The Boxer

Sack Hat

First Snow Day

Mr. Simmons

Doodle smash!

Blustery

Silas

I recently finished reading Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. It is absolutely wonderful and I enjoyed every moment of it. Go read it. About halfway through, I felt compelled to pick up the ol' moleskine and do a sketch of Nobody Owens' guardian. Mind you, I love Dave McKean's illustrations... I just felt inspired to have a crack at it, too. Pure fan art.

tutubeastie

Pigeon of the Month #11

Pigeons are built for speed.

Speaking of speed... why not zip over to the fantastic blog of The Longstockings to check out a Q&A with me?

Monkeys of the World, part 11

The Hague.

Book Signing Party!

Just wanted to tell all in the Greater Philadelphia Area (yay, Phillies!) that next Friday night (11/7) is the 17th Annual Local Author and Illustrator Night at the wonderful Children's Book World in Haverford. This event is the book world equivalent of stuffing clowns into a tiny car but it sure is fun. Check out the list of attendees:

Marc Aronson, Gene Barretta, Alix Berenzy, Jennifer Bryant, Mimi Chapra, Michael Dooling, Ponder Goembel, Vivian Grey, Berit Haar, Lee Harper, Jeffry Johnston, Beth Kephart, Joe Kukla, Donna Jo Napoli, Jeannine Norris, Lisa Papp, Robert Papp, Judy Lalli, E. B. Lewis, Bob Mcleod, Kathye Petrie, Wendy Pfeffer, Matt Phelan, Deborah Kogan Ray, Adam Rex, Mark Rogalski, Roger Roth, Charles Santore, Jerry Spinelli, Nancy Viau, and David Wiesner

The list is subject to change, but any way you look at it, it might be the the biggest one-stop book signing soiree this side of the ALA convention. Plus, there will be snacks. Hope to see you there!

IF: Repair

Sketchy

Here are the quick sketches I made as I worked out IF: Late. As it often happens, I like the thumbnail sketch better. Oh well.

IF: Late

IF: Strings

I'm attempting to take the next four Illustration Friday topics and give them a spooky spin. Tis the season, after all.

Pigeon of the Month #10

Monkeys of the World, part 10

Billings, Montana

Blog Love

A big thank you to Erik Brooks for including me in the I Love Your Blog thingy that's spreading around the blogosphere. I first saw Erik's work (and I guess he saw mine) last year when I was a weekly participant in the Illustration Friday challenge (all 52 are in my 2007 archives). So, in addition to Erik's great blog, I'll now point you to 5 other blogs that I discovered through IF and continue to check out regularly...


It's a Whimsical Life

Theodesign

Eric Orchard

Middle of Nowhere

Artista Blog

Go! Look!

Looking for Character

Just a quick sketch...trying to get a personality down.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the SCBWI Fall Philly event! I had a great time and it was really nice to meet so many folks. I'm aiming to add more stuff to the blog in the next few weeks...until then, here's an interview with me from a cool Philly blog that I somehow missed when it first appeared.

Fresh Moleskine

Afoot!

Pigeon of the Month #9

Typo Apropos

I was browsing the Winsor & Newton website and came across this tidbit...

Dilution with water will provide a variety of blending/ drying times. crying rates will vary and depend on the temperature and air flow.

Ain't it the truth. Anyhoo, despite the occasional typo, the website is a goldmine of helpful watercolo(u)r info.

Monkeys of the World, part 9

Hay-on-Wye, Wales.

Pens and Pencils

Doodled with a Pilot Precise V5 Rolling Ball Extra Fine pen on a Staples Steno pad (green page kind). The pen was also from Staples, I think.

September Girl

Pigeon of the Month #8

Monkeys of the World, part 8

Helensville, New Zealand

Oddly Amusing

aka The White House Book

I was extremely honored to be asked to contribute a story to "Our White House, Looking In, Looking Out" which is being released in September. This massive anthology was spearheaded by the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance and assembled by the massively talented folks at Candlewick Press.

I was asked to write and illustrate a story about the Great Depression. In four pages. The result, a stripped down comic about Herbert Hoover and apple peddlers, will be the first story that I've written to be published (although my upcoming graphic novel was written before this). Above is a sketch for the first page of the story. Other contributors to the book include M.T. Anderson, Jerry Spinelli, Katherine Paterson, David Small, Brian Selznick, Susan Cooper and really too many to list here.

Publisher's Weekly just did a very nice write up about the book here. And the NCBLA has a website that should explode with extra content around the time of the book's release. Personally, I can't wait to see this thing.

Pigeon of the Month #7

Monkeys of the World, part 7

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

SCBWI Fall Philly Conference

I'll be speaking at this year's Fall Philly Conference of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (eastern PA chapter). Details are not up on the website yet, but when they do go up, they should be here. Registration ends August 25th, but it's limited to 140 people, so you might want to register soonish.

Five years ago at this very conference, I showed my portfolio to a Simon & Schuster art director who then showed it to Richard Jackson who then hired me to illustrate my first picture book. So, illustrators, be sure to bring your shiny shiny portfolios and sign up for the optional review!

Pigeon of the Month #6

Monkeys of the World, part 6

Norman, Oklahoma.

Don't Call Him Yellow

Cowboy Guy

Scarlet Sprite

Sideburns

Monkeys of the World, part 5

Antwerp, Belgium.

Raw Sienna Melancholia

Palette Doodles

Splotches of extra paint make interesting backgrounds. Pro Tip: Wait until it dries.

Pigeon of the Month #5

Washington Sketch

Sorry for the paltry blogging of late. I am nearly finished work on my graphic novel and by nearly I mean I still have about 40 pages to go. But since Children's Book Week is next week, I thought I'd show you a sketch from Big George by Anne Rockwell, coming to a bookstore near you this fall. This is Washington at Carpenter's Hall, volunteering to lead the army. Clearly, my uniform research came after the sketching phase.

Monkeys of the World, part 4

Reykjavik, Iceland

Pigeon of the Month #4

Pencils

Monkeys of the World, part 3

Battle Creek, Michigan.

No Pencils Were Harmed for This Post

Here's my first digital doodle using Alias Sketchbook Pro and my Wacom tablet (which I got 8 years ago...ancient by computer age standards). Kind of fun program. I like the pressure sensitivity and various pencil options.

Anyhoo, if this isn't green enough for you on St. Pat's Day, let me direct you to this bit of Muppet genius...

Again with the Brush

Pigeon(s) of the Month #3

Very Small Brush, Black Magic Ink