Baby fur seals
ANIMALS & ARKINSAS
Carole Tormey Jones: Creator of the Cotter Otter and other furry friends
By Kaitlyn Schwers Photos by Kevin Pieper
arole Tormey Jones knows what she sees. Jones, the illustrator, observes an otter
jumping out of the White River and gliding through the water, and it gives her an idea. A new character has just been etched into her mind: the Cotter Otter. Real animals become real characters that come to life on paper with a combination of pen, watercolor and pencil. The famous otter, donned in a wetsuit and hat, hauls its catch of the day over a shoulder. The fishing gear slightly humanizes the weasel-like critter. The Cotter Otter exists among several other
characters that Jones, 70, has created, and is among more than a thousand pictures she has sold across the nation. Drawing, painting and illustrat- ing have been a part of her life since she was 15, growing up in Oyster Bay of Long Island, N.Y. “I know how to see when I look at something.
I know when I look at you, the bones underneath and how the muscles lay,” Jones says. “I did peo- ple (portraits) for a while, but I’m not a people person, so animals have always been my thing.”
The Cotter Otter hooks a trout.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36