Bet You "Didn't Know That"!

Hi everyone! Just sharing the excellent news that my dad's book "I Didn't Know That: How to Care for Your Home, Your Car, and Yourself" is now released! For my father, this project began 5 years ago when I was getting married. I half-jokingly said to him, "Dad, you do a lot of stuff....and I have no idea what that stuff even is! Can you make a binder of all of the things you do for the house and the cars so that I can give it to my husband so that he'll know what I expect him to do?!" Well, Dad began working on that binder of information...and it kept expanding! What started as a detailed "To Do" list evolved into a book that is geared towards people who find themselves on their own - college graduates, the newly single, young professionals - anyone! It's a handy-dad's book of advice and basic fix-it information written as if he was talking to his own daughter. My husband and I keep several copies (including that very first binder) in our kitchen and have often referred to it as we work on household projects. So, if you are looking for that perfect gift for your student who's moving out and into his/her own apartment (where parent's won't be around to fix that leak or explain that strange noise under the hood of the car), you might want to check out this book! Great work, Dad!

Jack & The Toddler Picturebook

Whew! Well, I've been working on the "Jack & The Toddler" project since March, and feel such a sense of accomplishment now that the artwork is completed! This project was huge: 41 paintings. The painting phase alone took me 10 weeks. Above, you can see a few of my favorites. Aside from the "whew!" feeling one gets after completing a project of this size, I am very pleased with another notable feature of these pieces: they were all painted digitally. Up until now, I have worked exclusively in watercolor, and this project marks the first time that I was able to confidently offer the client a digital option, which, after seeing some digital samples, is the route that the client decided to go with for the book. As I was working on these illustrations, I was really pleased with the vibrancy of the colors and the ability to experiment easily with colors and textures. For me, using the tablet and digital brushes felt very much like working in acrylics and colored pencils. The final illustrations still have that painterly quality of the "artist's hand", which made me happy. I don't tend to like pieces that have a plastic-like or too polished look that digital art can sometimes yield. Of course, the true measure of success is client satisfaction, and I am pleased to announce that the final art was accepted by the client without any revisions needed! Yay! No rest for this artist, though! As soon as I put the files on my ftp for client delivery, I began diving straight into the sketches for my next project, "Katie Kate Explains Asthma." It's going to be a busy summer, but I am still finding time to enjoy the pool :)