I was interviewed on the wonderful podcast Just One More Book to promote awareness for the Robert’s Snow Online Art Auction for Cancer Cure. I hope you will not only listen but bid on the one-of-a-kind folk art ornaments created by my fellow children’s book illustrators. You will be able to receive a beautiful holiday gift as well as contribute to a very worthy cause.

I’m so excited and proud when my book is finally printed and I get to hold it in my hands.

But then I want to show it off and read it to somebody and no one is home, except…

My DOGS!

They are the best audience in the world. They pay attention to every single word…

Laugh at all the right places…

And then quiet down and listen empathetically to the touching parts…

And then if I give them a treat, they tell me how much they love my pictures too! Who could ask for more!

by Rubi at Paularino Elementary

Visiting schools is the best antidote I know for “studio-itis”. It’s rejuvenating and refreshing to take a break, get out in the world and spend time with children.

Photo by Lynda Modaff

I love meeting all the kids and hearing what they have to say. Plus they draw great illustrations and write wonderful letters, and I get to keep them! And some say I’m their favorite illustrator, that doesn’t hurt either (see below)! Here are a few of them.

by Marcus at Paularino

And sometimes they have suggestions for what I SHOULD have drawn:

By Reese at Paularino

When I first started illustrating, I heard “color songs”–I would listen or feel my way through color choices. I felt guided in an intuitive way as to my color choice and could feel a sense of harmony as I painted.

Something has happened along the way, where I can’t hear the song so clearly. I think I know the reasons. One is that I started getting feedback from reviews and editors about my “bright color palette” and how they liked it. So I tried to replicate the same color sense instead of feeling my way through color choices. I have a really hard time trying to mix certain colors that I think won’t be pleasing! Another possible reason is that I’ve been painting with the same colors now for many years and pretty much rely on my tried and true version of white or red or green.

So, how to get back to hearing the song of colors? I have an idea to do paintings straight from nature rather than from my head. To get back to seeing what colors exist without my rote interpretation. Another idea would be to create color samples along side my illustrations, and mix in an unexpected way–just little swatches of colors for no reason. Or try to find color songs in other people’s paintings. It’s been helpful in the past to have a book on my drawing table, open to an inspiring painting, to remind me of the wide choices of color that exist. Here’s two artists who’s color sense I really admire, Bonnard and Grandpre.

Mary Grandpre

Seems like once you do one illustration of a certain subject, you suddenly get a bunch of other books/assignments with the same exact subject. So far, I’ve done four “old lady” books, two of which, more specifically, are about “old ladies with chair fixations”. Sometimes it gets tiresome to do the same subject over and over, but I never get tired of painting or drawing pigs. Maybe it’s their round shape or their snouts, I’m not sure…but whatever it is, here are a few of my pig paintings.

Finally, something to blog about! I just finished my snowflake for Robert’s Snow For Cancer Cure. You can read more about this unique online fundraising auction by going to the Robert’s Snow site. Viewing of snowflakes will start in late August and bidding starts in November. I hope everyone will take a look and see all the beautifully crafted snowflakes by my fellow children’s book illustrators and donate to this wonderful cause.

Here’s how I created mine. First, I was obsessed with Humpty Dumpty, for some reason. I started to think about what Humpty would be doing in winter, and then, of course, I thought of the fall. I first did my sketches, front and back:

Then I lay in the color using my usual acrylics, not worrying yet about any details (here’s the back side):

Finally, I did many layers of paint to arrive at the finished snowflake:

So, don’t forget to visit the Robert’s Snow site next month!

When I was a teenager, I used to dream about moving to Venice. Though it was only 15 or so miles away from where I grew up, it was so much more intriguing than my suburban neighborhood. Venice is one of the spots in the Los Angeles area where the artists live. Even though it’s changed in the last 30 years and become a lot more gentrified, there are still interesting places to visit.

Every morning I go for a long walk with my dogs and take in the sights. Here’s some of my favorites.

The Mosaic Tile House was (and is still evolving) created by Gonzalo and Cheri. It’s almost completely covered with mosaics and other interest objects both inside and out. As my friend Russ said, it is a life-affirming dwelling and well worth a visit. For a small fee, you can take a look inside and have a personalized tour on Saturdays.

The Chiat-Day Building is right on the border of Venice and Santa Monica at 340 Main Street. Here’s what I found out about it:

A four-story pair of binoculars, which can be seen for blocks, highlights the entrance of this advertising agency’s headquarters. In addition to this 1991 Frank Gehry design, the building also features a boat-shaped wing and a vaguely tree-shaped structure. The binoculars themselves house two conference rooms, with the eyepieces serving as skylights.

There’s a number of Venice walk streets by the beach, but there’s even more a bit inland. They are hidden away, so I don’t know if many people know about them. There’s a lot of huge new architecturally interesting homes that have been built in the last 5 years, but I like the funkier parts of these streets. There’s a house that hangs all sorts of lamps and chandeliers in the yard and another with a surfboard entrance.

The old Venice jail houses an organization called SPARC that creates and produces murals throughout the city (if only all jails could be turned into places where art is created). Here’s one of their murals in their parking lot.

This is Jonathan Borofsky’s clown ballerina (this photo is one of the highlights when I do my school visits slide show). This 30-foot sculpture overlooks the corner of Main and Rose about a block from the beach, and just down the street from the binocular building.

If my dogs and I want a really nice long walk, we go to the canals. There’s lots of ducks for the dogs to check out and peace for me.

Looking at all the interesting places around where I live always inspires me. By the time I get home, I’m ready to start creating my own art.

My new favorite listening pleasure is to be found at www.justonemorebook.com, a great podcast all about children’s books and the people that create them. The hosts, Andrea and Mark, are so enthusiastic about children’s books. They make me want to run out and read every book they review. I love the interviews of the authors, illustrators, editors and other children’s book people. Mark is an incredible interviewer, always asking just the right question. This last week he went to the International Reading Association conference and was able to interview some amazing people including Elise Primavera, Jack Prelutsky, Tedd Arnold and Lois Ehlert. It’s so enjoyable and interesting to listen to these interviews as I’m painting. I was especially impressed with the work of Barbara Reid, someone whom I wasn’t familiar with. Her plasticine illustrations inspired me to go out and buy my own clay and give it a try. Not quite as easy as I had hoped, but going to see where it takes me.

And, of course, I was happy to see that Andrea and Mark decided to review THE TROUBLE WITH TILLY TRUMBLE!

Welcome to my new and only blog! A big thank you to Todd Ritchie who originally designed my site and now has just completed updating it.

Recently, I have been writing my own stories and creating dummies. I’ve had a lot of help in the writing department from Phillis and David Gershator. I’ve also been taking a wonderful online writing class from Uma Krishnaswami where I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with listening to my guts regarding critiquing other people’s stories.

One of my stories I’m most excited about is called VEGGIE BOOGALOO! Above is the sketch I did for the first page and below are a few others from this story.