Cole had a secret.. he could fly with the help of balloons. Where will he go? What will he see? Adventures lay beyond his little street. This is my submission for IF.. haven't participated in a loooong time. I'm working on the painting now and hopefully will be finished before Friday! Happy Illustrating!

Here's Streak and Tonga chatting up the latest jungle news. This is my "Stripes" theme for IF which is a painting I've done for my picture book dummy, "Jungle Rescue". It's the first thing I've posted in awhile. Trying to get back on the horse, ONCE AGAIN, and make art!

Monk-Monk's asleep! Yikes! He's lost from his family.. will they find him? Read the "The Jungle Rescue" to find out. One little thing, though.. it's not published yet. But one day, hopefully! This is my story with a color illo from the book dummy. I'm (submitting this summer ––come rain or shine! I've been working on it for a looooong time! It's time to let go!

Happy New Year to everyone. It's been a while but I wanted to post in this new beginnings of 2011. This is going to be an awesome year! I can feel it. My studio is all spiffed up and organized. I'm posting some pics so I can KEEP it that way! Has everyone made New Year's resolutions or set intentions for this year? I'm still formulating mine but one for sure is to keep my studio neat and organized. It just feels better to be in here and it makes me SMILE. I like setting intentions rather than resolutions. It somehow feels more solid.

Mosey on over to Holli Conger's "A Girl Who Creates" Blog for terrific tips on the illustration biz.. Holli is generously sharing her expertise and her savviness with us everyday during the month of December. I have been a BIG fan of Holli's work for several years and it's been exciting to see how her career has progressed. What an awesome gift to have a new tip every day about illustration! So, check out her blog. Today. Don't wait!

Benjamin Lacombe is another French illustrator I discovered in France. I immediately fell in love with his rich, moody, and vibrant stylized gouache illustrations. When we were in Aix en Provenence, I was thrilled to find his children's picture book, "Les Amants Papillons" ("Butterfly Lovers") in a small book shop. The book is written in French, of which I only know a few words, but the illustrations are a sumptuous blend of color, drama, and design. The book is large, 15½" x 7" which is quite large by picture book standards. This allows for the full intensity of Benjamin's gorgeous illustrations with full spreads on many pages. Since this book is probably difficult to find in the US, here are some other titles he illustrated that are available on Amazon: "Lin Yi's Lantern" and " Cherry and Olive". You can see his work at his very creative website www.BenjaminLacombe.com



Check back for more posts on fantastic illustrators and their work!

I did these little star gazing frogs a while back, but I thought it could work for this week's theme. I'm hoping to make time to participate in Illustration Friday again! Check out the IF site, as there's always such great work each week around each theme.

Yay!! I finally finished Grayson's elephant painting for his room. I had a great time painting with the Golden Open Acrylics. I really liked how they stayed wet and I was able to work longer in blending colors. Even thought I still love my Winsor Newton oil alkyds, I think I'm hooked on the new acrylics. I bought a whole bunch of colors yesterday at the art supply store and am trying some more "experiments".
I'll post a pic of the painting in Grayson's nursery soon!

I'm trying new paints, Golden's Open Acrylic, which according to Golden's website, are a slow-drying formulation. I only recently heard of these acrylics and have been so excited to try them out. I usually work with Winsor & Newton's Oil Aklyds. They are quick drying oils and I love the colors. I'm working on a painting for my new baby grandson, Grayson's nursery. Here is a pic of what I'll be painting.
This little elephant stuffed toy is the subject of the painting. This should be a fun experiment. I'll post pics when I finish.. hopefully in a couple of days. Has anyone painted with these acrylics? I'd love to hear any comments about them!

I first saw Rébecca Dautremer's illustrations in a small shop in Paris when my husband and I were visiting Paris for the very first time. My husband was attending a conference and I tagged along since I had never been there. While he attended his meetings, I took every opportunity to browse book stores and children's books for French illustrators. Boy, did I find some wonderful illustrators! I fell in love with Rébecca's work and have looked for her books here in the US ever since then.

My illustrator friends, Robyn Jorde, Nancy Heard, Wandie Ortiz and I visited this fantastic exhibit today. It's a retrospective and touring exhibition of the Art of Dr. Seuss. The exhibit was at a new gallery in Dallas, Storyopolis Fine Art which has recently relocated from Los Angeles, CA. Storyopolis is in association with The 4th Wall Gallery at the same location. The exhibition gives a glimpse into the creative and prolific artistic life of Theodor Seuss Geisel. In addition to Dr. Seuss, we saw some wonderful illustrations from Lane Smith, William Joyce, Alison Jay, and Nicoletta Ceccoli to name just a few. The owner, Matthew Abrammowitz, was extremely accommodating in showing us numerous illustrations and answering all of our questions! We are thrilled to have this fantastic gallery in Dallas. The Dr. Seuss exhibit ends today, but Matthew said they have some wonderful exhibitions planned for the future. Check it out!

Some of the fantastic illustrations.

I thought I'd show a sneak peek of one of the characters in the picturebook dummy I'm working on. This is a sketch from my dummy which has been in the works for soooooo long. It has been a pure labor of love with lots of revisions to the manuscript AND the illustrations, but it's finally coming together. I finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
And, here's the finished painting. I changed a few things.. but I like how it turned out.

Gallop on over to Michelle my Belle for a super giveaway. Michelle Allen has terrific art pieces (see above) she's giving away on her blog. Check it out to enter the giveaway!

I started a workshop with Marisa at Creative Thursday almost 2 weeks ago and I'm a little late in getting my blog updated about it. The e-course has started off great with terrific podcasts and videos from Marisa and she is an AMAZING and INSPIRING teacher.It's been inspiring and motivating to hear what other artists have to share, also. So many of the artists are much further along on their path which is fun and exciting to see what they are doing and hear what's working for them.

Fisher Elementary in Frisco asked me to be part of their first Art Night Jan. 26. My daughter, Holly, teaches first grade there. It was a blast! Carly Allen, the art teacher, and Tricia Fay organized the event. I showed examples from my "Saving Emma" and they were available for purchase. My presentation also included the process of illustration and I showed my book dummy for "The Jungle Rescue". I made prompts with my characters and the kids created their own illustration using my characters. It was SO much fun!Here are some pics from the event.

My daughter, Holly Natale, Mrs. Lawson, principal, and me.

One student's illustration with one of my characters.
A student with her dad helping.
Tricia, Holly, me and Carly

Today's the day! Twilight hits the theaters. I can't wait to see it. Awesome!

CELEBRATE!!! CELEBRATE!!
I made it to 21 days!! Yippee, woohoo!! Seriously I finished 21 sketches. Granted, I started in August, but through surgery and creative block and whatever else was in THAT I've made it! I was determined to finish with 21 sketches no matter how long it took! AND I did. I'm proud of myself... it has been a real challenge for me. A good one, too. Thanks to Deb for letting me know about it and for Gina Perry for starting it.

Should I start another?? Hmmmmm....

Happy Late Halloween!