A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt Guests: Tim McCanna and His Son, Nate

Posted on by Penny Parker Klostermann

poetry friday buttonThanks to Michelle at Today’s Little Ditty for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup today. If you’d like to know more about Poetry Friday, click HERE for an explanation by Renee LaTulippe.

Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon
Ants may rule the hill, but they don’t rule here! Art by Landon

Hello Friends! Just In case you haven’t visited before, let me tell you a little about A Great Nephew and A Great Aunt. My great nephew, Landon (now an eighth-grader) and I (his great aunt) collaborate. I write a poem which he illustrates. We started this collaboration in the fall of 2014 and had so much fun with it that we decided to invite others along. Landon and I will continue to have a new episode on one Friday of each month. The other Fridays are filling up quickly with guests sharing poetry and art in beautiful collaborations. I have created a page on my website to view all the episodes of A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt. Click HERE to visit the page and enjoy past episodes.

Today it’s my pleasure to share a creative collaboration from . . .

Tim McCanna and His Son, Nate

From Tim: I loved playing Dungeons & Dragons when I was a kid. The magic! The monsters! The 20-sided dice! It’s the ultimate role-playing game that’s all about storytelling and using your imagination. But another aspect of the game I loved were the detailed miniatures I painted and played with during campaigns with my friends. I’ve passed on my love of D&D to my 12-year old son, Nate, and besides playing the game, we have a lot of fun sitting down and painting minis together. I’m no illustrator—I’m a words & music man by trade—but I get great satisfaction from choosing my colors and bringing these creatures to life with tiny, fine-tipped brushes. Each mini is like a blank canvas, and when we’re done, the characters beg to have their stories told.

Nate and I recently painted two new minis for our collection. His is a fierce cave troll, and mine is a gruesome ogre with horns. Once the paint was dry, I wrote a poem for our miniature monsters and Nate provided an illustration.

Tim’s Poem

Nate’s Art

Art by Nate

Tim and Nate Bringing Their Creatures to Life
Click on images to enlarge.

Unpainted Minis
The Paint Table
Nate at Work
Ogre
Finished Minis

Tim and Nate

Swing by your local game shop to learn more about miniatures and roll-playing games!

Many thanks to Tim and Nate for sharing their talents with us today!

Meet Tim: Tim McCanna is the author of Bitty Bot, Barnyard Boogie, Teeny Tiny Trucks, and Watersong, which received a star from Kirkus Reviews. His upcoming picture books include Jack B. Ninja, Bitty Bot’s Big Beach Getaway, and Boing! Tim serves as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI’s San Francisco/South chapter, and he enjoys going on woodsy hikes with his wife, two kids, and their dog Millie.
Find Tim online at www.timmccanna.com.

21 thoughts on “A Great Nephew and a Great Aunt Guests: Tim McCanna and His Son, Nate”

  2. Oh, my gosh! What a great creative team highlighted in this post. I never got into D & D. I was always a bit scared by it. But, I have siblings that are really into it and I see that it’s very creative in nature. Thank you, Penny for always sharing a place to create and to PLAY!

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  6. A son of good friends was very creative in his D&D play, created whole villages and creatures. He’s now a cartoonist, made some money creating creatures for others while he was in high school & college. What fun this is to hear about the painting of those creatures, to see their portrait, and read their story in the poem, ending happily! Thanks, Penny & to Tim and Nate!

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  7. My husband passed along along his love of D&D to my kids as well. I never really got into the game, but it’s fun watching them spend an afternoon at the dining table kicking monster butt. They don’t paint cool miniatures together, though. Loved watching that process, and also seeing the poem and portrait that came out of this collaboration! So fun that the troll and ogre turn out to be BFFs. 😀

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    1. Another story of D&D love! I don’t know anything about the game except that I know of its popularity. Isn’t it great when guests in this series show us part of the process? I love that! Thanks for coming by, Michelle 😀

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  8. Love my son and grandson share similar interests. Nate is no clone of his dad but has grown up dabbling happily in all his dad’s favorite pastimes. GM

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    1. I love that Tim shared the process too, Jama and that they share their love for D&D and spend time together painting minis! Their collaboration has energy!
      Have your read Tim’s book WATERSONG? I think you’d love it. He has other fun books out too. Super talented author!

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