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.

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!

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.

Bear for Tea

Newest piece! Self-promotional. 

Barn Owl

Newest piece. Can't say it's particularly inspired by anything, other than the idea of revisiting the subject matter of kids with giant friends.

night of the hunter (FILM)

There is a movie I love called Night of the Hunter that inspired me to do a personal piece not too long ago. I recommend this movie to just

 about anyone who is willing to watch a very scary man (Robert Mitchum, of course) pursue a young brother and sister across the countryside. It's filled with shadows, mystery, magic, and knuckle tattoos (and a lot of what seems to be an homage to German Expressionism.)

Anywho, here is what I did:

detail:

Peter & the Wolf

13 x 18

oil

Scuba Boy

oil

Jungle13.5 x 17oil