I was working on this illustration for my sloth book before Christmas, and I mean to go back and finish adding colour soon. After planning my book, this was the page I was most excited to draw. I was thinking what professions a sloth would be suited to, and I came up with the idea that Eli's Dad could be a living statue, and his Mum an artist's model. I hope the concept of a 'living statue' is universal enough to make sense for most readers. I decided to show Eli's Dad as a sort of Lord Nelson-type statue in front of the lions in Trafalgar Square. I had a lot of fun drawing the 60's-era pigeons with pill-box hats and bouffant hair, as well as the Polar Bear family as tourists dressed for the relative heat of London!
The next page, which I've done some sketches for, will show a framed copy of the photo the Dad Polar Bear took just as Eli's Dad moves and scares the Little Polar Bear. The rest of the page will show pastiches of famous portraits with Eli's Mum as the sitter.
