Workbook's Creative Circus

Certainly a departure from the regular creative routine, I had the opportunity to participate in this year's drink & draw event, which was brought about to promote illustrators, watch illustrators work, drink, and witness a spectacle of the sideshow sort, all in the name of art education.  It was held at the Art Directors Club in NYC, a really lively venue on the ground floor, where people from the streets could witness the scantily clad models and sometimes live reptiles in action through the floor to ceiling windows. We sketched and sketched to our hearts' content and posted our creations on a wall to be sold to charity. It left me wanting more...drawing from life of course!

The Show to See

After a summer slumber in blogland, I thought I'd wake things up a bit with a happy announcement. The Society of Illustrators in New York will be hosting their 32nd Annual Original Art Show this October. For those who do not know, here's a bit about the juried show from the SI website:

"Founded by Dilys Evans in 1980, the show celebrates the fine art of children’s book illustration. It has been sponsored by the Society of Illustrators for the past twenty-two years.  The selection process will be by a jury of outstanding illustrators, art directors, editors, and experts in the field of children’s publishing."

With that, I'm pleased to announce that my latest picture book, No Dogs Allowed, by Linda Ashman (2011, Sterling Children's Books), made the cut! After years of submissions, this has become the title that brings a whole other level of validation to my work.

...pat on the back to me...

I am so proud of it, and still I strive to want to do better. For now, I will bask in its success, show you a few pieces from its interior pages, and let you know that the Original Art Show opens Oct. 24 and runs through Dec. 22, 2012.  I'll post more news about it as the date approaches!   

Just a Week Away

The NESCBWI (or the North Eastern Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators...phew!), a regional division of the SCBWI, is hosting the 2012 "Keeping It Real" Conference in Springfield, MA. The weekend-long series of workshops is for beginning to advanced writers and artists, striving to work in children's books. It starts next Friday, April 20, through Sunday, April 22.  So many talented guest lecturers will be there, as well as yours truly. I'll be teaching a workshop called "Creating Traditional Illustration Digitally." I hope attendees will come away from it with a renewed creative vigor, and at the very least, get their money's worth!

In addition, I was invited to also be a part of the Advanced Illustrator Academy faculty which includes two other notable guests I humbly call very distinguished colleagues—Martha Rago, Assoc. Creative Director for Harper Collins Children's Books, and internationally acclaimed writer/illustrator, Dan Yaccarino. How I deserved to be among them is beyond me, but I take my role seriously and hope to impart a lot of useful creative and practical knowledge. Thank you, Casey Girard.

Click on any of the links above for more information. You can also click on the image for a jump to the conference site. Hope to see you all there!

New York Comiccon!

You could say I fell into comics by way of my husband, but over the years I grew to appreciate the medium, the people, and the industry like aged wine. We started out with a digital comic book coloring studio in the mid-nineties, and now I had just attended my umpteenth convention as supporter of my husband's rapidly growing comic fan base. I do color here and there, recently a few covers for Marvel Comics, but I love to be a part of the collective of professionals that attend these conventions, trading experiences and techniques, sharing ideas or yuckin' it up with the bevy of jokesters, and there are many to be had!

Aside from business, most conventions mean reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones, pretty impressive talents at that. Despite being big talents, they're just really nice people.

(Image by my one and only, Dennis Calero, for his current X Men Noir Series)

The Ballet

(View of the orchestra pit, Lincoln Center)

I love the internet.

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.