At long last, my society6 shop is officially open. In it, you'll find an array of prints and other products featuring my work like the "Woof Pack" below. I'm having a great time experimenting with pattern—an area I've only just begun to explore—and will be adding more and more images in the future. Coming soon: birds...go figure!
In the beginning, there are many circles...
Working in Deep Space
These days you’ll find me in deep space as I complete final art for my next picture book collaboration with Candlewick Press. THE DAY THE UNIVERSE EXPLODED MY HEAD is a collection of humorous poems about space by poet, performer, and educator, Allan Wolf. Of course, sharing art at this stage is verboten, but here are a few details from my desk.
sometimes with a dash of salt...
Virtually every one of my illustrations starts off on paper. I use sumi ink washes to create shapes and line, drawing and painting the same things over and over, until I get the effect and energy I want. I’m always striving the most natural strokes—ones that don’t show any hesitation or self-consciousness. For this book, I’ve also be experimenting with salt and other random materials to achieve unexpected results. All of these elements are then scanned, collaged, and colored in the computer.
and more circles...
and bands of splotchy ink...
and throw in a few stars.
Here's the original sketch of Jupiter...
...then scan, collage, and color. Of course, this is missing elements of Jupiter's fiery personality.
As you can see, I’m having a great time with all of the planetary opportunities and textures that Alan's poems inspire. THE DAY THE UNIVERSE EXPLODED MY HEAD will be available in Spring 2019. For more updates, watch this space.
What's News with Me…
What's news with me? I guess, a lot, since it's been a while since I updated this page. The late summer and early fall have kept me plenty busy.
It's that time of year again! As with past Octobers, I'm participating in #Inktober—the month of ink drawings shared on social media—with my own spin in the form of #Oinktober. If you'd like to follow my pigs' progress, check out my Instagram for a new pig drawing each day.
Fall is book festival season, and a few weekends ago, I was at the Princeton Children's Book Festival along with a stellar roster of kidlit authors and illustrators. Creating children's books is a somewhat solitary art, so festivals are a great way to connect directly with teachers, librarians, parents, and especially kids. If you find yourself near Westchester County, NY on Saturday, October 14th, come visit me at the Chappaqua Children's Book Festival from 10–4PM. I'll be signing books and giving away bookmarks, stickers and more. For further information, click here.
September 15th was International Dot Day, and I was invited to celebrate with a few author-illustrator colleagues down at the KidLitTV studio in Lower Manhattan. Now a worldwide celebration inspired by Peter Reynolds' book The Dot (about a little girl who is reticent about drawing/making her mark, only to discover the true artist within her), this Dot Day connected classrooms across the globe through a live stream to create a celebration of creativity, courage, and collaboration. As you can see, we created our own jumbo dot, deemed, the "collabradot." Thanks to my fellow "celebridotters" Lori Richmond, David Ezra Stein, Joyce Wan, Michael Arndt and the great folks at KidLitTV for a fabulously fun day!
Last, but not least, Zora's Zucchini is now out in paperback, sporting a newly-earned award—the Growing Good Kids Book Award, from Junior Master Gardeners and The American Horticultural Society. If you'd like to get a copy for the kid gardener you know, click here.
That's all from here—have a great fall, and hope to see you soon!
Teaching at the SVA Summer Residency
This week brought to a close another June of teaching Illustration at the School of Visual Arts Summer Residency. Now in it’s tenth year, the residency gives artists a chance to immerse themselves in the New York illustration world through a rigorous program of coursework, as well as visits with professionals, organizations, and exhibitions.
Focusing on narrative illustration, my class guides students through the creation of a series of images inspired by a text of their choosing. As a teacher, it’s incredibly rewarding to see the development of these projects, from sketches to finished art, culminating with their Open Studios exhibition at the end of course.
Below is just a small sampling of work from this talented group.
Sayan Mukherjee
Rose Ting-Yi Lui
Leah Horowitz
Kat Flores
Tiffanie Young
Danica Da Silva Pereira
Toko Hosoya
For more information about SVA’s Summer Residency, click here.
If I Were a Kangaroo at some Book Events…
Spring is finally here, and I'm happy to announce some events in the coming months, where I will be reading and signing copies of IF I WERE A KANGAROO:
On Saturday, May 6th, look for me at the Picture Book Bonanza at Books of Wonder in New York City.
On Saturday, May 13th—the day before Mother's Day—I'll be at one of my all time favorite stores, R. J. Julia in Madison, CT where we'll be reading and crafting!
And on Saturday, May 27th, I'll be participating in Children's Day at the Queens Books Festival.
At each event, I'll have some giveaway goodies like coloring pages, bookmarks, stickers, and such. We'll even make some kangaroo puppets, if you're game. For more information on these and other upcoming events, please go to my events page. Thanks, and hope to see you!
