For the most part, I work in pen, ink, and wash. I make thousands of little lines to describe form. This looks hard, but it's actually the easiest and most relaxing part. The most difficult part for me is telling the story with the right relationships of composition and character. This requires many, many little drawings and combinations until the drawing says what you want it to.
Some drawings never do.
I enjoy researching books like Hiawatha and Brother Eagle, Sister Sky so much that I have difficulty extricating myself from old photos and diaries - which are simply more stories. I also take pounds of photos of animals, people, flowers, and houses for reference. The most important part of my work is choosing the story, or poem, or song. Everything comes from this. I am like a dancer dependent on music.