Bathe with an Octopus?

{Watercolor and Gouache, 2013}

In my previous post I mentioned that I would share the illustration that I created for the Iowa SCBWI spring conference illustrator's intensive. We were given a manuscript for a children's book and we asked to choose a scene to illustrate. I chose the octopus scene. We each sent sketches to Senior Art Director at Little Brown and Co.,  Patti Ann Harris, and she responded with comments for each illustrator's piece. This is my original sketch:

{Sketch, 2013}

Patti Ann didn't have a ton of things to change, but there were a few tweaks. Can you see a few differences? At the end of the intensive, we were shown what the actual book looked like. Here is the cover for the book illustrated by Marc Brown of "Arthur" fame.

You can preview the book on Amazon. Its really adorable and fun! The book was done in a cut paper collage technique that is beyond gorgeous! If you ever get a chance to meet Patti Ann Brown, do it! She was so encouraging and more importantly, very intelligent about the industry. Her eye for composition, technique and book flow is impeccable! 

Time Flies!

{Des Moines Women's Club 105th Annual Art Show, 2013}

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog. So many exciting and fun things have happened in the last month or so! I'm just going to make a list of some of the highlights:

• I finished illustrating my third children's book a few weeks ago! "The Southern Twelve Days of Christmas" should be available sometime this fall. I will, of course, share more details as the time approaches. Doing half the illustrations for the book with a newborn was pretty stressful at times, but thanks to the support of my husband and the ability to ignore the state of my house, I got it done! Now I'm on the prowl for new projects!

• I entered the 105th Des Moines Women's Club annual art show and won an Honorable Mention in the Professional Category for "The Sky is Falling" which I had painted for a SCBWI contest last year.  It was a wonderful surprise and it always feels really good to be recognized for hard work. Check out the Women's Club Website HERE. The above picture shows Henry and I standing with my piece above me at the reception.

{Iowa SCBWI Illustrators and Senior Art Director Patti Ann Harris, 2013 Conference}

{Photo Credit: Dorothia Rohner Sketch Blog}

• The Iowa SCBWI Spring conference was April 12-14. I only attended Friday and Saturday, but I still enjoyed every minute I could be there. There was an illustrator's intensive on Friday and I created a piece just for the conference. I will share it in my next post. I'm pretty happy with my final and consider it a nice addition to my portfolio. My portfolio review with Patti Ann was really awesome and I have a bunch of ideas spinning around in my head! Henry and Ken also joined me and they spent some time exploring the Quad Cities during my classes. 

• I've been working in my sketchbook quite a bit and will plan to do a separate post dedicated to those new little drawings! Sketchbooks are a way of life, people!

Illustration Friday - Wheel

*Click image to view larger*

{Graphite in Sketchbook, 2013}

I thought of a wagon for this week's prompt over at Illustration Friday. I thought tiny wheels would be funny juxtaposed with big fluffy kitties. I was going to leave it at just that and then I decided I wanted to know who was pulling the wagon. It kind of looks like this little girl has all she can handle! Free kitten anyone?

Illustration Friday - Wings

{Ink in Sketchbook, 2013}

I whipped this up in my sketchbook before bed a few nights ago. Between working on a book project and taking care of Henry, I only have a few spare minutes here and there to sketch. (I find myself sketching while feeding him a lot.) My new busier schedule is also the reason my blog will probably be neglected a bit until my book project is done. I am also looking forward to starting some dummy book ideas I have had floating around in my noggin. Anyways, for the IF word "wings" I thought I would draw two little aviation enthusiasts; a chick and his worm friend.

Introducing Henry Robert Camling

{Henry, 2012}

{Pen and Ink with Digital Color, 2012}

On December 6th, at 10:21pm my husband and I welcomed our son, Henry Robert into the world. He weighed in at 7 lbs., 4 oz., measuring 21.5"long. Right now, we're doing our best to learn about caring for an infant, and the most important thing right now is helping him to thrive! He's absolutely beautiful and we both love him in a way we never thought possible. I also included an illustration I made for the thank you cards I wrote to friends and family that provided us with baby shower gifts. Since Henry's birth, I feel like we need to write some more for all the people who have brought us meals and made sure that we are doing alright. My parents will be visiting for Christmas, and we are really looking forward to that too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

{Watercolor Sketchbook, 2012}

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you found yourself something delicious to eat! Ken and I made a turkey and the sides at our home this year. It's too close to my due date to travel, but we enjoyed each other's company. This is only our second time making Thanksgiving dinner at our own house alone. Usually, when my parents visit, my dad does an amazing job on the turkey! Our turkey still turned out pretty tasty this year too!

Illustration Friday - Zoom

{Watercolor Sketchbook, 2012}

We recently got another cat to accompany Amelia. (Since Oliver's passing in April) It took a few weeks, but Amelia and Roxie have become pretty good buddies. They like to take turns chasing each other and playing the dominant cat. They zoom all over the house and every now and then we hear a little crash! I did a quick drawing of them in my Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and then added their markings with marker and paint. 

My 29th Birthday!

{Graphite on Illustration Board, 2012}

I like to document my birthday on my blog every year. It shows the passing of time and it's just nice to put it out there and acknowledge it for myself. I didn't have time to do a birthday themed illustration this year. I've been sick this past week as well as being 37 weeks pregnant. I was working on this mouse and tree illustration in the evenings this week though, and I thought I could share it. I meant to submit it to Illustration Friday for last week's theme of "Tree" but didn't finish in time. I still think it turned out nice and I really like some of the textures I managed to create with my pencil. It's about 6"x6" in size on a piece of scrap illustration board I had laying around. This mouse is having a peaceful day, just the kind of day I wish for on my birthday! I am planning on going to a hibachi dinner with friends tonight and maybe I'll even find a piece of cake somewhere along the way!

Derek Anderson at Ames Public Library

 {Derek Drawing a Dragon, 2012}

 {Derek Anderson, 2012}

 {Lots of Books for Sale, 2012}

 {Close up of the Drawing Demo by Derek, 2012}

 {Derek Anderson and I, 2012}

{Drawing on the Library Walls, 2012}

I had the pleasure of going to Ames, Iowa today to hear Author/Illustrator, Derek Anderson, speak. What a sincerely nice and entertaining guy! Judging from today, I am 100% sure he does an amazing school visit! (a talent in its own right) He really connects with the kiddos. He's originally from Ames, so you can tell the area is near and dear to his heart. He spoke about himself as a kid, read from his new book and did a demonstration of a dragon drawing which is a main character in his new book with Jane Yolen, "Waking Dragons". It is a darling story that will be appealing to children and adults. It was fun to hear him talk about some of the hidden things in the illustrations. (I'm keeping that a secret, in case you ever get to spend an afternoon hearing him speak.) Derek was also nice enough to stay after and sign books and meet with a few of us SCBWI-Iowa members and give pointers. I definitely got some golden nuggets of information, which is one of the greatest things about getting to meet favorite authors and illustrators. I've heard he speaks in Ames annually, so I plan to definitely go see him again. Also, in case you are wondering why he's drawing on library walls, the Ames Public Library is renovating, so they permitted some graffiti illustration! When they open back up, I'm sure that probably won't be an approved activity anymore.

Illustration Friday - Shy

{Verithin Pencil in Sketchbook, 2012}

I took a little break from my work today and hung out in a local coffee shop with my friend, Sara and decided to work on an entry for Illustration Friday this week. We both did some drawing and chatting and it was nice. I came up with a girl who would rather make friends with a little bird than her classmates. I think everyone feels shy at least once in awhile. 

November Visitors

 {Sketchbook, 2012}

{Sketchbook, 2012}

I love November. It's the month that holds my birthday, Thanksgiving, and the excitement that leads up to Christmas. I also love the scurrying of all the animals trying to get the last tasks done before they migrate on or go into hibernation. In fact, right now there is a vibrant bluebird in my birdbath! I always see bluebirds in the spring and fall because we aren't situated in their habitat, but in their migratory paths. These are a few sketches inspired by November. (I wish animals had to bundle up like we do. Wouldn't that be cute?) Oh well, I guess in my imagination they still can. 

Illustration Friday - Haunt

{Sketch with Digital Color, 2012}

{My Handmade Costume, 2012}

I wanted to participate in Illustration Friday this week since it also happens to be Halloween this week. I love dressing up and all the decorations associated with the holiday. My "haunt" entry is a little vampire boy that I sketched a few days ago and colored in Photoshop today. I also included a picture of the costume that I made for myself this year. It was tricky to come up with something because I'm about  35 weeks pregnant and comfort was the most important thing. I decided to get a maternity shirt and sew on a fishbowl and a felt fishy scene. I sewed a little magnet in the fish's mouth and then made a felt hook with a magnet and attached it to a fishing pole. Get it? I'm a fishing kitty! Essentially all I am wearing is a pair of black yoga pants and a t-shirt. (Comfy indeed!) Also, when I go out tomorrow, I will probably just wear the fishbowl t-shirt. I wore the whole costume on Saturday when my husband and I decided to have a night on the town. I even managed to dance a little!

Shiny New Bookmarks!

{Promotional Bookmarks, 2012}

 {Promotional Bookmarks, 2012}

I'm going to an SCBWI Iowa event this weekend and I wanted to have a fun little promotional freebie to give away. I'm not planning to send out postcards until the spring ( after baby is born and my book project is done) so I thought about something that could be a non-mailer. I decided on a bookmark to start getting the word out about the book I'm currently working on. The bookmark has one of the illustrations from the book and all of my contact information. For the conference, I punched holes in the top and added a coordinated ribbon to fancy it up! I still have several that are unpunched in the event I want to mail a few out. As always, I recommend Overnight Prints because the quality is good, the prices are fair and they ship really fast (even at standard rates).

Sewing Projects for Baby

{Sewing Projects for Baby, 2012}

{Sewn Bird with a Jingle Bell Inside, 2012}

{House Pillow, Front, 2012}

 {House Pillow, Back, 2012}

Even though I have a huge book project I'm working on right now, I have enjoyed making a few things for the little baby boy growing inside me. I have sewn a few toys that are far from perfect, but I hope that he likes them anyways. The bird and cat toys were quick and easy and I made the patterns from tracing paper. I love to make things that way because you never really know what to expect. Usually I don't work from others' patterns. If anything, I often look at sewing projects to get a little inspiration and then go and do my own thing. The house pillow was fun to make but took several sessions to hand stitch the windows and letters. I thought it would be neat to put the word house on the back for someday when he is learning to read. Who knows, maybe I'll make a few more shape and word pillows. I'm also making a little quilt that I will share once its finished. And I  have a few drawing projects that are separate from my book project that I will share soon! It has been a very busy 2012 autumn so far!

When you go on vacation, bats move in!

{Watercolor, 2012}

My husband and I left for vacation a little over a week ago (and had a great time, I might add!) We departed to Michigan for my brother-in-law's beautiful wedding and then headed up north to visit the Traverse City area. It was a peaceful week and we did quite a bit for only one week. As we were driving home to Iowa, I noticed that my neighbor had sent me a text that a bat had been dive bombing her as she was feeding our pets! I was surprised to hear that because we have never had issues with bats before. When we finally made it home, it was still light out (just barely) and we searched the house. Finally, we found a little brown bat stuck in a bucket in the basement. After a little research, I found out that bats can't fly up and out of things. They need a little loft for coasting. We brought the bucket outside and carefully lifted him onto a tree where he promptly climbed up and flew away. We thought that was the end of our adventure with bats. Wrong. (side note, little brown bats are really really cute!!!) Later that night, as we were nodding off to sleep I awoke to a very distinct sound of flapping. I nudged my husband and sure enough, we had another little brown bat visiting. This time, he was flying freely in the house. (just like my neighbor had described.) Getting this little guy (who was slightly bigger than the other) out was a little more work. My husband held out a towel and the bat would swoop around, presumably trying to find a way out. He landed a few times, hanging from the ceiling, which let us have a bit of a look at his little face and structure. After several tries, the bat crawled to the towel, my husband lowered it to the door and the bat flew away, probably really hungry and ready to eat some delicious insects. I did a little more research about bats because I worried we might have a real problem on our hands. (we haven't had any more bats) It turns out, sometimes a young bat is learning to fly, gets into a place they can't get out of, and then the parent follows them to make sure they are alright. (how sweet is that?) I think that may have been the issue here. Either way, we were glad to get both bats out safely. My husband and I are pretty big animal lovers and even if its an animal that is a little creepy, we want it to be happy, healthy and safe. I know a lot about little brown bats now, so of course, I wanted to paint my own version of one. I think the real ones are cuter! So small and innocent looking!