Tomie de Paola Award 2013

Phew! Feels like just yesterday that I was painting my entry for the Tomie dePaola Award for the SCBWI. But, alas, another year has flown by!
This year the idea was to choose from 3 classic titles and execute a passage in black and white. I was particularly more excited about this year's subject matter than last, and chose "The Yearling" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
While in college I became really comfortable using graphite to achieve pretty detailed drawings, so that's what I chose for this piece.

"Jody settled himself halfway up the live oak... The shade of the oak was cool... A light breeze moved through its leaves. Silence took over the scrub."

Alice's Adventures

I just finished up on a very exciting personal project! I loved being able to illustrate a childhood favorite that has stuck with me into my adult years. I did an Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass combo, using some inspiration from John Tenniel and also early Disney artwork for the movie--an ultra-saturated style that still influences me as well as the story. I definitely had to change up her hair and dress, I am a little tired of the blonde hair and white pinafore!

Some sketches, character studies.

J+K

Here is a painting I did for my best friend's wedding anniversary I'm just getting around to posting now!

 

There Was an Old Woman..

Shame on me for not updating my blog in the last couple of months! I've been busy completing a few pieces...one based on a classic nursery rhyme, and the other is my first real attempt with re-imagining one of my all time favorite stories--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I've wanted to do a small series featuring Alice for a while now. That will be posted soon. In the meantime, here is something else!

Holiday Card!

This was the first year I was able to set time aside to make a Holiday Card!

I was influenced by various Victorian Christmas cards and cozy little cottages in the snow.

Happy New Year!

Dinosaurs!

I've loved dinosaurs for as long as I can remember. In fact, they were a big source of inspiration when I was a little kid, along with drawing horses and my blond labrador, Lucy. So I was really excited when I was asked by a co-worker to do a series of dinosaurs for a baby boy's nursery. They look friendly enough for a kid (or adult) to hang out with!

New drawings

I almost forgot entirely about some drawings I had done for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Bulletin back in August, until the email I received from Sarah Stern, art director. I believe my girl with balloons will be appearing in the November/December issue. Can't wait to get it!

Here are some others I did. I'll probably turn a couple into paintings.