JEN KELLER ART

The last few months have literally flown by! It's hard to believe I'm almost halfway finished with this book. Balancing work with baby sure does make every day zip by faster than I had ever imagined! Chapter 2: Wonderful Water Tiddaluk the Frog Here are a few samples from Chapter 2 (Wonderful Water) and Chapter 3 (Super Soil). The biggest challenge for me was trying to draw that tarantula in the corner of the Super Soil Chapter Header. I'm pretty proud that I was able to do it, seeing as I have such a bad spider phobia I can barely smash a tiny house spider without having heart palpitations! Enjoy... Chapter Three: Super Soil Dangers of Water Pollution Cycle of Pollution in the Soil In other news, I am only a few weeks away from celebrating my little girl's first birthday!! I can hardly believe it. I am so lucky to have such support from family and friends who help out with my little monkey so I can work.  And when it's just the two of u...

Explore Natural Resources!  Title Page This new book is turning out to be a lot of fun. My main character, a little holstein calf, has really blossomed while working on the first few chapters.  Chapter One: Amazing Air His friends have also come out of the woodwork and everything is really coming together.  Introduction to Natural Resources I do have to put out a special shout-out to Grandma and Grandpa Lovercheck (my husband's parents) for coming through with lots of babysitting time. Emmy also has a new babysitter who has been coming over once a week so mommy can have a few hours of uninterrupted work time. Without this extra help I'm not sure how I would ever make a deadline... or keep my sanity! So enjoy this little sneak peak of The Introduction and Chapter One of  Explore Natural Resources!  There will be much more to follow...! Life with and without an atmosphere!  Comparing the amount of Natural Resources u...

It was certainly a tight squeeze getting the artwork done for the cover this time around with my new little helper, but I did it! (A special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Keller who happen to be in town and had no issues doing a little babysitting.) I think this is going to be a fun book. It is very different from the Native American Book since it's not as cultural but more scientific.  Though "going green" is certainly a part of our current culture today - at least let's hope so! I'm really starting to enjoy creating this type of digital illustration. I'm hoping to incorporate it into future projects at some point.  Enjoy this little sneak peak of the Explore Natural Resources cover artwork! And for those of you work from home moms  (aka WFHM)  trying to figure it out like I am, I highly recommend the full size play yard! I'm pretty sure Emmy is enjoying it. Well, see for yourself! 

It seems like a only a moment ago I did my latest post, but it's been more like six months! I must apologize for my absence but these babies sure do take up a lot of time. During my hiatus I've been keeping busy in my sketchbook and trying to catch a few art shows, but mostly I've been enjoying being a mom.  However my status as stay at home mom will be changing to work at home mom now that I am doing another title in the Explore Your World Series with Nomad Press about Natural Resources. I have started work on the cover this past week and when people say everything changes once a baby enters your life - they aren't kidding! Working from home and taking care of my wee one has presented its own set of challenges (which include her being mobile!) I have attempted to adapt the studio in order to accommodate little miss social and so far I think we've come up with a balance. Not so sure if Emmy agrees. A full sized play yard is on its way from Ama...

Between the diaper changes and the feedings, the play dates and activities, the lack of sleep, trying to take a shower, and taking care of the dog - I need to carve out a moment to make a little art. This is what I tell myself every day. During my pregnancy I thought I was going to lead a perfect creative life as a mom.  After all, I work from home - isn't that the dream?  I would paint at my drafting table and my baby would coo and giggle while I worked. She wouldn't cry, or fuss, and most importantly she would take a nap - a loooong nap - that would allow my creativity to flow. However, she does cry and she does fuss. She does also coo and giggle, but not as an observer to my "creative genius."  Oh yeah, and she does nap - either while I'm driving or in her stroller. Not the best places to paint! But what I can do is make a promise to myself that when those quiet moments arrive I will unleash my creative daemons upon the world (or in my sketchbo...

I'm so excited to announce that  Explore Native American Cultures! has been published. It's very exciting to see all of my illustrations put together with the text and graphics for this fun and educational book. Plus a big thumbs up for the publishers at Nomad Press , especially Abby and Rachel, who worked around my ever growing belly and physical limitations during my pregnancy in order to make this a good experience.   Now on to my next adventure....! 

Well I have to apologize for my lack of blog posts the past few months. 2012 turned out to be an amazing year.  I started out the year working with Nomad Press on their exciting new educational book, Explore Native American Cultures!  I believe there were a total of around 100 illustrations.  I enjoyed working on this book so much that the time really seemed to fly by.  It amazes me how much the kids will learn about Native Cultures from this title and I'm very excited to see it in print. JENKELLERART 6-Pack (choose 6 individual cards for a variety greeting card pack) In addition to this project, I also gave my ETSY shop a lift and introduced my new greeting card line.  I'm very excited about this venue and I've been able to make several sales and I'm hoping the success will continue. I'm NUTS about you! (available in singles or packs of 10) I ruff woooo! (available in singles or packs of 10) My last, but greatest achievement (and...