New Moon Magazine Release

Hi everyone! Just an announcement that my artwork is appearing in the Sept/Oct 2008 issue of New Moon. The magazine is available for purchase through New Moon's online store. The theme of this issue is "Things that go Bump in the Night." I had a whole lot of fun concepting for this cover. When I was little, I used to be afraid of the dark, and especially the strange shadows that you tend to see at night. For this artwork, I thought of those shadows coming to life on Halloween, dressing up in masks, and collecting dreams from sleeping children. Suddenly, those nighttime shadows don't seems so scary anymore....

In Memory of Katie

On July 21st this year, Katie McGee passed away at the age of 9. She was the daughter of our friend Bonnie, and the flower girl in our wedding. Shortly after the wedding, Katie was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. She had a very rough 3 years of treatment. Although she was positive and brave during this time, Katie lost her battle just before what would have been her final treatment, and passed away. It was Katie's desire to be cremated, and I was honored when her mother asked me to produce a piece of artwork to be engraved onto the urn's lid. Bonnie wanted a picture of an angel holding Katie's favorite bear. The line work had to be simple so that the wood carver could easily reproduce the drawing in wood. I was very glad when I showed Bonnie the artwork yesterday, and it was exactly what she wanted. There isn't much you can say when a child dies, but I am very glad to have been able to do this for Katie and her family.

End of the Hedge Maze

I work part time in the Young Adult Department of my local library, and am constantly surrounded by inspiration. These past few months, I've been reading "boy adventure" novels, such as "Airborne" and the "Pendragon" series, so that I can help those reluctant readers find books that might interest them. In doing so, I've really been inspired by steam punk and alternate/other worlds. So, I decided to incorporate those elements into my new piece. I wanted to capture feelings of discovery, challenge and even a little confusion. Setting the children in a hedge maze seemed like the perfect combination of quest and play. I also wanted to accomplish some portfolio-rounding-out with this piece by experiementing with different angles and colors. It was a bit of a challenge to set the piece at sunset and to keep control of what that would mean for the colors, but I am happy with the result. Overall, I am most pleased with the sense of "story" in this piece. Now if only someone would write the rest of the chapter so I can find out what happens to those two kids.....

Themes

I love it when a group of artists are given a broad theme and then have to each interpret that theme according to his or her own style. It is fascinating to see what each artist comes up with! This year, MB Artists is having their annual fall party for artists and art directors. The agency wanted each illustrator to create 2 small (printed at 1 inch x 1 inch!) pieces of line art based on the theme of transportation to be used on the invitation and other promotional give-away items. Working so small can be a challenge, because there is only so much detail that can be successfully included without cluttering up the work.

For my first piece, I wanted to highlight my favorite subject matter to draw - children. I did not want to picture any traditional form of transportation, and tried to think of something unusual, but recognizable. In the end, I decided on the segue, since kids are so embracing of new technology and the future. Plus, it's a really cool machine! For my second piece, I wanted to show that I can draw animals. Here, I wanted to get a little more playful. Because I love the porcupine from one of my portfolio pieces, I decided to experiment with his character a bit more in this assignment.

I wish I could see what all of the other artists created for their "transportation" line art. I am sure there are some really clever illustrations in the mix! I guess I'll just have to wait until September to see them all!

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!

Pirate School Series Concludes

Well, I just got the news that the adventures of Pete and his Pirate School friends will be coming to an end in the 8th and last book of the series. The final art for this title has been completed, and thus ends my 2 year relationship with those characters. It makes me sad. The whole experience of illustrating the books and working with the team at Grosset & Dunlap was wonderful. It is kind of strange to think that I won't be spending the next few nights drawing or painting "Pirate School" art. Since I have been working on the series since 2006, it just sort of became ingrained into my daily routine!

However, isn't there a song somewhere that says "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"? "Pirate School" may be ending, but I am eager to see what new beginnings come of this. I am looking forward to new projects with new characters to bring to life! Right now I have about 3 possibilities in the works, and hopefully some of those will pan out into illustration opportunities.

In the meanwhile, I have taken this time to experiment and paint a new piece just for me and my portfolio. "The Grand Castle" is inspired by a childhood memory of building a sand castle with my siblings. It was really just a huge mound of sand decorated with shells and driftwood, but we thought it was magnificent. So, I have painted a piece to remember that moment of childhood imaginings and creativity.

So it is with eyes on the horizon that I say, "Arrgh, farewell! It's been swell, matey," to "Pirate School." Hopefully I will have a new post soon to let you know what new beginnings emerge from the end of this chapter! Wish me luck!

New Projects and Pieces

This past month has been full of great projects, both for clients and for the portfolio. In addition to my continuing work on the Pirate School series, I have also had the chance to work on a magazine cover for New Moon and an illustration for an ad agency. I can't wait to see the pieces in print! Plus (speaking of seeing your work in print), I was thrilled to receive my advance copies of Pirate School Book 6 today. The books are actually being released in May 1, 2008. I really like how the illustrations printed in this book. I feel like the contrast and subtlety that was in the original black & white art was reproduced well. Also, this particular story had great opportunities for letting the illustrated characters "ham it up", so it was great to flip through the book and remember how fun it was to envision the scenes during the sketch stage so many months ago!

I have also enjoyed having more time to create new pieces for my portfolio. Particularly I have been experimenting with anthropomorphic subject matter and contemporary children's scene. Right now, I am working on a slumber party piece, which I hope will make a fun addition to my portfolio! My husband also surprised me with a new set of paints. I love them! The colors are so vibrant, and the pieces are really enhanced by this new variety of color choices. The cover for the New Moon Sept/Oct magazine, the cover for Pirate School 8 and my Porcupine at Summer Camp portfolio piece were all painted with these new watercolors.

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful start to spring! I'm off to go start some new sketches....while sitting outside on my porch - so wonderful after spending so many winter months inside!

For anyone wishing to purchase Pirate School 6, you can do so via the purchase section of my website. Thank you!