Porttia Portis
Each Day, This Dallas Storyboard Artist Sends His Daughter Off To School With An Adorable New Illustration For Her Lunch Bag.
What do you do when you’re a professional artist who’s between work? You keep creating, no matter what.
For illustrator, local musician and cancer survivor Howard Kelley — who recently scored himself a heck of a gig as the storyboard artist for the Marvel television series currently being filmed in Dallas — meant finding and maintaining inspiration in the form of creating elaborate daily drawings on his daughter Saoirse’s lunch bags.
It’s a pretty adorable project, to be sure.
“She’s at the end of third grade now, but I started when she was in kindergarten,” says Kelley, who posts each of his intricate daily creations to his Instagram account as part of an ongoing series. “I had a friend that was doing it [for his kid] and I thought it was a good idea.”
More than that, they’re a way to keep Kelley’s abilities refined and well-honed. He creates these drawings on paper towels, using a variety of mediums before carefully placing them inside of a plastic baggie for display. Each take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, and their subjects range from everyday objects to cartoon characters. He begins each drawing the night before shipping his daughter off to school, giving him enough time to gather inspiration before adding them into the lunch bags.
“Whatever she’s into at the moment is what I try to grab onto,” says Kelley about his design selection.
Beyond their Instagram popularity, the drawings have also become a big hit with Saoirse’s classmates. They’ve become something for her friends to look forward to each lunchtime, with the surprise of the unveiling being a big part of the fun.
“Sometimes, the kids don’t know what the character is I’ve drawn,” Kelley says. “I’ve gone to lunch with her; when she opens her lunch, they all look to see what it’s gonna be.”
Same goes for Kelley’s Instagram followers, who get to join in on the fun thanks to social media. Below, check out some of our favorite creations from Kelley’s daily drawings for his daughter.