Sneaking into the Field

My newest portfolio piece, inspired by my pony-crazy daughter!

Sticky Bunny Diner

Check out my new portfolio piece, inspired by my current chocolate cravings, and my daughter who loves bunnies.  I really enjoyed researching retro diner designs and colors for this piece.  Enjoy!

Splash Park

Happy summer, everyone!

New Look for JZ Artworks Online

Thanks go out to Rome Zivoin, my husband and personal web developer, for the beautiful new site that he built for JZ Artworks. My illustration style has evolved quite a bit over the last few years, and we both decided that it was time to give the JZ Artworks a face-lift. We decided that the site should showcase my new digital style, and I love that Rome came up with a layout that really integrates the content into the imagery, much more like a picture book page than the previous site. Also, the average viewer might not be able to appreciate this just from looking at the site, but Rome spent a lot of time using new coding options and solutions that really enhance the site. I hope you all enjoy the new look as much as I do, and if you are interested in seeing more of Rome's website design and development work, check out his online portfolio as well at www.cogwurx.com.

Olivia's Treehouse

For those who might not know, my husband and I are expecting our first child, a little girl, in a little over 5 weeks! So, I just had to take some time to create some custom artwork for the nursery, which has a jungle/monkey theme. It took some time to get the sense of depth just right, but I am really pleased with the result and can't wait to hang the piece in her room! Since the piece is digital, I am having to wait for the printer to get the piece printed before it can officially debut on the nursery wall. Waiting, waiting, waiting. I'm starting to get very good at waiting! Hope you all enjoy the piece!

This Week in the Studio

Painted the cover for "The Great Katie Kate Explains Diabetes". Scanned, color corrected and delivered this painting to the client. Sketched 12 pages for "Jack and the Toddler". Worked on thumbnails for additional pages of this project.
Well, I have officially delivered all of the final art for "The Great Katie Kate Explains Diabetes." I hope the client likes it :) While I wait for approval, I just wanted to share one of my favorite spreads. I just like the expressions on the kids' faces, and I like how Katie's hair turned out. Enjoy!

New Digital Piece

I've been working on this piece for about a month now, from the sketch to as you see it now. This has been much more challenging than my previous digital pieces. It was my intent for this to be a more finished piece rather than an experimental exercise. Thank you to everyone who has seen this piece in its earlier stages and given advice! I am very pleased with the result, and have found myself feeling more comfortable with with a few favorite digital brushes. I'm looking forward to my next digital piece! It is fun to split my days between traditionally painted client projects and my own personal digital work. Thanks also to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, for writing "Hound of the Baskervilles". The audio book has been entertaining me through all of my projects today, and between that and a cup of hot chocolate, I have had a very nice afternoon in the studio!

More digital experimentation

Another experiment. I am starting to get a better feel for how the brushes behave., I think. I am noticing a difference in color between my Cintiq and my main monitor, though, which annoys me. The colors are nice and bright on my Cinitq, but sort of green-ish on my main screen. I am currently trusting the tablet, since my monitor is kind of cheap. However, if you think the colors look off, please let me know. All of feedback is welcome as well! Thanks, all!

Two more digital pieces

I have create two more digital pieces today. I would love to know your feedback. Still learning, but I feel I am making progress.

What's New

It's been an exciting month for JZ Artworks! The studio has finally been painted! I absolutely love the new atmosphere of my workspace. Previously, the room was completely a pinky-beige color (from the trim, to the walls to the ceiling....) Now, the walls are a beautiful light lilac color, with a deeper grape color under the chair-rail. The walls are light enough not to affect the colors of any paintings-in-process, but still feels calm and creative.

Also this month I decided that it was time to begin to learn to create my artwork digitally. Now, I have no plans on saying "goodbye" to watercolor, but I do want to make sure that my skill set does not become obsolete in the future. Technology is not going away, and I was to make sure that my style is adaptable so that I can stay competitive in this industry. So, JZ Artworks bought me an early Christmas gift: a Wacom Cintiq. My previous tablet was old and very small, and was cramping my hands with prolonged use. When I priced the size tablet that I wanted, it was about the same price the coveted Cintiq, so financially, it made sense to get the better tablet. All I can say is that this is a very powerful tool. It takes come getting used to, but I really enjoy being able to draw directly on the screen. I've experimented with some brushes and have been gravitating to a few favorites. I am a long way from being able to call myself a true professional digital artist, but I am feeling pretty good about how my experiments are going. Also, editing my traditional artwork in Photoshop has become easier due to this tool.

Here are some of my experiments:
This first image is a close up of a section of a watercolor illustration I have done.
This next image is that same sketch, but with the girl and the dog colored digitally (the background is obviously not complete).Currently, I feel that my traditional work has more energy in the color, but I do like how clean the details of the digital experiment are turning out, especially around the eyes and in the hair. Your opinions are of course welcome! Well, I have several projects in the works right now, so I have to get back to my art desk. Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!

It's been a crazy summer!

Hi everyone. I haven't written in a while, so I just thought I would write a short update. It's been a crazy summer, but very productive! On the home-front, my husband and I continue to do a lot of work to the new house. We have planted a vegetable garden, and are looking forward to our 14 tomato plants ripening soon. The weather has been mild, so we have not been in the pool as often as we would have liked, but on the warmer days, we have been enjoying having a private place to swim with our family and friends. Plumbing projects have been completed, and new lighting was put up in my studio, so it is a much brighter place to work!

Speaking of the studio, I have been very fortunate to have my plate full of freelance work these past few months. I have a few loose ends to wrap up with some of my projects, but quite a bit of work has been completed over the summer. I finished my first picturebook "Reuben Rides the Rails" for the Indianpolis Children's Museum Guild. This was a huge project which took months to complete! During this time, I also took on many smaller, faster projects. These included artwork to accompany the short story "Lizard Problems" in the November 2009 issue of Highlights Magazine, a large poster detailing the various plants and animals that live in the different levels of the rainforests, some line art, and 16 color illustrations for some textbooks in Korea! I have really been enjoying the diversity of my projects, and have tried something new with each of them (sometimes techniques for applying the paint, sometimes different ways to add the colored pencil, sometimes adding gouache, and sometimes just trying new color combinations). I have had to be very disciplined to coordinate all of the multitasking over the past two months, but all of the projects went very smoothly, and I am hoping for an exciting and productive fall season as well!

One of the new projects that I am just beginning involves two picturebooks for children who are diagnosed with cancer and diabetes. These books will help explain the illness and the treatments to young children, and address their fears and worries. Although I didn't write the books, I feel a very personal connection with them, especially the cancer piece. My flower girl passed away last year from cancer at a very young age. My younger sister has also been diagnosed with cancer. Both my flower girl and my sister share the name "Katie". Amazingly, the main character in both of these new books is "Katie"! I have been keeping both of my "Katies" in mind as I have begun working on characters and sketches. Here is a sneak preview of a sketch from the cancer picturebook.

I'll be going on a vacation soon, and hope to return refreshed and ready to be back in my studio! Happy end of the summer, everyone!

New Studio for JZ Artworks

Well, after 6 months of waiting, my husband and I have finally moved into our new home! We are still unpacking, solving small projects and trying to get settled, but we love it. One of my favorite parts of moving into this home is that I now have my very own studio space. It isn't decorated yet, but my desk and computer are set up, and I have already begun working in the room. It's great! I love having my big art desk back (it was being stored at my parents' house). The desk has a flat file which is perfect for my large sheets of watercolor paper. I also enjoy the natural lighting. My previous workspace was in the basement of our condo, and now I have really enjoyed being able to look out the window while I work.
The room also has a really useful ledge going around 2 of the walls. I have been using this to prop up paintings from my latest book project. This way, I can easily check the colors for consistency as I create each new page. I can't wait for the room to be set up how I envision it, but for now, it is great to have a workspace that is all my own and completely centered around my illustration process.

Expanding the Porfolio

Ah, freelance. You're either working until the wee hours of the night, or not at all! I'm in a bit of a lull right now, and while I am looking hopefully towards the horizon for the next project, I'm also enjoying the opportunity to build my portfolio with some personal pieces. Sometimes, it is more of a challenge to create concepts and illustrations out of thin air than to illustrate with a manuscript! So, I have been drawing inspiration from my own childhood memories and fantasies.

One of my favorite memories was of growing up in Boston. My brother, sister and I would spend so many weekends at the beach, perfecting the art of sand castle building, and digging deep moats to protect our creations from the tide. (The ocean always won out, by the way). One particular sand castle stood out. It was as tall as me (well, the 6 year old me), and we decorated it with all the shells we could find. It was magnificent. Looking back at photos, our castle was really just a very very large embellished pile of sand, but that does not seem to taint the vision that I still have in my mind. So, I painted "The Grand Castle" in honor of our childhood architectural achievement.

Like most kids, I went through a phase where I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I loved to explore the field across the street, and imagine that all of the rocks I collected were fossils. Of course, no 4 year old palentologist should exlore alone, so Dad would take me "trail blazing" across the uncharted territory of the field behind the middle school. I never did find a real dinosaur back there, but you never know where they could have been hiding. Perhaps during my next trip out to Boston, I'll stop by my field and take a look, just in case. Until then, my new "Trail Blazing" piece will keep the fantasy alive.

For my next trick, I will be working on some pieces with more unusual perspectives. I just need to play with some concepts and thumbnails. Stay tuned!

A New Chapter

For the past few years, I have been existing in two worlds. By day, I was a creative director for a multi-media marketing company. By night (and weekends), I was a children’s book illustrator. I enjoyed wonderful successes in both arenas, but eventually, my part time illustrating grew into a full time commitment. So, this past month it was time to officially make the long-awaited transition out of a full time staff position and into full time freelance illustration.

I am very pleased that what began as a part time fulfillment of a dream has evolved into a full time career in which I can find fulfillment and use my talents. I believe that this opportunity to devote my energies more completely to my craft will afford me the time to explore techniques and perfect my craft – ultimately benefiting my clients.

I have also been able to take a part time job for enjoyment. I now work a few hours a week at my local library. This is such an excellent fit, as it allows me to stay in touch with the children of the community, and have access to hundreds of children’s books, both classic and newly released. Being surrounded by the works of such excellent writers and illustrators is encouraging and inspiring.

Currently, I am enjoying being able to take on more projects at a time. At this time, I am working on a magazine cover, Pirate School Book 8 artwork and an illustration for a medical advertisement, as well as some new promotional pieces!

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me reach this new chapter in life, especially to my ever-patient husband, who cooked and cleaned the house so that I could spend nights and weekends illustrating and pursuing my dream!