Patriotic Book

So I'm sharing a few sneak peaks at a book I have coming out this June. I've shown a couple of things over the past year but it's all finished and at the printers. I've seen some color proofs and I am sooooo excited about this book. It's been a growing experience for me since I don't think of myself as a wonderful watercolorist...especially in regards to landscapes. But this book had a lot of landscape type backgrounds so what else could I do but stretch and learn (it was all my idea in the first place...crazy me).

So I had this idea. I took a landscape watercolor painting course. I practiced. I sketched. And then...

After a lot of research and looking at pictures and recalling childhood trips across country, out came the book in tiny thumbnail sketch form. I'll show you the art process for one of the book's illustrations.

tiny 1x2 inch thumbnail of Kansas illustration

printed out the sketch I drew onto watercolor paper...ready to paint the foreground elements

main elements painted

now time for the background landscape

cornfields under a  big Kansas sky. 

ready to scan in and join up

You'll have to wait to see the background and foreground all put together in the book. I wish I could show you right now. But...

Here are some peaks at a few more as they were in progress at one stage or another. Bonus points if you can guess where the locations are without seeing the full view. Good luck! (Can't wait to show you the rest!)

So I take the backgrounds I paint and the foreground objects I paint and put them together in Photoshop. 

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Kid Parade Portraits

already matted and behind glass so the snapshot isn't that great

I've done a few "Kid Parade Portraits" fairly recently. One shown above was of my own kids (depicted younger than they are) and the other I'm sharing is of a friend's children. I show some of the process on that one too. I did most of the actual painting of it at a School Art Auction night where I auctioned off a custom kid portrait (to be created after the auction) for whoever bid the highest. 

If you are interested in commissioning one for yourself or a friend, Contact Me under the contact button on my website. 

Anywho, here are a few pics...

mock up sketch on the computer to get client approval

final drawing before painting

final painting

me at the school art auction, painting

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Sketch Thoughts

Over the Christmas Season, I had a chance to reflect upon some of the more unfortunate children in the world. I felt the responsibility to my own children deeply and at the same time realized that as a creator of children's books I also have a responsibility to children in that capacity. Here is a sketched note of my thoughts.

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Thanksgiving Dinner Party Portraits

The day after thanksgiving, we went out to dinner with some family. Where did we go? Out for SUSHI! However, the wait to fill the big order was a little long and tedious so I am glad the kiddos at our table were provided with some crayons. Here's what I did with a little box on the waxy paper placemats. Maybe I could turn it into a restaurant side show...offer my services. What do you think? (Just kidding of course)

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Halloween Fun! Despicable Me 2 Characters Costumes: Gru, Agent Lucy Wilde, Minion

Just a quick post, post-Halloween. Maybe the costume links will help you out for next year or for Comic Con sometime. :-)

This year my little toddler wanted to be a minion for halloween. He LOVES the Despicable Me movies. So I followed suit...I dressed as Lucy Wilde, Agent for the Anti Villain League and made a lovely nose (click for instructions) complete with stick-on mustache eyebrows and used a bald cap for my hubby to be Gru.

Here are some supplies, the pics and some costume tips...

Minion-
yellow construction toy hat
yellow shirt
denim overalls
shipping labels to print logo on (logo below...print out on Avery 8164 shipping label, then cut out and stick on)
black stretchy gloves
Black shoes
minion goggles (toy or created yourself)

My Minion (sans gloves)

Agent Lucy Wilde, AVL :

Orange hair spray color

large sunglasses

pink and white polka dot material to make a scarf or buy this one

turquoise dress

spike heels (white or neutral)

lipstick (for lipstick taser)

shipping labels for badge printout

Here's a file of the badge to print out in MSWord. If you don't have that program, here's a pdf. print out on Avery 8164 shipping labels or its equivalent. My printer was losing its ink so the badge book I printed ended up a striped turquoise instead of full turquoise. But if you have turquoise duct tape or cardstock, just use that to make a flip open badge holder and stick your labels inside.

 Gru:
Black jacket
preferably black skinny pants (but all we had were gray slacks)
gray and black striped scarf (all we had was gray so I used black tape to make stripes)
Bald cap (or naturally bald head)
Long nose (here are the instructions I used)
Dollar Store stick on mustaches for eyebrows
rubber band

I made the nose and the eyebrows as one aluminum foil piece, kind of like a unibrow with a nose. Then covered in masking tape. Painted with flesh colored acrylic paint (mixed yellow ochre, white and alizarin crimson). Let dry. Stapled rubberband to ends of eyebrows so it could go around head and hold on to the face. Then used the stick on mustaches as actual eyebrows.

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No Excuses...But I'm back: Hosting Erin and Philip Stead and more

Hello all. I'm so sorry I was absent all summer and for half of Fall. I won't make any excuses only say that family, work and life passes by quickly and sometimes the blog gets left behind.

But on to the now...

The book idea I blogged about last, the one that has to do with collecting (and something SOOOOO much deeper), is all dummied out and in the hands of a very dear copy editor friend, who loves it, and is passing it on to her very dear editor friend. There are no assurances, but a friend on your side in the business is always a lovely thing.

In July I was privileged to host Erin and Philip Stead at the summer BYU Symposium for young readers. It was a wonderful experience. Erin is kind, a bit shy, and very humble about her own art. She attributes all her success back to her husband, Phil, nudging her into children's books. They make a great team all around. Phil is also kind, the more outgoing of the two and very excited about creating new art. They had great tips and fun stories to share. Here's an image from my notes.

I'm currently finishing up with a patriotic book due out June 2014. As soon as the publisher's catalog is out with the cover art I just turned in, I'll post a link. I am REALLY loving this book. The text is actually lyrics in the public domain and has been illustrated before. However, I hope with my spin on the book, it'll take it to an expanded sphere. I know speaking in generals and not giving any specifics is annoying, but unfortunately, that is sometimes the biz.

And just a little more of a sneak peak of that one...probably as much as I can show right now (but look at earlier posts and you'll see another):

On that note (of having to be hush hush), I'm also working with a VERY big client...NOT on a picture book at all, and I can't say a word about it until probably February (that's so annoying, I know). But just be happy for me and know that if my house doesn't get decorated much for the holidays, it's all because I'm feverishly trying to make deadlines.

WISH ME LUCK!

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