A Nectarine

It's been awhile since my last post I see and I'm happy to report that my first watercolor class (and last class in my illustration certificate program), Pure Watercolor Painting, started this past week. So I am showing the work from Wednesday's class here. The still life was fruit and I selected a nectarine to paint, mostly because I am very drawn to the colors in it -reds and yellows. We did a quick sketch first then later got into the painting. I did not do a sketch of the nectarine prior to painting it -I went straight into the painting. It received a positive review from the instructor, Katherine Finnegan, who by the way is just great -and I really like her painting style. She is possibly the best instructor so far from all the classes I've taken -yes, I can tell this by just one class. She is also connected to Kaji Aso Studio, which might be the next place I enroll for a painting class. Well, that's all for now. Enjoy!

World Watch Magazine

In keeping with the spot illustration theme, here are two of the three spots I created for a project assignment in my portfolio prep class this spring semester based on short articles for World Watch Magazine. None of my illustrations were selected (wha...wha...wha) for print but it was fun creating these and submitting them for possible publication. The ones that were selected were really good and very creative. I'll keep at it and maybe someday I'll get something published.

Us or Me

These spot illustrations are from a class I took spring '07, created for a snippet from a story about a runaway balloon and rescuers getting into trouble in the process of recapturing it. I didn't really like the story, too troubling. Anyway, for what it's worth I am posting these two B+W spots to show the variety of the work I've done while in school. Lots of experimenting with new media (for me) and trying to capture the essence of a story visually. Not sure this was very successful but here it is anyway. Draw on.

Felix & Koko

This is a cut paper creation of my cats Felix and Koko. I wrote a children's story involving them and plan to rework my story dummy and create more finished pieces. I am just not sure yet if I want to create the story completely in cut paper. Perhaps mixed media is how I'll go but I need to do some more experimenting in the coming weeks. There is more to the picture at top -more curtain- but my scanner isn't big enough to capture all of it. I'll post more as this one develops.

Book jacket

I made some edits to the SCBWI poster I created (posted earlier) and turned it into a sample book jacket cover instead of a poster. I am working on pieces for my portfolio and hope to create a site where those pieces will live and continue to grow. I am going to get started, now :D

Bye and peace to all.

Eggplant and mushroom

In keeping with the food theme, here is another piece I did in my class last fall. I really like painting food and want to experiment more. I especially like the way the shadows came out in this one, though the purple tones in the eggplant could be darker and the mushroom could use darker shading. I have others in this series that I'll post another time.

Sweet pears

It's a beautiful day and I am thinking about summer and sweet, juicy fruit! Here are some watercolors I did of pears from my watercolor and mixed media class last fall. I am taking a pure watercolor class this summer and am really looking forward to exploring and learning all I can about this delicate and amazing medium.

The big bad wolf

According to a critique in my portfolio prep class last night, I need to go back and make adjustments to the NE-SCBWI poster I showed at the conference this past weekend if I want to add it to my portfolio. Too bad I wasn't able to get this critique prior to the event. Still, it's always good to hear opinions as long as they can help one to grow, adjust and make improvements.

Today I am posting these images which I created in this semester's children's book illustration class. It was an assignment on Peter and the Wolf. I am leaving the text in since it makes more sense to see them together.

Happy Tuesday! :D

A great weekend @ NE SCBWI conference

What a fantastic weekend spent at the New England Society for Children's Books Writers and Illustrators conference in New Hampshire this weekend. It was my first time attending and I participated in some really informative workshops, met some nice people, exchanged biz cards, received lots of good tips, and got the chance to hear from two very talented and important guest speakers, author Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrator Kevin Hawkes. That was the icing on the cupcake! I didn't win the poster contest :D but wasn't exactly mortified by my work as compared to others, though certainly there were some amazing works by other unpublished illustrators there. Now I am lit with a fire to go out and create some work that will hopefully, someday, be really out there, and published. Let's get going!! :D

PS This image I sketched in a drawing class summer 2007. I chose this little teddy bear from a box of wrenches, hammers, widgets and gadgets because he just seemed so enchanting and warm and fuzzy. Plus his limbs moved so I could pose him in this uncomfortable looking, upside-down position... just cuz. I don't think he minded though.

NE-SCBWI annual conference

I am very excited to check out the NE Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators annual conference this weekend. Two days of workshops and networking and an opportunity to see Kevin Hawkes, an amazing illustrator, speak. I actually have one of his books, The Nose, which I bought so long ago I can't remember the year. His website is very fun -check it out if you can. So I attempted to illustrate a poster for this years theme 'Take Flight" and this is what I came up with. It's actually elements taken from two paintings I did. I didn't like them each separately, so scanned, extracted elements, pieced together, and added texture to come up with this. It'll be entered in an anonymous poster contest tomorrow. I don't have any grand hopes that it'll win -ha, and I'm actually a little embarrassed by it and afraid to see the level of creative expression of the other entries. But, I'll let you know if by some dumb luck I win the grand prize :)