Monday, November 25, 2013

How Can I Help

Hi Everyone,
It's been an exciting month for book releases! I just got a copy of my newest picture book "How Can I Help?  God's Calling for Kids" in the mail!  It was such a treat to open, and my daughter had me read it to her right out of the envelope. 
http://www.amazon.com/How-Help-Gods-Calling-Kids/dp/0758643470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385415510&sr=8-1&keywords=how+can+i+help+god%27s+calling+for+kids
Also, Concordia Publishing sent me this video about how one dad/pastor uses the book in his own life.


Enjoy!

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Summer Fairy

Exciting news!  My newest picture book "The Summer Fairy" has been released! 
This is a story about a fairy who visits every year on the last day of school to help the kids kick off summer vacation.  Do you want the Summer Fairy to visit you?  Just pick a flower on the last day of school, put it in the vase included with the book, and the Summer Fairy will visit you that night...leaving you a fun summer stash in the morning! 
I was so excited to get my copies.  The book comes beautifully packaged in a plastic case with cloth flower petals inside and a reusable plastic vase inserted into the back cover.  If you want to invite the Summer Fairy to your home, you can purchase the book at www.TheSummerFairy.com.  Also, check out this book trailer that the author made.  I love how she showcased so much of the artwork.  Enjoy!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Into the Land of Snowflakes

I always paint a special piece for my yearly Christmas card to family and clients.  This year has been a year of "magical pieces".  I started off 2013 with "Faerie Lights in the Garden of Wishes".  Later, in the spring, I featured a magical ladybug in "Ladybug Picnic".  Plus, one of my biggest client projects of the year was a picture book about a fairy.  So, it seemed right to close out the year with a personal piece with a magical theme.  This artwork was loosely inspired by "The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake".  Hope you enjoy!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Fun With Kids

MB Artists' new promotional catalog themed "Fun With Kids" has been released!  Enjoy this new collection of artwork by this great group of artists!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Good News Shoes

I have just wrapped up the cover art for the third title in Zonderkidz new "Faithgirlz - Good News Shoes" series.  I'm loving these books about Riley Mae, official sporty spokesgirl for the Swiftriver Shoe Company and unofficial mystery sleuth.  It was fun to design Riley Mae and all of her trendy shoes (each title features a different shoe).  The covers for the first two books have been released, and the books will be available for purchase in January 2014!
 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Splash Park

Happy summer, everyone!

Clubs In My Bag

My newest picture book, "The Clubs in my Bag" has been released by The Littlest Golfer!  I just got my copies in the mail the other day, and my daughter has taken to carrying the book around the house.  She loves the little turtles.  If you are interested in purchasing a copy for your little golfer, just click the image below.  Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

MB Artists Family Catalog

My agency just put out its newest promotional catalog.  The theme for this one was "Family".  Hope you all enjoy all of the great pieces by the amazing MB Artist illustrators.  I love being a part of this talented group!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Katie Kate Explains Epilepsy

It's been a busy spring!  In addition to working on a the covers for a new book series for ZonderKidz,  I just wrapped up the last book in the Katie Kate series, "The Great Katie Kate Explains Epilespy."  Here is a sneak peak of the cover art for this latest title.

I have several other picture books in the works for this summer as well, and will be wrapping up one of them later this month.  Stay tuned for some more sneak peaks!  Happy Summer!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Promotional Postcards

Hi everyone!  Fellow illustrator Kristi Valiant (who has an adorable book about dancing penguins coming out later this year; everyone go preorder it) has a very informative blog post on promotional postcards for illustrators (you know, the ones you make and send out to art directors several times a yaer hoping that someone says "YES!  I love his/her work and have the perfect project for this art style!")  In any case, I wanted to share this post with you, because it is a great resourse for illustrators who are promoting themselves, their artwork, or their upcoming books.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Monsters Come Out At Night

My agency puts out a quarterly catalog featuring all of the artists in our group, and each catalog has a theme.  The second catalog of the year has the theme "Family", and I decided to take a slightly darker view of the subject than would be "typical" for the children's market, but is nonetheless very real for many children.

Fairy Tales

MB Artists, the amazing artist agency that I belong to, has released a promotional catalog with the theme "Fairy Tales".  Each artist contributed a piece of artwork with that theme. There are so many great illustrations!
http://files.flipsnack.com/iframe/embed.html?hash=fdumen9c&wmode=window&bgcolor=EEEEEE&useOnSW=true&t=13672483201367248319

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Just saw the book covers featuring the artwork that I created for the two new Lily Series books by Nancy Rue from Zonderkidz:  "Lily's Passport to Paris" and "Lily's In London".  These should be released later this year.  I love Lily and all of her wild orange hair! 

Monday, April 8, 2013

Keeping busy

It's been a busy spring!  I'm excited to be working on several book projects all at once, all for different publishers and age groups.  I can't say much about them right now, but am looking forward to sharing some of the artwork with you later in the year.  Plus, at least two of the projects will be books that my toddler can enjoy, so I am happy to be working on books that will eventually make their way onto her books shelf.  I also have a few new portfolio pieces to share.  My friend Missy announced her engagement last month, and she asked me to create an illustration to be printed on the back of the wedding invitation.  I was honored to contribute in this way to her special day.  She wanted something that would reflect her and the groom's personalities, little inside jokes that pertain to their relationship, and Chicago sites that wedding guests will get to enjoy during the wedding weekend.  Here is the finished piece.  I am so glad that Missy liked it!
I also worked on a self-promotional image, which was inspired by my daughter's love of ladybugs and cooking.  Olivia loves helping to make meals (even if "helping" really means standing next to me and eating the ingredients that I am trying to use), and I wanted to create something fun and product-oriented that would appeal to little girls like Olivia, but without too much pink or frills.  Instead of "foofy", I wanted "quirky and playful", and was inspired by modern patterns, toddler girls' outfits, and quirky color combinations of the sort that you might associate with "Alice in Wonderland". 

Monday, February 11, 2013

The Littlest Golfer

I just finished the artwork for my latest picturebook, commissioned by The Littlest Golfer, and featuring their characters Putter and Sandy.  When I was first introduced to The Littlest Golfer via Nicole Weller, who sent my daughter the most adorable set of real toddler golf clubs, I immediately thought, "Wow...those turtles in the logo are so cute!  They would make great picture book characters...."  I was so excited when the opportunity came about to work with The Littlest Golfer to illustrate their upcoming children's book.  I really enjoyed interpreting Putter and Sandy in my own style and bringing them to life.  I really wanted to express the fun that the turtles have on the golf course, and to capture the way that young children learn and approach new experiences...with a mixture of some silliness, some mistakes and enthusiam!  Here is one of my favorite spreads from the book.  I'll post the release date as soon as I know it!