Weekend sketching

Howdy folks!

This weekend has been jam packed with inspiration and drawing! Two of my favorite things. First it started off with attending Short Run. The Seattle small press show featuring mostly comics and some zines. I was there for over four hours and it wasn't enough time to see it all. I love making comics and have had a long break from making minis due to trying to devote all my comics time to my graphic novel. But I was sooooo inspired to get back into making smaller one off comics that I've got some big ideas hat I know I won't be able to shelf for long. My goal for 2013 is to have a table at Short Run with a some new comics and perhaps even segments from my graphic novel. I'm thrilled. I just need to find about 20 more hours a week to get all my stuff done! No problem though, right?

I've also been making some preliminary sketches for an illustration I'm submitting for the Tomie dePaola competition through SCBWI. This award includes a full paid trip and entrance to the winter conference in New York. I REALLLLLLLY want to go to this and would be so honored to win the award. So I'm going to try very hard to submit the best illustration possible. 

Lastly, I've been working on another picture book concept. I'm in the early stages of re-writes and thumbnails, but it feels good to be writing stories that really connect to my visual language, which I've had trouble doing in the past. I'll post more on that as it comes but I will just say this, it involves my two favorite badger brothers Tic and Tac!

I know all of this sounds like a lot, but I just can't pass up inspired ideas when they present themselves to me. I also think adding more fun and unrestricted comics work is just what I need to help with my storytelling and illustration with my picture books as well as my graphic novel. 

So much to do! But so excited to do it all!

Happy Halloween!

Hey all
I've still been a little off the grid with posting. I've been working on a new picture book as well as getting totally consumed with my Halloween costume. Fact: I LOVE Halloween. I especially love getting to make crazy costumes for Halloween. I think it's the one time of year my inner sculptor comes out. This year I endeavored to make my own interpretation  the infamous Elliot and E.T. flying scene. Enjoy the photos and my process. How did I do it? Lots of cardboard and paper tape and acrylic paint. Oh and I made my cat Vincent a matching costume. Yes. I am insane and highly impressionable when it comes to tiny clothing meant for dogs. Happy Halloween!

City Arts Fest 2012!

Hey All
I've been on MAJOR blog and picture book hiatus the past few weeks. My husband and I just finished a nearly 300 drawing installation for the City Arts Magazine art festival, City Arts Fest- a four day long festival around the city of visual & performance art, music, lectures and pop up performances. Our installation is in the hub site of the three day long festival, called "Culture Club." 

Our piece titled "Grizzly 1971" is a series of portraits based off of a year book that we found from Seattle's Queen Anne High School from 1971. We drew 280 yearbook style portraits based off of the senior class. We then made up names and titles & clubs for the students, mostly very strange and funny.We created a walk-in year book room where all of the portraits were displayed as well as two small  trophy case like pocket displays that flanked the doors of the venue as you walked in. We wanted to breath life back into an otherwise banal and forgettable account of the past, the yearbook.It took us nearly two months to draw all the portraits.

The show will be up in downtown Seattle at 411 Union Street (between 4th and 5th) through October 20th. The venue is free to enter and is open from noon-11pm Oct 17-19th, then from noon-9pm on Saturday the 20th. If you are in town check it out!

For more info, go to: http://www.cityartsfest.com/

Illustration Friday: Book

Tic and Tac are back for this week's IF challenge. They are taking a mischief break and enjoying some reading time in their library!

Stranger Map!

Hey all,
Part of the fun of my blog is that I get to brag about my wonderful husband! So here is a fun piece he just did your The Stranger his week!

Check it out and the article he drew it for here: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/your-country/Content?oid=14780168

Illustration Friday: Imagination

 

Hey everyone!

I haven't done and IF in a few weeks due to some other projects that have been taking up my time (to which I will post about soon) but here is my latest piece that I've created. I am not sure where this idea came from, but its my own sort of take on Little Red Riding Hood. What if it was all a game in the wolf's mind and these where just his play things? Or maybe in his reality, people are not more threat than just bugs? Either way, I think this little bad wolf is using his imagination. That is to say if he is bad at all...

I forgot to mention I've been watching all lot of Twin Peaks lately and I think its creeping into my children's books illustration. I'm taking it as a good thing- and perfect company for my Woodland illustrations! Thanks for looking!

jx

Camping Adevnture!

Hey everyone!
Here is a piece I made based on a recent camping trip I had with my friends and my husband. The animal representations are oddly very accurate. I am the squirrel with all the marshmallows and my husband is the otter with the hotdog on a stick. We even had lanterns like the ones pictured, only ours were paper with glow sticks in them. I would love the see if the lightning bugs in a jar work though. I hope to do more pieces based upon this trip!