JEN KELLER ART

"It isn't the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it." --Eileen Elias Freeman (from The Angels' Little Instruction Book) My horse character was so moved by the farm dog bringing a carrot to him, that he had to reciprocate the act. (Or perhaps I fell so madly in love with these new characters in my head that I couldn't leave them for one illustration alone!) Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful holiday season with an endless supply of tennis balls, carrots, and love for all the characters in your heads and in your lives. :-)

I'm happy to announce the re-opening of my Etsy Shop and introducing my first set of Holiday Cards for sale! Last year, my holiday promotional postcard got such a positive reaction from dog lovers, I decided to create two different cards stemming from the artwork. My first card features the Canine Carolers! This is a full color greeting card with a simple but fun greeting inside (Happy Howl-i-days!). Some of my "fans" might recognize a few of those canine faces! The second card is a smaller and a more simple card. Designed to be a little more subdued, it's printed on textured heavyweight paper to echo the graphite sketch feel of the artwork. This one also has a special greeting on the inside! I think it would be a great little gift card for your canine's holiday presents or the dog lover in the family. If you live in the Bay Area, some of these cards will also be for sale at the Palo Alto Humane Society's Art Gallery in Menlo Park (Peninsula/South Bay) a

It is with heavy heart that I bring this news. One of my favorite muses, the story of Bella and Tarra, has come to a tragic end. A little over a year ago I was searching high and low for inspiration for The Peace Project hosted by The Whole 9 Art Gallery in LA. I had no desire to depict something traditional or ordinary, and then I found Bella and Tarra - The Animal Odd Couple. Tarra the elephant and Bella the dog, had somehow found each other. Despite all of their differences, they became the best of friends. So much so, that when Bella become sick, Tarra held vigil outside of the clinic waiting for her return. About a week or so ago, the staff at the Elephant Sanctuary noticed they hadn't seen Bella for a while, and Tarra had been acting strangely. After further inspection they tragically found Bella's body, most likely attacked by coyotes. After studying these two extensively for my illustration, and checking in on them every so often on the Elephant Sanctuary'

I was recently asked to do this year's Holiday Greeting Card for the Palo Alto Humane Society . As everyone knows, humane and ethical treatment of animals is a passion of mine and being able to use my skills in order to help my furry friends was an absolute joy! Being a rescue animal theme, I based these particular animals on the pets from my childhood (all rescued from shelters or from the street) and few from the present! PAHS assists in rescuing animals including dogs, cats, horses, birds & bunnies. I wanted to include as many of these animals as possible in a classic winter scene. I am always fascinated with inter species relationships and I was thrilled to find numerous photographs of horses paling around with both dogs and cats! I've seen horses on numerous occasions nuzzle the barn cats here in California and the dogs interacting with the horses I used to work with in Illinois. Animals are so great at looking past their own differences, too bad we humans can'

Kitty + Laser Light = Mesmerizing! I haven't done an Illustration Friday entry in awhile, but when I read the word this week was mesmerizing I couldn't stop thinking of my old kitty (and almost every cat I've known) chasing her laser light until she couldn't chase anymore... Enjoy!

It's all about the illustrators! This year was the fifth annual Illustrator Day hosted by the SCBWI San Francisco South Chapter. At so many conferences, the emphasis is put on the writers (which isn't bad since they outnumber the illustrators by around 10 to 1) but admittedly sometimes we feel a little short changed. Hence: ILLUSTRATOR DAY!! This year was fantastic! From speakers like Joann Hill, Art Director of Disney-Hyperion to Agent Linda Pratt with the Wernick & Pratt Agency, to the Illustrator Andrew Glass and Illustrator/Art Instructor at San Jose State, John Clapp... my brain was completely full by the end of the day! This year was pretty special because our Regional Advisor had something super special planned for our Illustration Coordinator, Lea Lyon . For the past five years she has been organizing and putting together this fabulous day exclusively dedicated to the illustrator and to thank her for her hard work we all plotted to put together a wonderful pi

So after 10 US cities, 7 months, and countless miles, The Sketchbook Project is now drawing to a close. I am so glad I participated in this National Phenomenon. Not only did the actual process of making the sketchbook force me to open up, use my imagination and have fun putting it all together, but watching my book travel all over the country was a great thing to see! Form/Space Atelier in Seattle, Washington - Pic Courtesy of Michelle!! I had so many friends and strangers pull out my little Storybook Sketchbook. Hopefully it all gave them a quick laugh and brightened their day a bit. (Honestly, I don't know whose mood wouldn't improve with the sight of giant cupcakes and glitter.) Sister-in-law at the Madrone Studios in San Francisco, CA - Thanks Suz!! My mom was also featured on the Art House Co-op's blog about their stop in Chicago!! Mom at the Hyde Park Arts Center in Sweet Home Chicago It was really neat the way the Art House Co-op managed to keep

So this past weekend I was able to travel to Los Angeles for the 40th annual National Conference for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators . And BOY - was it a conference!! I left full of information and inspiration... Among the numerous and talented authors and illustrators that were there, legends walked all around. I was inspired by Jerry Pinkney (2010 Caldecott Medal Recipient & 5-time Caldecott Honor Recipient), moved by David Small (Caldecott Medal & Honor Recipient), laughed with John Scieszka , amazed by Gary Paulsen (3-time Newberry Honor Recipient), and my breath was taken away by Richard Peck (Newberry Medal Recipient). Within all of this great talent was a surprise visit from the Queen of Children's Literature - Judy Blume !! It was an amazing weekend filled with great speeches, good information, and a few fun gatherings including a big party on Saturday night with dinner and dancing... ...plus a lovely lunch on Sunday whe