Summer Lovin'...

Memorial Day holiday weekend always marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer! In order to celebrate the coming months I thought I'd share my most recent wedding invitation with custom artwork done for a private client.

Wishing everyone a fantastic summer full of fun, love, and everything in between...!

What Maurice Sendak Meant to Me...

So I was planning on doing a post this morning about some of my new work, but it just didn't seem right considering the events that have recently transpired.  Maurice Sendak, one of the most influential writer/illustrators of the childrens literature world, passed away today.

Maurice Sendak: 1928 - 2012

I don't believe I need to list a catalogue of great things Maurice Sendak did, because if you are reading this you undoubtedly are already a fan, or at least know of his work.  Mr. Sendak was nothing if not cutting edge, dark, with a twist of lighthearted fun.  In a portfolio review I had at my first SCBWI conference a book designer from Simon & Schuster told me that elements of my work had a darkness to it.  She went on to say that Maurice Sendak had recently given a talk and believed that this was an element missing from current picture books. Children liked to be scared and know at the end that they will be okay.  I was so flattered by this mild association, that even though I know a lot of publishers probably wouldn't like "the dark stuff" I still continue to add an element or two when I feel it's necessary.

Some "darker" imagery from my portfolio at the time

I will not hesitate to say that Mr. Sendak has had a huge influence on my work. He not only inspired my illustration work, but also my writing and even dating back to my years as a costume designer.  I was fortunate enough to get projects which required the design to have a fabulous combination of  darkness twisted up with some humor.  This sensibility has carried through to a lot of my other work.

Costume Designs from Productions of "The Skriker" and "Burning Desires" produced by The Defiant Theater

 Most books nowadays have a much lighter feel, whether they are dealing with an annoying baby brother or sister, trouble at school, or a character just trying to fit in. Sendak's newest book, Bumble-ardy reads more like a work of art.  His edge isn't lost with age, but perhaps even more severe with Bumble-ardy's auntie threatening to turn him into ham for misbehaving. Yet there is still that light touch of love at the end... in only the way Maurice could do it.

In my studio I try to surround myself with things that inspire and influence me.  I have pictures of my dog (of course), cartoons that make me laugh, shelves with rotating picture books that I face out every month for new inspiration, but the one thing I have that will now mean more to me than ever is a print from "Where the Wild Things Are."  Interestingly enough I purchased this print back in the summer of 1999, while working as a designer and assistant at a theater in Wisconsin, having no idea about the creative shift my future held.  What I did know was that as a child this book fascinated me.  I remember taking it out in the school library multiple times and just staring at the illustrations of the monsters.  I was fascinated by the details, the line work, and everything in between.  Funny thing is, I am still fascinated.

I consider myself to be very fortunate that I was able to meet Maurice Sendak while working on an opera version of his book Brundibar that he designed in 2003.  Although our paths crossed very briefly, he was sweet and kind and especially great to the kids in the show.  

If I could go back in time, I wish I would have thanked him for all of his work, but then again, maybe by being a fan of his work...I already have. 

“But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go - we’ll eat you up - we love you so!”

Goodbye Maurice. Thanks for breaking the rules and being an artist I could look up to.  You will be missed, but your work will be gobbled up by children forever.  

"Horsemanship is a Fine Art..."

This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend a horse clinic run by world class horseman and clinician, Buck Brannaman.  For anybody out there who hasn't heard of Buck, you should get yourself in front of a TV and watch the 2011 documentary made about him.  You don't have to be a horse lover to appreciate it, it's more about being human than anything.  Here's a little taste....

That being said - I'm sure you're wondering - what does this have to do with your artwork? Well, I truly believe that inspiration comes from all sorts of different places and this week my inspiration happens to come from a cowboy and the four legged friends he helps.  I came to the clinic armed with my sketchpad and prismacolors - ready to tackle some animal life drawing and to continue to hone my equine drawing skills (along with absorbing as much horseman knowledge that I could).  I love horses and have been riding for awhile, but I've found that they are one of the more difficult animals to draw from life.  They are so fast and fluid, it's much easier to draw the sleeping polar bears at the zoo!

The four day clinic included a morning session on starting colts (training young horses who have never or hardly been ridden) and the second half was a horsemanship class (like a fine-tuned riding lesson).  They were both fascinating to watch.  It was also a privilege to watch a trainer like Buck do what he does best - ride and work with horses.  I felt like I was watching Michelangelo paint or Rodin sculpt.  Truly a master.

The Horse Whisperer -Buck Brannaman

       

                                                                                            Reducing colts' fear by getting them used to riding, noises & touch

  

Horsemanship - Buck demonstrating following another horse and mimicking its moves - back up,  reverse directions, change leads, etc. (as if working cattle)

Roping a colt's hind leg to get it used to shoeing, and perhaps saving it's life if it were to get caught in wire, fence, etc.

Horsemanship - Buck backing up in a perfect semi-circle. 

Getting the colts near the fence and comfortable with the weight of a rider

Working with a feisty colt in the round pen.

Buck giving his colt affection as reward.  Always rubbing them and touching them to let them know that humans are their friends. 

So much of what he says isn't only applicable to horses.  At one point he turned to the riders in the horsemanship session and told them that they seemed to be either in a state of elation or a state of depression. Meaning their egos were either exploding because they did something right, or their self-esteem was shot because they couldn't get something right.  He told them to just take a breath and enjoy the little successes...and move on to the next moment.  What a great life lesson.

"Horsemanship is a meant to be one of the fine arts..." Buck professed near the end of the clinic.  Urging riders and owners to continue to work hard and be dedicated to their craft.  Not everybody will get there, but you'll never get there unless you try.  Isn't this true of any passion?

I was inspired all weekend to get better with my horses, including my personal relationships with them, riding them, and capturing them in my work.  

So here are a few of my "little successes".   (For more Animal Life Drawing check out my FLICKR album.)  

Enjoy...

              

Live in the moment - Deal with what you have 

The "Characters" of 12x12 in 2012

Wow! I can't believe it's been more than a month since my last post....! Time does certainly fly.

Well, despite the fact that I haven't posted lately, I have been staying out of trouble and keeping busy :-). In between deadlines for my current educational project and a few pieces for some private clients, I am also working on my writing. One of my motivational projects happens to include being a participant in the 12 x 12 in 2012 Project. Hosted by blogger, Julie Hedlund, the challenge is to complete a brand new picture book draft for each month of 2012.

It's a little daunting, but there is a supportive Facebook Group with access to so much information my brain nearly explodes every time I log on! Along with my fabulous local critique group, this challenge has really kept me sharp and prevented me from letting all of those sparks and concepts from just fading into the sunset.

In addition to this truly global project, I have given myself a personal goal - character designs to go along with my picture book drafts! It is definitely a challenge for me to design characters from scratch and have them match the images I have dancing around in my head. Below I've posted a few from January and February (March still isn't ready for public consumption!)

These are pretty loose sketches... but you get the idea!

Meet Bruno, the Butcher Cat of Corciano. Being a good Italian cat, Bruno loves to eat. Unfortunately he doesn't always like to share. He soon finds out that hoarding isn't always the best thing to do when you want to make friends.

Petunia enjoys depending on the kindness of strangers. Folks tend to run away when they see her coming, but she can only see the goodness in their acts. A modern homage to The Story of Ferdinand, Petunia soon finds out what happens when her looks deceive the people around her and they don't realize how kind she really is.

Hope you enjoy...there will be more to come!

Explore Native Americans - Intro & Chapter One

I just finished my first batch of black & white pieces for the new book in the EXPLORE! series with Nomad Press about Native Americans. I have to say the one thing I'm loving about working in educational illustration is the fact that I'm actually learning, too! This first batch includes the title page, the introduction and first chapter about the Northeast Woodland Native Americans.

Every bit of this subject is so interesting I find myself diving so far into the research end of the process that it's hard to come back out!

So here's a little taste of the more than 20 illustrations I've done so far for the book. The art director had mentioned they really liked the black & white line work on my website, but the book called for a greyscale look. Since I prefer painting over working digitally, I just added a little shading with some light washes to create the needed look.

This is only the beginning...there are 5 more chapters to go!

Somebody to Love...

This is a little piece I just did for a private bridal client's Save-the-Dates. The wedding will be taking place in a city park in July - so we thought a little squirrel love would give just the hint of summertime fun the bride was looking for!

Here's hoping everyone has someone special in their life - be it friends, family, or their very own special squirrel. :-) Happy Valentine's Day!

Explore Native Americans!

Here's a sneak peak of a few images featured on the cover of a new title in the Explore Series I'm working on with Nomad Press. I find Native American culture fascinating and I'm very excited to be working on a book to help educate kids about it!

This work is a little different than my normal color work due to the requirements of the series, but it was fun to experiment more with digital illustration!