What's Cooking

Stick a fork in me, I'm done! I just finished illustrating my first picture book. The images are uploaded and awaiting final approval. I nervously pick apart every little detail...stop Heather, it's done for now!

What's Cooking?

The Wish Trees

Here is a little peek into the book I just finished working on.
It is such a lovely book with a wonderful message for kids about trees and the environment. Beautifully written by Andrea Koehle Jones and illustrated by... me... (yay!) ;o)

What's Cooking?

Hope you like pie!

What's cooking?

Lately, I have been been totally absorbed with learning how to create my style digitally and I'm pleased to say that all the hard work is paying off. I am currently working with an educational publisher who likes the new look and wants me to use it for one of their projects. I'll be creating a minibook with accompanying activity pages ,icon images about bees and flowers. Fun!

This will keep me busy until June.

Over the weekend I was teaching myself how to create frayed fabrics. One thing led to another and the above image is the end result. I LOVE working digitally. I am learning something new each day and it's so inspiring.

what's cooking?

Here's a little incognito snippet from a book I just finished. hee! Waiting for publication.

This week I'm working on roughs for a picture book. Later this month I'll begin work on some illos for a teen workbook and sketches for a chapter book. That's what's cooking with me!

Now, I see clearly

Ok, I know what you must be thinking... What's this??? Right?

Well believe or not I can always see more clearly when I squint. He, he.. I know.. that doen's make any sense.. but it does actually.

 
See, what happens is when you squint, you are able to focus more on 2 really important elements of an illustration.

1. Balance in a composition

2. Balance in color

Something kind of magical happens when I squint that all the distraction fades away and I am able to see more clearly those important elements.

So if you see me working, you'll see me squinting every now and then. Ha! Ha.. I even squint while putting all the lights on the christmas tree! Makes those little white lights pop and I can make it all nice and balanced :o)

Go ahead, try it for yourself and see....

now, I see clearly

Taking a little peek outside... 

Whether it's outside my window or even outside of my comfort zone, taking a moment helps me see more clearly.

NOW, I see clearly.

Newspaper fun
(click to create your own!)

I created this back in 2006 when I had lasik eye surgery. This was probably the scariest thing I have ever done but ultimately the most liberating. I have to admit, I was in mourning for a couple of weeks afterwards for my glasses. I missed the vision I had with them..seeing through glass, plus the security of just being able to hide myself behind frames.

Now, I'm thrilled. Losing a contact or breaking my glasses isn't a dread anymore. NOW, I see clearly. Even the wrinkles, ugh. =O)

Congratulations to Patty!

This past weekend was the annual SCBWI Austin, Texas conference.

A big cheer for our very own Patty for winning 2nd place in the portfolio display contest.

Way to go!!!

More cheers for Janee who won 3rd!

Who won 1st? Illustrator, C. G Young.
Be sure to visit his site. His work is something else.

Congratulations everyone!

Now, I see clearly

I've had a little breathing room of late, something I have not had in quite awhile. There are always 1,000 projects waiting desperately for "down time". Projects that need to get done. Revising my web site, updating other online portfolios with newer material and working on my children's portfolio art work are but a few of them. But sometimes I just need to stop. These days, I so rarely do some art work for myself, with nothing else relying on it but my own creativity. I sketch for myself, sure, but I can't remember the last time I completed a piece of work, just because it's fun. So this week, I started doing some paintings in acrylic, a medium I have not used in years but one I used to use a lot and loved it a lot. So we are getting reacquainted. I just completed paintings #4 and 5 tonight.

I think my spurt of creating work just for myself fits this week's theme very well. I especially like how this cat fits the bill. It's the first little painting I finished (Sunday 4/27) and the image says it all. A pensive, thoughtful cat with big black eyes. Kind of funny, this cat does not look like my typical cat at all. I was surprised by this cat. But it's a nice cat, and the cat does seem to be communicating something through his eyes.

I hope you enjoy. If you would like to see the second painting I completed, please check it out here.

Illustration Friday: Primitive

You know, I started to do a bunny sketch for the theme this week (IF's "Primitive") but, ya know, it just wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to. I switched gears and took Roz's lead, and thought I'd post one of my ancient, "primitive" pieces! I figured it was okay for me to copy Roz's idea if I gave her credit for it from the get-go. (It is the most sincere form of flattery, after all..)

This piece which I call "Greek lemons" is primitive in more ways than one, so I thought it really fit the IF theme for me on a personal growth level, anyway.

Over ten years ago, when I had my own little (but very passionate!) greeting card business, this was one of my best-sellers. It was also one of my very favorite designs. I just never seemed to tire of it, and I still love it today. (The original scan is black-line pen and ink, but today for this post, I painted it in photoshop to emulate the way I used to sponge-paint each individual card). This is also the same color palette that I used for this particular card, as well - mediterranean blue, a bit of dirt brown to ground things, and a few juicy citrus brights!

The illustration (as well as the final paint on the cards) was textured and had a very rustic, old-world feel. It's true that I named the piece "Greek Lemons", but this illustration also always felt very Italian to me. I loved (and still love) doing borders and carrying on the old tradition of illustrative, intricate ornamental borders while trying to bring something new to the party, too.

Hope you enjoy the piece, and ultimately, my wish is that it stirs the desire in YOU to take a lemony-fresh vacation somewhere more "primitive" than where we are right now. (In front of our computers. ;))

Illustration Friday: Primitive

I like to imagine that back in those days they knew how to have good ol' fun!

I have to admit this was a tough topic. But I don't think it gets more primitive than Dinosaurs, right? :o)

Illustration Friday- Primitive

Here's one of my "primitive" felt illustrations. This was from a few years back when I was using the felt you buy in sheets at the craft store. Now I use Holland Wool felt which is much easier to work with and I prefer how it reproduces.

love at first sight

A special thank you from our family to my wonderful PBJ amigos and all the visitors who gave Josephine such a sweet and touching "welcome to the world".  We adore the beautiful artwork and heartfelt messages, it means so much to us.  Sending big hugs and kisses!  

xoxo, Laura, Brian, Henry and Josephine

Check this out!

In case you are looking for interviews with illustrators or authors of children's books, here is this amazing blog full of podcasts interviewing artists, writers and also doing book reviews. They do everything on their favorite cafe. It's really great.

It's called Just One More Book. Check it out! Click on it and it will take you there.

Happy weekend everyone! :o)

love at first sight...

... warm wishes of love and joy for Laura and family!

Love at first sight...

Wishes and hugs to Laura and family at this very special time!

Love At First Sight

IT'S A GIRL!

Hope you caught Alicia's hint in her post yesterday. We are so happy to announce that fellow Pbj'er, Laura, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this week. We are thrilled for her and her family. Mom and baby are doing well!

Love at first sight

for Laura...

Around the world in 7 days

This is a piece from my portfolio that I think works with the theme. They have been traveling all over the world on a long journey to distant lands. What do you think they are looking for? :o)

I, like Patrice and Heather, am working on a project right now that fits this week's theme. Sorry I can't really say much about it, just that it has a worldly theme and it involves kids from around the world. I wish I could post some images or talk a little more about it but the client I'm working with wants to keep it a secret until publication time. So that's how it is for us freelance children's illustrators, sometimes even though we are really excited about a project we just have to shhh... keep quiet and respect the confidentiality issues.

around the world in 7 days

Currently, I'm illustrating a book about two brothers who are exploring the world, starting with their own backyard. In this rough, I'm exploring too... getting to know the boys. One thing I discovered is they have a puppy who's just as curious as they are. :)

Around the world in 7 days...

Do you wonder what children's illustration looks like in other parts of the world? If so, be sure to check out the following books.

Bologna Book Fair Annual 2007

Bologna Book Fair Annual 2006

Play Pen: New Children's Book Illustration

Around the BLOG world in 7 days

Want to take a trip around blog world this week? Here are 7 stops on your sightseeing tour...

1. Illustration For Kids Blog
sketch

2. Paige Keiser
Chess Analogy

3. Lil' Kim
Composition

4. Weller Wishes
Process 1 thru 6

5. Dani Draws
The Color Study

6. John Nez
"Book Making, the folded page"


7.Phyllis Harris
Elephant paints self portraint

Around the World in 7 Days

I'm working on my first picture book, it's about a Maori boy and a little friend he takes around Rotorua, New Zealand.

What's an artist to do when you've never been to New Zealand? Well, I headed over to youtube.com for a tour and a first hand account of the Haka and Poi dances that are featured in the book. It was like I was there!

And while I was there I found this bit of silliness that I just had to share:

april showers

Spring!

April Showers

Lucy is not too thrilled with this rainy season..
staying inside is never as fun as playing outdoors!

April Showers

For the theme of "April Showers", I thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse of a sketch becoming a picture book spread. (This is the "March" spread from "The Months", but it really fits the theme of "April Showers", doesn't it?)


The sketch worked great conceptually, but we needed to rejigger the elements to make it work spacially , and also so it would play nice with the gutter.


Below is the final piece, full bleed . You'll notice there is a lot more painting on the outer portion of the illustration than there is in the final cropped book spread.
(We have to make sure all the corners are 'covered'!)

For the final spread, the book designer used some of the daffodils as breakout design elements. This was her plan from the very beginning, and in some instances,
I created spot art just for this purpose.

Hope you enjoyed my "April Showers" show-and-tell. Now don't get caught outside without an umbrella this month!! :)

April Showers

april showers

.... bring May flowers.

Once Upon a Time...

Humpty made a wrong turn somewhere.

Maybe he was just egg-cited to get out of the house.

Maybe he was into egg-treme sports.

No matter which way you stir the batter,

he's now just food for thought.

once upon a time

There was an enchanted cottage in the woods...

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time... there was a little girl who wished everyday for a puppy. Finally her parents thought it was time and took the little girl to the breeders to choose one. She sat on the grass and a whole bunch a happy little puppies came bouncing with joy and that's when she noticed a little chubby one peeking behind a water bowl... he looked so sweet and shy. She went to him and he slowly sat on the the girl's lap and it was love at first site right then.

Ok, ok.. the little girl is me ;o) and the puppy was Sam, a yellow Lab, my first dog. He lived with me and slept by the foot of my bed up until I was all grown up and left the house. He will always be my special dog, no matter how many others come after him.

once upon a time....

there was a little girl who wished for a pet......

Once upon a time...

There was a pbj'er that got so manic about getting her dummy book out on time that she completely forgot it was her turn to post yesterday.

I stayed up late last night printing so it would be ready for binding when the kids went off to school today. See the pile on the right corner? It's all for nothing. I didn't make sure the images were exactly centered so they are each 1/4 off when you print them back to back on the same sheet.
Hard to explain but just know, I'm peeved at myself and need to spend the morning printing again. =o)

What a waste of time and paper. GRIPE GRIPE GRIPE.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, I created this illustration for an SCBWI illustration contest. The subject was "Wacky Wedding".

While I've never been completely happy with this final illustration - I was sort of experimenting with characters (the main ones), and in the end they kind of feel emotionally removed from me a bit due to that - I do love how the supporting cast came out! :)

lesson learned

Don't bite off more than you can chew, work-wise.  No matter how much you want to.

Lesson learned

Seems like this little bird wasn't paying too much attention to Mom when she was giving their first flying lesson.... and now he is not too sure about the jumping part either :o)

lesson learned

You talkin' to me? Please listen to your belly. Trusting my gut was not an easy lesson for me to learn. Sometimes I still find myself ignoring my inner voice, trying to "make things work". I'm getting better at listening. And thankfully, my inner voice is tenacious. And loud. :)

Lesson Learned

Sitting next to Emily in pottery class was a very VOCAL experience.
(Lesson learned for Jake...)

Theme- Lesson Learned

One of the major lessons I've learned so far is to make sure to know the amount of "bleed" a client wants for their final art. I had to learn the hard way not to make assumptions.

I was working on a project a couple of years ago where I wasn't given the bleed measurements but decided to go with the general 1/4'' . WRONGO.
It turned out that they needed 1/2 inch bleed all the way around and it made for a nightmare project since I work with felt. The AD was very stressed , insisting that she had sent me the bleed requirements that I hadn't followed.

Had she? No.

I didn't make an issue of it because I felt that I should have contacted her when I didn't receive the info. More importantly, I would have had an email trail to fall back on if there was a conflict.
Now I make sure to do this if it isn't provided. Most often I'm told , "Oh, just a 1/4" will be fine", but I don't want to take it for granted after that experience.

Lesson Learned.

at home

At Home

How do you make a nervous sea turtle feel at home?

You rub under his little chin until he calms down. Works every time.

Of course he is happiest when he is back in the water with his buds. Righteous...

I went to the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman Islands recently. You think baby turtles are cute? No, you have to see them in person to grasp the full power of their cuteness, you will be rendered helpless!

(The image is a rubber stamp I made for my daughter's birthday a few years ago. I printed them and hung them with raffia and blue streamers. There was a birthday cake that involved vanilla wafer sand and chocolate turtles returning to the ocean!)

Eric Hill Interview

I wanted to post something fun for today but that we could learn a bit from it too. I found this interview with Eric Hill, the creator of Spot. I love all his books and used to read them to both my kids when they were younger.

His life is very interesting, Eric's career as an illustrator began at the age of 16 when he joined an art studio as a messenger. He was encouraged to draw cartoons in his spare time and particularly enjoyed drawing aircraft. Eric decided to become a freelance illustrator and gradually returned to being an artist. In 1976 Eric's son Christopher was born; by the time he was two Eric was making up stories about the adventures of a small puppy to read to him at bedtime and Spot was born!

He is such a delightful person, you can see on the video. Enjoy :o)

at home

Home... where it's a safe place to make your fashion statement.

At-home inspiration

Here is a little of my at-home inspiration -- my girl Daisy!

At home

I feel most at home with a pair of scissors and felt but I am trying my hand at digital art. I am having so much fun, I can't even begin to tell you. I love the freedom and am more inspired than I've been in a long while. This was created using a sketch from one of my dummy books.

Click to enlarge

At Home

I was sitting in my living room thinking what should I post for this week's theme, when I saw Ramona...

I made Ramona a few years ago out of polymer clay. She lives in a house all by herself and loves to read. You can see her tiny opened book on her sofa. :o)

Whenever I see her, she makes me feel at home. I love my home, it is my favorite place to be, with my kids, my hubby, my garden, my pets and my watercolors. What more could I ask for?

I also want to thank the PBJunkies for making me feel right at home!

Participation

Illustration