Drawing at the waterfront

Hey everyone

I've had quite a busy few weeks and have super bad about posting. I just finished up a big freelance project and have been working on my book sketches for Boats for Papa. Today to get some extra inspiration, I took my sketching right to the source and went down to Myrtle  Edwards Park by my house. The park is on the waterfront along the Puget Sound. I couldn't have asked for a prettier day to sketch by the water. I just wish it wasn't so quite a breezy. I've had to use my supplies as paper weights.

Un petit tableau

Hey all
Hope you are having a good three day weekend! I'm over the hump on my cold so all day yesterday from 9am-11pm I drew and painted. That is my dream day right there, so I was happy. It's for my big freelance project that I'm finishing up, which I'm dying to share, but can't yet! Sorry. I've also been working on my book "Boats for Papa" which, once again, I can't share work from, BUT at least you'll all get to see it when it comes out in 2015- so be patient (that's what I'm telling myself anyway)!

I did squeak out a little tiny painting that I made for a friend Aaron and I made last year in Paris: Maurice, the last music box maker in Paris. I've decided that I'd love to create a picture book about him-we'll see if he goes for it! Anyway, just wanted to share what I can. Avez-vous un bon weekend!

Cold and hedgehogs

Hey all
Things have been moving along very well lately! I've been finishing my top secret freelance picture book project (hopefully will get to post images soon), and I've started work on my book "Boats for Papa" which I'm sooooo excited about! I even made some thank you boats for my agent and editor to get me extra inspired! So all is good. I have a bit of a cold today though, so I between resting I squeaked out a few sketches of a little character I'm playing with. Clara the hedgehog! Anyway more to come with Clara, but for now my TheraFlu is kicking in so I'm off to bed!

Woo Hoo!!!

Hey Everyone!

It's official! I sold my first picture book!!! With the help of my AMAZING agent, Alexandra Penfold, Boats For Papa (previously titled Drift if you saw earlier posts on my blog) will be published by Roaring Brook Press in 2015! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited, can you tell? I have the honor and privilege of working with the also A-MA-ZING Neal Porter who will be my editor on the book. I feel like I've won the lottery! I've been bursting at the seams to tell everyone and the day has finally come! I can breath and shout and dance around!

Here's a link to the announcement in Publisher's Weekly: 

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/57265-rights-report-week-of-may-13-2013.html

This is my lifelong dream of becoming a children's book writer and illustrator and it's becoming a reality. Today is a VERY good day. Thanks for all of your support!!!

City & Color studies

Hey all
I've been pretty busy with my current book projects as well as some personal things, but I've been wanting to explore some city images lately so I made some time this week to experiment. I've been doing some small sketches in my sketchbook of my little woodland creatures hitting the city. Here is an idea that I had of a city full of foxes. (Which is getting me thinking about a story of a city of foxes and perhaps a naive chicken wanting to make it in show business decides to head to the big city to get her start...hmm, perhaps there is something there!)

Anyway, I wanted to explore some variations on color within this theme. I think  prefer the cityscape background a lot softer, with the light brown versus the blue. It feels more within my palette and feels more like it is a background instead of popping forward so much. Also, I should have toned down the green on the grass; it came out a bit brighter than I wanted. And I think in the next one, I will draw it larger so I can explore an even more complicated and chaotic scene. Then it will really feel like the big city!

 I also wanted to see how it would feel in sepia and just black and white. I think these would be fun and worth exploring by painting some similar images just in these monochromatic tones.

 

If you have any thoughts let me know! I have also been studying one of my favorite painters lately, Pieter Bruegel The Elder. I LOVE his work and have always been very inspired by his compositions, palette and details. As I study his work more, I hope to be able to invoke and bring more of his elements of fun, depth, and storytelling to my own work. Thanks for looking!

Je rêve de Paris

It's been a fun and fast week in Seattle with visiting family and I'm just getting back into the swing of things.

I have been thinking about Paris a lot. After going there last spring, I am constantly reminded that a part of me is still there. So in line with my dreams of Paris, I thought I'd watch Midnight In Paris and paint a little picture of a un petit renard enjoying un café et des macaroons.

Le sigh...

Little Golden Book score!

Hey all!
If you've seen some of my previous posts, I occasionally find a great score of the Little Golden Books. I'm always looking for the classic illustrators usually from the 50's and 60's. I was in great luck to find these treasures at a local antique mall while on a stay-cation with visiting family this week. I picked up some books illustrated by J.P. Miller and Art Seiden, and my favorites: Richard Scarry and Aurelius Battaglia.

Aurelius Battaglia had such a great style and talent for composition. He did some animation for Walt Disney Studios in the 30's and 40's among his other numerous illustrative endeavors. He even made his own animated short "The Invisible Mustache of Raoul Dufy" (which I couldn't help but hunting down on the Internet and buying many years ago). I really love the quiet depth to his work and his exciting unique style. Its so fun yet subtly sophisticated and full of fine art painting and design qualities. It's always a thrill to come across his work in books, and nearly impossible for me to pass up buying. So look him and up become a fan!