marshmallow soup (1 of 2)

I have an illustration in the February issue of Ladybug magazine:

I'll post some of the process for it tomorrow.

ornate frames

I've been drawing a lot of ornate frames for some personal work
that I'm doing.

some video inspiration

I've come across quite a few interesting and inspiring videos lately that I wanted to share.

• The first one is a video by Mike Kerr about the sketchbooks of children's book illustrator Renata Liwska:


A Quiet Look - How to become a children's book illustrator in one (not so easy) step from mike kerr on Vimeo.



• Next is a TED talk by children's book writer and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka:




• And finally, the latest Oliver Jeffers video about how he makes picture books:


Oliver Jeffers Author Film 2013 from Oliver Jeffers on Vimeo.


Also, a few months back I read a really great article via Renata Liwska's blog.  It was about how to work with an illustrator and was written by Deborah Underwood, a writer Renata has worked with on several picture books.  You can read it here.

small oval faces

new old scissors

I recently acquired these scissors for my studio.  They were previously owned by my grandmother, Pauline Hudon.  It's hard to explain the joy that I get from using them, and even from just seeing them in the jar on my desk. They work beautifully, but it's more than that.  She actually used these scissors and using them makes me feel close to her. And I love that she put her initials on them.

darth vader

my latest promo

I just sent these out to potential clients in the children's market.

stormtrooper

Oops! I meant to post this yesterday :)

this moose belongs to me

As I'm sure you know, I love picture books and I have quite a nice collection going. It's not a huge collection yet, but it's carefully curated. I only add books with art that excites and inspires me. I have shared books from my collection in this space in the past, but I'm hoping to do more of it in the comings months. The following book was a recent Christmas gift that I am happy to add to my collection.

This Moose Belongs to Me was written and illustrated by one of my favorite picture book makers, Oliver Jeffers. All of his books are brilliant, but The Incredible Book Eating Boy remains my absolute favorite. I wrote about it here. This Moose Belongs To Me is now my second favorite of his books :)

The story is adorable and the images are a perfect compliment to the text.  In terms of content, the illustrations have lots of little clues and details that add to the story. I notice something new every time I read it. In terms of style, I love the combination of the fully rendered backgrounds and the more playfully drawn characters in the foregrounds.

What I really admire about the work of Oliver Jeffers is his ability to tell simple but clever stories in a simple but clever way. And his illustrations are so loose and free. Because I struggle with that in my own work, I really appreciate it in the work of artists who make it look easy.

leia & luke

Lately I've been sketching Star Wars characters in my style. Above is Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.