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... and a quick color study.

Just keep drawing.

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"Love is the mystery of water and a star." –Pablo Neruda 

April is National Poetry Month. Below is a new piece of art inspired by this
snippet of a poem, step-by-step, working backwards. Enjoy!

After much fussing over details... the final art!

Building up the color.

Another view from the drawing table.

First pencil layer.

Rough color thoughts and a few tweaks on a printout of the sketch.

The original pencil sketch.

Sketchbook thumbnails. (No wonder I can't read my own handwriting!)

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I'm working on an italian edition of Black Beauty with Edizioni EL. I'm always happy when I have the opportunity to work on a classic I loved as a child. My dream project would be an illustrated edition of Watership Down (there's a pitch in the works in my spare time. I hope it will see the light one day.)
One of the reasons I enjoy working with Edizioni EL is that they leave me a lot of freedom. When I told them that I was tired of my usual digital work, they let me try something a little different - a graphite rendering and digital colour. It's a good way to step away from the computer and the final result is very appealing to me at this stage. Here's a little preview of the work and some sketches. As you can see, I'm still working on the layouts digitally. It's easier for me, as I know how much room I have on the page, but then I transfer them on Fabriano FA2 and use pencils. Follow me on IG to see more as I move along - https://www.instagram.com/gaiabordicchia/

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This is a detail from a recent-ish reading book. Done in watercolor.

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Good art can be a little dark and disturbing. In the case of a new exhibition at the Whitney Library Gallery, it can also be classified as creepy, spooky, kooky, mysterious and more than a little fun. The show features dark drawings and haunting images, much of them from a new children's book, "The Stumps of Flattop Hill," by Las Vegas-based author Kenneth Kit Lamug.

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Sometimes in the middle of a deadline, along with the joy of making art for a book that you are completely over-the-top excited about*, there's an urge to break out and try something new.

A few months ago I cracked open a sketchbook, new ink, a tiny set of travel paints, and a bunch of watercolor pencils I'd been meaning to play with for a long time. The goal was only to make small, quick drawings of whatever was floating around in my head at the time, and to keep it loose. (Must squash that perfectionist beast that makes you tighten up and question every mark on the page!) Each is only about 3" square.

This exercise has turned into relaxing little breaks that fit in the crevices of my day between other projects. Also, it's FUN! You might want to try it sometime.

Here are some of the drawings. I also post them over on Instagram...

*The book is CHARLES DARWIN'S AROUND-THE-WORLD ADVENTURE (Abrams, 2016), coming out in October! Woohoo! (More about this, soon!)

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copyright 2015 Seed Media

While completing that I had to finish my paintings for my new book coming out this summer called I Want to be a Bald Eagle. I am very happy with the way both jobs came out, and so were the clients… "fabulous" was one of the words they used (awesome!!!). The publisher that I did Dolittle for even asked me later that night to do another reader for them, this time about a murder mystery…something totally different than I have ever done before. I'm also planning to have a big release party for the Eagle book some time this Fall.

copyright Capstone Publishing 2015

copyright Ty Davis 2015

Also it looks like I'll be starting my own sip wine and paint workshop at the restaurant that I work. Still coming up with names, so stay tuned on that!

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I vote for goat!

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Looking for some kidlit illustrator love for the holiday season gifting? In addition to books, of course, here are some Etsy shops where you can find traditionally published children's book illustrators. If anyone knows of others, feel free to post in the comments section! Please note that I'm only listing shops that currently have items for sale (so have left out my own :-)). 

Also see Travis Jonker's Ultimate Children's Literature Illustrator Gift Guide, which includes non-Etsy places where you can buy children's illustrator stuff.

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Aino Anto is offering fine art originals, prints, hug pillows, stuffed toys. Etsy shop | Website

Kate Berube is offering prints, magazines, greeting cards. Etsy shop | Website

Sophie Black is offering prints. Etsy shop | Website

Calef Brown is offering fine art originals and prints. Etsy shop | Website

Ruth Chan is offering prints and postcards. Etsy shop | Website

Joan Charles is offering prints and  greeting cards. Etsy shop | Website

Arree Chung and other children's book illustrators are offering adorable wall decals. Etsy shop | Website

Christopher Denise is offering fine art originals and prints. Etsy shop | Website

Christina Forshay is offering prints. Etsy shop | Website

Salley Mavor is offering note cards, posters and books. Etsy shop | Website

Wendy Martin is offering original art, prints, books, masks, clothing, more. Etsy shop | Website

Cindy Pon is offering note cards. Etsy shop | Website

Scott Nash is offering books and stickers. Etsy shop | Website

Matte Stephens is offering fine art originals and prints. Etsy shop | Website

Diana Sudyka is offering prints. Etsy shop | Website

Lee White is offering fine art originals and prints. Etsy shop | Website

Laura Zarrin is offering fine art originals and prints. Etsy shop | Website

If you know of other traditionally published children's book illustrators with Etsy shops that currently have items for sale, feel free to list them (ideally with the Etsy shop URL) below. In answer to the question "why only traditionally published? why only shops with items for sale?": I didn't have time to list ALL shops, sorry; if anyone out there is willing to take on that project, feel free to post your list below.

 

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Happy (almost) Halloween everyone!

Sorry for the extreme lack of blog posts and news on here. I've been very busy with lots of projects- including my first book as author. I usually just post quick news to my Facebook Page and Twitter. So feel free to follow me there, but I'll try to blog news more often. Lots of good monstery mayhem coming up!

The new George Brown , Class Clown book came out way back in August but it's Halloween themed, so I thought it was the right time to post about it. The brilliantly titled- Burp or Treat... Smell my Feet! is a double book Super Special and full of spooky and silly mischief from GB and his pals.

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Do you like burps, slurps, snores or sneezes? How about monsters? What about monsters that burp, slurp, snore or sneeze (and fart)? Well, then, here's the book for you- Ten Monsters in a Bed!

A fun, colorful, noisy picture book- perfect to read before bedtime! It's published by Templar Publishing, the same wonderful UK publisher that I illustrate the shark series- Harry Hammer for!

 Templar's description-


In this play on '10 in a bed', 10 monsters are very squished on a bunk bed. On each spread, a monster gets pushed out on to the floor, where readers can press them to hear the fun sounds they make, for example: snoring, scratching, burping, slurping, sniffing and farting.

In each spread, a different noisy monster is kicked out of the top bunk bed by his fellow monsters, where the reader can press a button to activate that monster's noise.



Some near-final sketches of the ten monsters-

Pick up your copy here-

Templar Publishing
Book Depository
Waterstones
Amazon UK
Amazon US

Some early nice reviews-

Read it Daddy!
Red Reading Hub

PS- Sorry for the long time of (8 months!) lack of blogging- I've been posting all news on my Facebook and Twitter but I'll try to add more big news here when I can!

My Facebook Page
My Twitter Page

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