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 :)

Sneak Peek

Hi everyone! I've been busy in the studio working on a huge project - 41 paintings - all painted digitally, and am really liking the results. I am a little over half way through with the artwork, and thought I would share a little preview...I am really enjoying the freedom to experiment with different textures and colors, without the fear of ruining the pieces. Friends have been asking me if digital is "easier" or "faster" than watercolor, and certainly it is a time saver not to have to stretch 41 pieces of watercolor paper. However, the actual painting process takes just about the same amount of time for me either way. Digital is definitely its own medium, and I am enjoying seeing my style translate onto the digital canvas.

Katie Kate Cancer Released

Hi All! Exciting news! The first book in the Katie Kate series has been released today: "The Great Katie Kate Tackles Questions About Cancer". You can purchase this book through the purchase link on my website. I actually just received my gratis copies in the mail this morning. They look really great. I am really pleased with how the images fit with the text, with the overall design of the book, and the dust jacket, which has a nice spot UV coating on the title text. We graphic design nerds appreciate such things.

Although I do not have a dedication page in the actual book, this project was a labor of love in honor of the two Greatest Katies I have ever met: My sister Katie O'Keefe and my flower girl Katie McGee. Katie McGee was diagnosed with cancer shortly after my wedding, and fought bravely for years, always maintaining optimism, faith, hope and the propensity to just be a kid. In 2008, however, she lost her battle with the disease, and the world lost one of the best little 9 year olds ever. I know that Katie's spirit was with me as I illustrated these pages, and she makes a cameo appearance on page 18 of the book. My sister Katie was also diagnosed with cancer. Through all of her treatments, appointments, medications, surgeries, and all of the physical and mental stresses that those come along with, Katie managed all the while to attend college and earn her masters degree in business, as one of the youngest in her class and at the top of her class. Katie put it best describing her battle with the disease - "Cancer, you picked the wrong bitch." While not officially in medical remission yet, Katie has cancer on the run and has been "cancer free" for a several years. The physical design of the character Katie Kate is based on my sister as a child (although for artistic purposes, Katie Katie has red hair and green eyes, instead of my sister's brown hair and brown eyes).

So, my Katies, you are both super heroes, and this one is for you.

My love affair with my Cintiq

Oh, Cintiq. How I love you. I feel like I am cheating on my watercolors, having an elicit affair with digital art. Lately, I have really been pushing myself into the digital art transition. After a rough start, I have completed some personal pieces that I am really proud of, and am even doing some digital client work. After much experimentation, I have found the digital tools and methods that are right for me, and I can now execute a digital painting just as fast as a traditional one (not counting the time it takes to stretch paper and scan/color correct the traditional art).

Through this process, I have truly begun to see digital art as more of a medium than a method. People tend to ask me "is it easier?". Well...are oil paints easier than watercolors? Are markers easier than colored pencils? Every medium has its strengths and challenges, and those vary depending upon the natural skills and techniques of the artist. For me, some things come easier digitally. I find that varying my color pallet, creating dramatic lighting, and experimenting with textures are more natural for me digitally. Why? Probably because if I hate the color I just created, I can delete it. With watercolor, it must be right the first time, and so I don't take as many risks. My time schedules for projects don't often allow for frequent re-dos of pages. However, I find that I miss being able to use my whole arm to create strokes, the feel and smell of the paper, and the natural "artist's hand" which you can see in traditional work. With digital art, I have to remember to leave in "mistakes" and "imperfections" that show a piece was done by a person and not a machine. It is easy for digital art to look stale and stiff, which is something that I must fight against. I love the looseness of my sketching and the energy in my pencil lines, and I must make an effort to preserve those qualities in my digital work. Plus, digital art is not without color challenges. My traditional art must go through the time consuming process of scanning and color correction, but I learned very quickly with my digital art that my Cintiq displays color differently than my main monitor. I must often move the image back and forth between the two to make sure that my colors don't nice on both, so that I can be confident that values and colors will look right when they go to print. Watercolor paintings can be easily damaged. Digital art can be accidentally overwritten! (Thank you, my beloved backup hard drive, for keeping my artwork safe from myself!)

I like to think of myself as an illustrator. Not a traditional illustrator. Not a digital illustrator. Just an illustrator who is capable of using a variety of mediums to create the right piece of art for the project. I hope to one day take this even further, and blend my traditional and digital techniques, perhaps beginning a painting traditionally and then taking it into the computer, so that I can harness the unique properties of both mediums. This will probably be very far down the road before I can introduce this approach to my professional portfolio, as the illustrators who do this successfully are very skilled, very experienced, and have learned through much trial and error. In the meanwhile, I am looking forward to NOT having to scan and color correct the 41 images I am creating for my current project.

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!

Book Signing

This past weekend, "Reuben Rides the Rails" was officially released at the Children's Museum of Indianpolis. It was such a fun day! I got to meet the author Barb McLaughlin in person. It is very rare that I actually get to meet the authors whose books I illustrate, so this was a rare treat for me! Together, we signed over 200 books (some pre-orders, some purchased on the day of the book signing)! We took pictures together in front of the engine that inspired the book, greeted parents and kids, and took photos with the children as well. Such a busy but very fun day! Thanks go out the the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the Children's Museum Guild for this great project and for hosting us on Saturday. For those wishing to purchase a copy, hardbacks can be purchased from the store at the Children's Museum. Paperback copies can be puchased from Amazon.