Vive la French crêpe! Yes, a warm, Nutella crêpe sprinked with powdered sugar is God's gift to the taste buds. French Crêpe is also a piece that was inspired by my last post. After working on "Open House" for Illustration Friday, I wanted to do more experimenting mixing my drawing, painting and stitching, so I created this piece to get warmed up. Doesn't make much sense but it does make me hungry.
P.S. Thank you for all the kind comments about my piece! I'm very honored.
In the spirit of Halloween, and my previously obsessive attempts at house hunting all summer, I decided to create this piece: an open house to a somewhat creepy castle. The woman looks a little reticent about selling, but even in a soft real estate market, her castle stands apart. I'm sure she would get top dollar!
I decided to do this really experimental, free form "blues" piece last minute. When I think of the blues I think red, energetic, and soulful.
Highlights Editorial OfficesLet me clarify. That was the theme this weekend, not a mating call. Highlights for Children hosted a wonderful "Western" themed weekend event at their Boyds Mills farm and their Happy "H" Ranch, the editorial headquarters of Highlights, for illustrators such as myself that have contributed to their publications. It was a weekend of dee-licious country fresh food, dancing and socializing with other illustrators and meeting the nice folks that make up the editorial staff of Highlights and Boyds Mills.
It was nice to put faces behind the emails and business cards. They hosted a conference with guest lecturer and designer, Pash, who defined Inspirability, or thoughts on the ability to inspire in order to re-charge our creative batteries. He also penned a book entitled "Inspiribility" and raffled 20 copies. I was one of the lucky winners! We shared our portfolios, traded contact information and discussed illustration and our work processes like excited children talking about how we spent our summer vacations.
Inspirability by PashThe other highlight of the weekend, so to speak, was the lamb roast and the dancing. Everyone came dressed in western garb, walked and talked like the Old West and had a grand time. We burned off all the food we ate, square dancing, line dancing and square dancing some more 'til well past midnight. The Highlights staff ran the event with every detail in check and spared no expense making the weekend fun and memorable, all to show their appreciation for us illustrators and possibly hire us for more work. I met so many talented artists that I hope to continue to correspond with, long after the conference. It was extraordinary really. My hat's off to Highlights.
Mama Mouse's Birthday © High Five MagazineNoticed any cobwebs on my blog? Been a while since my last entry. Maybe I'm just sad that summer's close to an end. September is more than halfway over and the nighttime temperatures are dropping. Thankfully, middays are still sunny and warm. Anyway, next weekend I'll be going to the Annual Highlights Illustrator's Party. I used to read their magazines as a kid and leaf through drawing submissions done by real kids, impressed by the skills of other 8 year olds. This year, I had the opportunity to do work for High Five, Highlights' new imprint which caters to a much younger audience. Because of it, I was invited, among their many other illustrators who have contributed to their publications, to the Highlights Ranch in Honesdale, PA. Didn't know such a thing existed did ya'? Neither did I, so I'm very curious to see what it's about and meet all the other illustrators!
I painted my bulletin board, a few frames, a mirror and my wooden paint drawers...white. Even my ratty pencil sharpener got the white paint treatment. But my bulletin board was calling for more than that, because it was staring at me like a blank canvas. I pulled out the acrylics and painted, well, something black.
Every so often I will post pictures of my dog, particularly when I think he acts out of character. My husband took this shot in my studio while I was sitting in this chair. Here, he's hanging out while I work. Notice the delicate way he rests his paw on the base of the chair, very cool and laid back. Okay, it's cute, it's my dog, so there.
I was in a drawing mood and it couldn't be a more beautiful day. We decided to head to the city and visit the Frick. We weren't sure where it was exactly, but we headed to Museum Mile (which runs on the east side of Central Park), hoping we'd run into it. Instead we ran into a young English gentleman sitting in front of The Met. He was kind enough to let us borrow his copy of Time Out New York which told us that we were only 10 blocks away. Once we finally made it to the Frick we did a bit of drawing there. I don't know what it was, perhaps because it was literally a house full of accomplished masters, but my drawing was feeling a bit lifeless. I was drawing a few statues that came out stiff and mannered, as good as a student exercise.
Not exactly the ego boost I was looking for. So I just decided to enjoy the paintings as accomplished works and draw the people looking at the paintings. Afterwards, we went to a snooty, Upper East Side brunch place called Sant Ambroeus, where I had a perfect salad of thinly sliced Parmesan on a bed of artichokes. I drew Dennis and cleaned my plate. Then we had some wonderful gelato and a strawberry and white chocolate dessert. The service was excellent, despite the upper crusty clientele. We managed to avoid most of it until, close to the end of our meal, two young women, maybe fresh out of college, were seated next to us.
They spoke one decibel over earshot, which wasn't difficult since their table was less than a foot away. Each name-dropped designers and actors like they were going out of style. We learned that one of them, the louder of the two, has a family friend who designs jewelry for Gwyneth and several other famous women, and that her father made an enormous amount of money on side jobs editing music videos. In short, she was basking in the success that was her father. Actually, I was very impressed by her father, even though I've never met him, let alone his daughter. But really, I almost wanted to erase them from my memory (my husband's smarter technique) but the situation was in such poor taste, I had to pen it here. Well, suffice it to say, we left rather irritated, exchanged snide comments a few decibels above earshot, turned our noses up and walked out.
Click on image for larger view.My husband's wallet was stolen at Chicago's O'Hare Airport last night. Right away we canceled his card. This morning we headed over to the DMV to replace his license. One would think it to be a lousy day, but we had a fine time sketching all the personalities that were waiting around for their number to be called. We waited so long we decided to take a quick lunch break in between, gambling our number wouldn't be called in the time we were gone. We headed over to Sparky's, our favorite diner, grabbed a couple burgers and headed back in time for my husband to file for a duplicate driver's license. When all was said and done, it was a 3 hour wait. That's about as long as one of my old college studio illustration classes. Then we headed over to the police station to file a report in case of stolen identity. We found out his credit card was used at a local Chicago gas station after it was canceled. We smiled knowing that the thief didn't get what he wanted, plus I got some precious life drawing time.
I want to call this "Something Missing." I needed to play around and have some sort of creative release and then I came up with this creepy background and took a figure I had already illustrated and plopped her down. She seemed to fit...sort of. So she looks like a ghost, a person that will be missing or missed. Or it can be interpreted as, something is missing about this piece. Can you tell my brain is fried? Another something missing. The theme is like a plague.
Just finished a bookcover for Harcourt Publishing that no one will see. Well, not exactly no one--the book will be distributed in schools only, but as of this moment, it remains under wraps. The educational market is very hush hush about their projects. But I think it came out pretty well. Shhh...here's a snippet of the piece, a preview, if you will. Once it gets published, probably sometime in 2008, then the whole world can see it, well, at least your little sister, brother, nephew, or niece, who will be about 6-8 years in age. As a whole it measures 19.5" wide by 12.25" tall.
I was watching a movie called "Mrs. Henderson Presents," starring Judy Dench from our almost like seeing it in the theater projector. I just decided I would do some drawing to warm up my drawing skills and as usual, my dog was a subject because he was sleeping so peacefully on his own movie chair across from me. I also drew directly from the movie, mostly using it as a jumping off point. Clearly this woman looks nothing like Ms. Dench.
(View of the orchestra pit, Lincoln Center)I spent most of Friday doing research for one of my projects designing ballet themed gift products. I was searching Google images and Getty Images for ballerinas in plies, en pointe, arabesques and in tutus. I got them all.
Then, my husband and I decided we wanted to spend an evening in the city to see a show. So we searched the internet for the usual: a couple comedy clubs and Broadway shows, weighing our options. I suggested the ballet. I had a hankering to see a ballet. Lincoln Center had a performance of La Bayadere at 8pm that same evening. We sprang for front row seats, the only way to go.
We bought our tickets, had a delicious meal at the Brooklyn Diner (where I discovered some pretty terrific guacamole) and headed to Lincoln Center. What a fantastic treat! The ballet was beautiful, the dancers, exquisite. I could do an all out review of the show, but I’m not an expert. I just had a hankering.
Two weekends ago, I was in Baltimore visiting my family. Before I got there, my parents took on the daunting task of cleaning out their basement after more than 20 years! So they handed me a very large, very heavy Rubbermaid bin filled with my old stuff dating back to when I was about 10 years old. I spent a whole afternoon sorting through treasure and trash. A good third of it went to the latter, but the rest was great for sentimental reasons. Among the loot I found a Hello Kitty journal, travel receipts and brochures from my first trip to New York, scrapbooks, and ten years of sketchpads. It was fascinating to decipher where I was in my life through pictures. One little treasure I was inspired by were a few quickly sketched fashion figures (from my 3rd semester in fashion design) inspired by Gustav Klimt. Who isn't inspired by the great Klimt? It's almost cliche to admit it.
So here it is. Thought I'd share it. Coincidentally, Illustration Friday's new theme is Remember. I know it's not a new piece, but I couldn't resist posting it.
The SCBWI holds a conference for children's illustrators every spring, organized by Frieda Gates, president of the New York Chapter and wonderful lady. Too bad these conferences don't happen more often. Anyone who knows about freelancing can attest to the need to get out, talk to peers, and fill up on some creative juice before heading back to the board. It goes something like this: we drop off our portfolios for review by about 30 editors, art directors and agents. While the reviews are going on, we sit through a few panel discussions about the children's publishing business.
This year, the speakers were writer/illustrator Emily Arnold McCully, a literary agent (Andrea Cascardi), an art agent (Lori Nowicki), and a couple panels about the graphic novel. My other half, Dennis, was one of those experts:-) I might be partial, but it was clear from everyone else's reaction that he was largely entertaining and informative (as indicated by the many laughs and rigorous note taking). The two people sitting next to me were trying to figure out who he looked like--I heard Keanu Reeves and the guy from 30 Something...hee hee...old reference!
Writer/illustrator Emily McCully was very inspiring. She talked about intelligent writing for children and her disciplined approach to illustration. She said she draws her ideas largely from history, creating fictional characters around specific historical events or people. The result is timeless and fresh. Her characters are usually strong, female personalities that grow and learn through certain conflict. Her pictures are lovely and tell alot about the characters in their visual cues. I really enjoyed her lecture.
A couple of my old friends attended which made the conference that much more enjoyable. Could've done without my nasty headache. Nevertheless, it was a good time. Afterwards, Dennis and I had dinner with my friend Tatyana and two illustrators who were new to New York. Got home around 9:30pm to a mess of a house after a hectic weekend. And today, my desk is left completely cluttered. In the pic, you'll see a clear, acrylic pen holder half-filled with promotional buttons--totally useless objects that look like candy, so they're completely irresistable! Got a lot of nice comments about them.
Now it's back to the board -- refreshed and inspired.
A cleaner, more simplified version of my site should be posted tomorrow. My old college friend, who is a master site builder, worked on it. His name's Ryan Anderson (see his site at ryanworksathome.com). I'm already thinking about all the stuff I'd like to add to it. More variations of the kind of work I want to show and the variety of media I've played with.
Tomorrow is also the Illustrator's Conference hosted by the SCBWI at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan. It's always a nice intimate event. I hope to garner lots of interest from art directors, buyers and editors from my updated portfolio and site. In the meantime, because of all the time I'm taking to prepare, my dog's not really happy. He's all stinky and feeling neglected and desperately wants to play. Poor thing. Because of my working late nights, my mornings are pretty slow going and so is the dog. He sits in his favorite chair which I purchased from a 2nd hand store for $25. It's located in my studio right next to the window. Very comfy.
Anyway, I'm putting in some extra hours to finish my book proposal. Maybe my delirious state will enhance the whimsy and wacky in my story. It's about 10:30pm now, which means dinner. Until tomorrow...
