The Wonderful City of Oz (and Springfield, MA!)

I'm very excited to be going to this year's annual New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Spring Conference tomorrow morning! This is for the illustration challenge, where we got to illustrate a passage from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum!

Apologies for the lack of posts here! I have been very active on my Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and of course, my main website! I'll put some more updates here soon, and come on by to any of those places to say hello there, too!

If You Read Something, See Something

This is sort of an "update" to this drawing I made a few years ago. I'd like to think that we are meeting the bookish lady's daughter, and the girl is just as creative and day-dreamy as her mom!

This piece is dedicated to the kids I met as a visiting artist last week at the Free Arts NYC after-school program! They are such an amazing group of kids, teachers, and volunteers, and I feel so honored to have played a part in their program! The kids are incredibly smart and imaginative, I can't wait to see what they create in the future!

New Friends

Sunday Night Sketching!

Seals and Walruses

I came across a picture I drew on the back of a writing tablet when I was about five or six years old, and I drew it again!

Here's the original, from back in the day:

A watercolor painting of a little fox for my baby nephew!

Old Friends

When they were little girls, they decided that they would be best friends forever. A whale never forgets a promise.

Baby Seal!

Playing around with Photoshop brushes and textures!

Kitty

A little sketch/study thing!

Snow!

Happy Winter!

This is Otterly Elementary, Dear Watson!

I went to visit one of my best friends this weekend, who just moved to a new apartment in New York City! She and I both love the BBC/PBS adaptation of Sherlock, and she is a petite dynamo, so I made this for her as a housewarming gift!
If you are wondering about the reasoning behind why they are these animals, the actor who plays Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch, looks a bit like an otter, and Martin Freeman, who plays John Watson, looks a little like a hedgehog. (And yes, I know that Sherlock hated the deerstalker hat in this series, but the thing is, otters just look really good in hats!)

Hello Mr. Humpback!

Had the day off, so I drew a whale! Hope you are having a nice Labor Day today!

Facebook!

I now have a Facebook fanpage for my art! You can check it out here!

Stars

New drawing! This is what I get when I play around in Photoshop- happy children and stars! :)

Happy Birthday

You never forget your first unicorn.

Take Good Care Of It

I drew a sketch of this about a year ago, and it bothered me that I never finished it. So I did! Yay!

To The Lake

This was for part of an early draft of a picturebook script that I wrote. I still have a ways to go to revise the story itself, but I played around with what a finished 2-page spread may look like. Yay!

Best Feline Friend

My cat, Silvester!

The Tassys!

This year, I was selected as a finalist in the Illustrator's Portfolio category for the Tassy Walden Awards! The Tassy Awards for New Voices in Children's Literature are held by the Shoreline Arts Alliance and are judged by literary agents and children's book industry professionals.

I just got back from the ceremony, and I am still buzzing with joy! Everyone there was so awesome! The people who won and placed in Honorable Mention for writing read excerpts from their manuscripts, and I can't wait to see them in print so I can finish the stories! The winner for Illustrated Children's Book, Lynn Stephens Massey, also presented her beautiful book about the fascinating creatures that live along the Connecticut shoreline. Her book makes me want to learn more about horseshoe crabs! Marcela Staudenmeier won the Illustrator's Portfolio category, and not only is her art absolutely FANTASTIC (especially her collages!), she is one of the sweetest people I've ever met! :)

I've met Marcela before, as well as many of the other winners, presenters (Hi Doe Boyle and Deborah Freedman!), and attendees from the Tassy awards, at the SCBWI groups that I attend. They are such a wonderful group of people- nurturing, supportive and honest as they give great feedback to help everyone's art and writing grow. I love going to the meetings even when I don't have anything specific to show, I learn so much from everyone and they keep me excited and focused on making art through the month!


It was also really special because my mom and aunt were able to come along with me!

OK, so I'll quit gushing now! :) In conclusion: CONGRATULATIONS to the Winners, Honorable Mentions, and Finalists, and YAY FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS!

Kid Yearbook Studies

I found my old elementary school yearbook in my parents’ basement, so I sketched some of the kids!

Pup Portrait Painting Process

One of my co-workers commissioned me to paint a picture of her sister's dog as a gift. I was happy to make it for her, even more so after I saw the photographs of the pooch! SO FLUFFY!!!

Some sketches:

After we picked out the pose and composition we liked the best, I got to work on it in my little studio area:

And here's the finished painting!

I had a lot of fun making this! If you want a portrait of your pet (not just dogs, I'd be happy to paint a picture of your cat, bunny, gerbil, fish, cow, really, I just love painting animals!) feel free to contact me!