Brothers

I'm not sure if I'll actually put color on this (too many things I'd need to work out that I'm not wanting to do right now), but I love the story. My oldest son really likes playing with kids (as opposed to me) and is always trying to get my youngest to do something with him. After dancing together last Sunday, the youngest decided he was done and lugged his stool to the window to look at the snow. My oldest said, "OK, now we can look at the snow!" He went over to my youngest and tenderly put his hand on the small of his brother's back. My youngest wasn't so sure about the whole thing, but it certainly filled me up with warm joy!

Hello Again!

OK, so I know I haven't been around for a while, but I just realized that it's been since JULY since I last posted! Ahem.

Watercolor Wednesdays has already seen this illo, but some of you have not. I created this for a children's book I wrote many years ago that I hope to one day publish.

Speaking of books, I finished my very first for Brown Books (an "all-purpose" publishing house - they help people self-publish books). The way it worked was they asked me to submit a spec piece (like the one below) for an author to look at. The author liked my style and chose me to illustrate the story. It was nice to get paid (howbeit a bit meager), to add to my portfolio, and to compliment my resume. Once the book is published (March-ish?) I can share illo's.

My tendonitis has much improved, thanks to a nifty personal ultrasound machine I purchased. It is SOOO nice to be able to do things without being in pain (or, worse, feeling like I'm only making things worse)!

tendonitis

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've got tendonitis in both elbows that I'm trying to rest and heal from and everything aggravates it. Sigh.

I've done 2 illo's on spec recently. I didn't get the job for the one below but I'm waiting on the other. Because of tendonitis, I was relieved not to get the job. But I do like how the illo turned out.

Stories for Children - June

Here's my latest illo for Stories for Children. 

"sticky"

Here's my Watercolor Wednesday's contribution this week. The prompt was "sticky," and what could be more "sticky" than some roasted marshmallows on a stick?

Illustration Friday: Unfold

Saying goodbye to an old friend, however bittersweet, also leads to the unfolding of new adventures. What kind of future awaits this boy, his teacher, and (of course) the hamster? That unknown can be scary, but I always feel a bit of excitement in these situations. 

I created this for Watercolor Wednesdays wanting to use scrap paper and a quick sketch. I like how it turned out, but the colors didn't scan in as nicely as the original. Reds, for some reason, come out flaming hot while the more subtle colors tend to fade. Oh well. My favorite part of the illo is her skirt. And the hamster (although you can't see it very well). 

By the way, an editor from Brown Books emailed me a couple weeks ago after having found one of my portfolios on the web (coroflot). She likes my stuff and asked if I'd like to be a freelance illustrator for their company. I realize that she may never actually call with an assignment for me, but just the thought that an editor from an established publishing company likes my work gave me the boost I needed. I don't think I could ever quit illustrating (it's way too much fun), but it is easy to feel discouraged and to wonder if I really have what it takes.  

Sketch

Here's my latest sketch (though I am working on others). Once again, this fun idea is inspired by my very creative husband. What would I do without him?

Old Stuff

I was just organizing all my files and came across these I did before I started doing children's illustration. I really enjoy using black and white and pencil since it forces me to create value in ways that I don't always achieve with color. Can you tell I love to do babies and little kids?

I finished it

Here's the final product. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Let me know what you think. Would you do anything different?

stories for children magazine sketch

Here's my sketch for the June issue for Stories for Children magazine, titled The Ant and the Soccer ball. I have to say, it's been lots of fun doing insects. It's a little challenging trying to be creative, but once I get an idea, it's fun. Let me know if you see anything wrong or that could be done better.

Thanks!

Thank you, everyone who commented to my last post. You all echoed things I felt. Just looking at the last two illo's made me cringe whenever I looked at either of them, all for the reasons you gave. Your comments pushed me to try again, and I'm much happier with the results. There are still a few things I'd like to change, but overall I'm much more pleased with the way this one finally turned out. Thanks again for your help! I hope you like the changes, too.

Which one do you prefer?

My husband helps me so much with my illustrations, always encouraging me to do better than I think I can. He's always liked the characters in this illo, but he also pointed out some things that needed help. Since I like this illo myself, I decided to redo it. There are a lot of things I like better, but some things didn't turn out quite as well (in my opinion) as they did originally. Out of curiosity, which do you prefer? And after you've done that, take a close look to see how many differences you can find.

What a friend!

Giraffes seem like they'd be so kind and friendly if they could talk. Thanks to this giraffe, our mouse traveler can get the directions he's been looking for (or maybe it's a she? I didn't quite make up my mind).

Fairy Friendship

Here's another illo I did for Watercolor Wednesdays.

Bunny Friends

I just finished this. My son has a couple girls who think he's pretty cool (probably because his favorite color is pink) and I drew this while thinking of them.

Elephant Reader

I did this elephant a while back in color (you may have seen it). I liked the idea, but I didn't like the finished product. Since I've been needing more black and white and animal pieces, I decided to redo this one. I also made him more realistic. I'm much happier with the way he turned out.

Today I sent out packets of my art samples with the hope of trying to get an agent. Who knows what'll happen, but I certainly hope one of the five will like my work. At the present I feel that I would go much further with an agent than without one. We'll see . . .

Illustration Friday: Fleeting

These ladybugs are enjoying the rain before it fleets away (does that work?) 

Rainy days,

Splashing the bugs away.

On their way to where they slide around.

Can you tell me how to get,

How to get to Ladybug Street?

(Think Sesame Street's song.)

OK, so don't roll your eyes. I hope you like the illustration anyway. And if you like the splashes (like I am happy they turned out), you have my husband to thank. The idea came from the film, Microcosmos, by the way. 

Three Little "Pigs"

Here's my latest illo. I hope you like it!

Dreamers

Here are two illo's that I finished last night. I really like the one above. It epitomizes me when I was growing up (and probably still does). I lived to dance and dress up. What were YOU like when you were a kid? Hopefully you didn't have many sad days like the poor girl below. 

Swing!

I'm trying to perfect my portfolio and, after concluding that I don't have enough black and white illo's, decided to work on this. It comes from an old sketch I did a year or two ago that I always liked. I like the energy. I'm mostly pleased with the way it turned out, but there are some things that I'm not as happy about. Does it work for you? I really enjoy working with b/w, probably because my colors are limited and I have to work within just that framework, making things work out in a way that too many options doesn't.

Playing Troubles

Sometimes playing leads to bumps and bruises. Thank goodness for kind brothers willing to offer a little love!

Stories for Children - April

Here's my newest illo for Stories for Children. A boy and his mom have a hair-raising experience on a ride. 

Babies - and a new scanner

I'm working on another idea I have for a novelty book which involves babies and toddlers. Here are a few spots that I painted for it (the last two posts are also included). I thought they turned out pretty well. More importantly, perhaps, I got a new scanner!!! I am so excited. The top illo's are scanned in with the new one and the bottom are from the old (and that's even after trying to manipulate colors). I am quite pleased with how much better things are. It makes me want to rescan everything I have on my website. 

What do you think of the difference?

silly babies

Here are a couple illo's I've done of babies doing silly things. I'm really frustrated with how washed out they look. Scanning things always does that. Sometimes I try to compensate for it and end up putting too much color in. Sometimes I try to play with the color adjustments (like in the top one) but then other problems come into play (like her green shirt isn't quite that tone, the speckles around her look digitized, etc). Oh well. I hope you like them anyway!

my latest illo

Here's the latest piece of work I finished (Stories for Children). Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been working on a couple projects that I'd like to send out soon, but there isn't much worth seeing at the moment. That and my baby is sick and teething again (at least these are his four canines, and after this he will hopefully have a break from pain until his two year molars decide to appear), I've been sick, and my husband has been working like crazy (fortunately, we've reached the end of that, we hope). All of this leaves me feeling quite weary by the end of the day. Thank goodness I have something to look forward to at the end of the day, although sometimes I think that it's part of the problem (wanting to do more with it when I've got other obligations pressing). 

BLAH blah BLAH blah BLAH

or, as my husband always says: BLOG blog BLOG blog BLOG

It's off!

I finally sent off Jessica's Sunbeam Window today. Who knows if it'll be accepted and published, but I've done my part.

Illustration Friday: Climbing

Some of you have already seen this, but it fits the topic. Peri is "climbing" her way to the finish of her "monstrous mile." I illustrated it a few months ago for Stories for Children and like the way it turned out, especially her hair. I also like Peri's gym teacher, but you can't see her expression as well. I hope you like it.

Valentine in color

I finished it. What do you think? Too pink? Just right? 

Stories for Children sketch

I just wanted to post my sketch for the upcoming issue for Stories for Children magazine. I like a lot of elements in this sketch and hope that I can make it work in color.