a bit of a puzzle for me because I wanted it to look very classic. There are a lot of writers referenced in this story, and at first I was thinking of making their portraits, but landed on their head busts instead to further accentuate the old wisdom in literature. I also had to ask my mom to send me the title in her fancy cursive. I think she liked helping on this one.

“The Twisted S” was a seemingly simple illustration, but all of the components had to fit together just right for this one to work well. I got E.K. to model this one for me because she was the most flexible of the kids.

“The Last Telegraph” illustration was very much finished in my imagination after reading the story, so it was only a matter of painting all of the pieces. This small sketch is what I sent J. Bradley Minnick, so you can see that he’s very trusting of my imagination!

The Dedication illustration was inspired from my own family portraits wall.

I’m so thankful I got to work on this great project.

Book of Songs: Pastiche

Posted on May 11, 2025 by lksukany

“The Damsels in Distress: Book of Songs” is a Paper Opera project to include all of The Damsels in Distress songs. Each page will include song lyrics and an accompanying illustrated image of each song.

Album: Spinning Plates

Pastiche

My name is Carla. This is my shop.
Part my heart and most my time.
My name is Carla.

My name is Todd. I am around.
Maybe you’ve seen me walk downtown.
My name is Todd.

With Pastiche design your home.
With fun new toys for boys and girls.
A stylish world. Affordable.

Plates and cups and Freitag bags.
And fun bright colored tags.
That move and swing.
This is real art. Pastiche.

Book of Songs: Space

Posted on April 8, 2025 by lksukany

Album: Spinning Plates

Space

I like you. You are mine.
All the time. All the time.
There are things I need to do.
And though alone, I still need you.

And sometimes I need to draw.
I need to paint. I need my space.
And I know you need the same.
And then we meet and dance and change.

15 Illustrations: Key of G

Posted on October 27, 2016 by lksukany

I am working with Inktense pencils, Micron ink pens, and Canson Illustration 11×14″ 150lb art pad to create 15 illustrations (that is how many pieces of paper are in the art pad) of my current family life and inspirations.

This work is narrative in content and uses color in a monochromatic way accentuating one part of each drawing. These fun and quirky illustrations are a reflection of the current joy and activities I have been experiencing.

“Key of G” is a musical family portrait in the playroom. G was the first note our baby played on her Casio keyboard. I liked this drawing so much that I made it into E’s first birthday party invitations and thank you notes. It’s super fun with all of the patterns, shapes, and there is that party pink color again. I used Inktense Carmine Pink and Fuchsia blended. I never thought I would be a little girl pink promoter, but goodness there are so many cool things in pink!

Some of my favorite details of this drawing are the thread in a jar, the piano, the piano bench cushion pattern, M’s fun socks (completely made up), the rug pattern inspired by The Land of Nod,

the play kitchen with the triangles on the wall (which the pink triangle decals are from the Land of Nod and placed by Gallery Gal), our fun family musical portrait,

me playing accordion, E playing the maracas, Ein playing the jingle bells,

the fun pendant (that I designed and embroidered), table cloth triangle pattern, and flowers in the kitchen, M playing the concertina (Grandpa and Grandma Sugar gave us the concertina – thanks!),

and the musical alphabet banner I made.

The inspiration for this drawing (wall done by Gallery Gal in Springfield, MO):

The embroidery pendant I made:

Mural at Hoover

Posted on October 3, 2016 by lksukany

I created a jazz ensemble mural for Hoover Music Company in Springfield, MO in 2006. When we moved back to Springfield in June, I noticed the mural was looking a little faded. I stopped in and left a note letting them know I was back in town and would be happy to touch up the mural for them. They responded the next day and hired me on.

I worked on it for a couple of hours each day to let the paint dry. I packed an old suitcase with acrylic paint (Winsor & Newton Galleria: Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre, Mars Black, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, and Pale Umber. Golden: Cadmium Red Medium Hue and Burnt Sienna. Liquitex Basics: Raw Sienna. Liquitex: Raw Umber. Grumbacher Academy: Titanium White and Burnt Sienna), Golden Heavy Gel medium, brushes, soap, latex gloves, paper towels, palette knife, apron, hat, slippers, plastic cups, double sided tape, baking pans, palette paper, painters tape, sunscreen, Dr. Bronner’s Soap, wash cloths, and one shot sealer. I also brought a tarp, step ladder, and jug of water.

Day 1: I washed the mural with Dr. Bronner’s soap and water and rinsed with water. I went over all of the figures outlines with a dark gray – almost black. I painted the woman’s dress a bright red straight from the tube, but ran out of paint at the bottom.

Day 2: I covered the red dress again to make the color a bit brighter and richer. I repainted the microphone and stand and the saxophone. I repainted the upright bass using a flat burnt sienna for the bass body.

Day 3: I repainted the guitar and put a second coat of flat burnt sienna on the upright bass.

Day 4: I reworked the dark gray – almost black outline.

Day 5: I created a medium gray and doubled the outline next to the dark gray – almost black outline. I created some shadows and curves to the red dress. I added some shading and highlights to the upright bass.

One of the best things about being a freelance artist is that I never know where I’ll be or what sort of project I will be working on next.

Paper Opera

Art, music, and stories.

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