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

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! 

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". 

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! 

Faerie Lights in the Garden of Wishes

Hoping that all of your wishes and dreams for 2013 come true!  Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that your holiday is full of special moments with your family, friends and loved ones!

SCBWI Illustrator's Day

On Sept 8, I was excited to be a part of the first annual SCBWI-Indiana Illustrator's Day!  It was so great to connect with local illustrators, and also to hear speakers with topics of particular interest to illustrators.  I was able to participate in two capacities: both as an attendee and a speaker. 

First of all, the event was hosted by 4 Kids Bookstore in Zionsville.  I had never been in there before, and after spending every single break going through the store's shelves, I have to give it a bunch of love.  AMAZING store with quality toys and books.  Lots of fabulous, beautifully illustrated books, Melissa and Doug toys (I even found train tracks parts sold separately!), puzzles, etc.  Seriously, go shop there for your kids' Christmas gifts.

OK, now back to the conference.  As an attendee, I was especially looking forward to hearing Michele Farley speak about her experiences on the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Committee.  While we were all put under oath not to divulge the secrets of the "behind the scenes" for the Caldecott award, it was really enriching to learn what the thought processes were as the committee members went through the picturebooks, why certain books made it high up on the list and others did not, and seeing "highlights" from the picture book stacks. I also enjoyed the "insider's look" at the award and the selection process.

As a speaker, I was asked to give a talk about art reps/agents, and my personal experiences as an agented illustrator.  Several people who attended asked it I would make the information from my presentation available online, and I said "check out my blog. I'll post it there."  Most of my presentation was adapted from a blog post that I wrote back in 2010.  So, if you are an illustrator looking for that information from my presenation, please visit this blog post:
http://jzartworksblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/bit-about-representation.html
I am working on trying to get my PowerPoint presentation converted to an uploadable PDF, but so far am running into some glitches.  However, the above blog post has 90% of the information that I had in my presenation, for those who are interested.

Thank you SCBWI-Indiana for putting on this great event and for allowing me to be a part of the day!