New Book Magic

It's magical to me when a book I illustrated arrives in the mail!
After months of sketching, revising, painting and packing up the art ... it arrives back transformed into a BOOK. The process itself is not at all magical, it takes lots of hard work by lots of people. Yet the moment I hold it and read it, I find myself, each time, marveling at the results.

This time the package that arrived in the mail is an anthology, and it has brought a NEW kind of magic ... because I'm one of the AUTHORS! Now MY WORDS have been transformed --and for the first time illustrated by another artist.

Hamsters, Shells and Spelling Bees: School Poems, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins, with pictures by Sachiko Yoshikawa.

I love the art and I am thrilled to be rubbing pages with such great poets!
If you pick it up be sure to check out pages 22 and 23! ; )

I've been GNOMED!

Yes, the target of a family prank, known collectively as GNOMING!
One misty morning I gazed out the kitchen window and was startled by this little mythical creature on my deck. I've heard tales of this mysterious girl gnome who is secretly passed amongst our family. The mystery to me is HOW they did it ... because she weighs a TON! (She's rock solid and didn't move an inch from our Indiana earthquake!)
It seems gnomes where created long ago as a way for people to continue sharing stories of these invisible night-time gardeners. She's been here for a few weeks now and I'm waiting for her do her earthly magic in my yard. She can clean up the flower beds, mulch and maybe even plant my vegetable garden.
Many Gnome websites said they are fond of jewelry - then jewelry it is! As you can see I did a little make-over on her ... hopefully the bling will lure her pointy-hat friends into my yard! I don't want to be a fairy tale skeptic if these invisible little creatures can spruce up my gardens!
I think she needs a name too... any suggestions?

Spring Cleaning

We post new art each season to the picturebookartists.com website.
For spring I'm posting an illustration from one of my 'working' manuscripts titled, BIG TOP BIRTHDAY. I pulled the art out of hiding and dusted it off for the blog. I guess even book projects undergo a little spring cleaning!

New Years Promo

Welcome and Happy New Year!


Here's my NEW illustration
for the NEW Year's promo postcard!

It is based on the Chinese calendar, where each year is named after an animal in a twelve-year cycle.


How did "animals" get selected to
represent years in the Chinese calendar?

One legend tells the story about a Jade Emperor who created a Chinese calendar to tell time. On his birthday, he proposed the animals compete in a swimming race across a fast-flowing river.

The first twelve animals to cross the river would be awarded a year to their name. First was rat, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. To this day, the Chinese calendar has followed this cycle of years named after these twelve animals.


2008 begins the cycle with the
year of the Rat. Here is a sketch
of Rat from the original painting.

To find out which animal year you were born in, you can visit Topmarks site
and type in your birthday for the answer!

I'm a monkey.

I use this art in my email signature.

Thanks for visiting my blog ... best wishes for 2008!

Studio Makeover

The studio got a makeover at the end of 2007.



I painted, organized, and added new magnetic strips from IKEA.
These handy strips make displaying art a snap.
New on display below
(center) is my holiday promo art.












It's painted in acrylics on Arches Watercolor buff paper.
The original measures 14" X 21". Even with the larger size, the last animals on parade were challenging to paint!

Here's a closer look at the last three animals,
each is only one inch tall on the original art.
Good thing they make tiny paintbrushes!






To the left of my holiday promo art is my
Picturebook Artist's winter art post. Let's zoom in...

Thanks!

On Oct 22, 2007 - Finding Wonderland: The Writing YA Weblog featured my Robert's Snow flakes! Have a LOOK!

Buckaroo Bash - Bessie's Bed Cowboy Hat!

Hey, Amigos! I was selected as one of the artists for the 2007 Buckaroo Bash, an Adobe Society fundraiser for educational outreach programs being held at the Eiteljorg Museum.


The Eiteljorg Museum is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It opened in 1989 and was founded by Harrison Eiteljorg. The museum showcases Western and Native American art and cultural objects. The museum's design is inspired by the land, people, and architecture of the American Southwest.


Here are some rootin'-tootin' facts on this years Bessie's Bed cowboy hat!
Bessie's Bed is a children's book that I illustrated about a bathrobe-clad woman who shares her warm, dry bed with several animals that have been washed out of their homes one stormy night. The author of this fun beginning reader, Terry Webb Harshman, is an ace-high gal from right here in Indiana, too! I am honored to have the opportunity to create a hat for the 2007 Buckaroo Bash!