Illustration Friday: Outside (and some thoughts)

{Watercolor, Gouache and Ink, 2015}

*Click image to view larger*

This blog has been quiet because life hasn't been. (I also suspect that my blogging has been replaced by more immediate sharing platforms like Instagram and Facebook.) I update my Instagram account almost daily with sketches and illustrations. 

I still want to keep this blog going though. So here I am. 

So far this year I have created two dummy books, countless illustrations and finally took my dream trip to New York for the 2015 SCBWI Winter Conference. It was inspirational, aspirational and made me feel like I am moving in the right direction for my career. I've had a few mini-epiphanies (mipiphinies?) that I want to share:

1. Just keep working: The voice in the creative mind says things like, "What if 'it' never happens?" and I remind myself that drawing and painting is something I love, something I NEED to do. Writing and illustrating for children makes me happy. I would do it anyways, so why not try and get it out into the world.

2. Good work trumps "Style": I still don't know if I have a style, but I just keep focusing on growth and making the best work I can.

3. We all have unique voices, even me : Ask 40 people to draw a crocodile. You've got 40 distinct impressions of a crocodile. It's not creating a crocodile that is important, its how you use him to relate to others and share your point of view. For the longest time I was trying to reinvent the wheel, when I just needed to get in the car and see where it took me.

4. I get to take my work seriously: Even if I am having a really good time making it. (Trust me, its not always a cake walk.) There are tears and very real emotions. I feel so deeply for my work that I can be Over-the-Moon Giddy or Laying-in-a-Ditch Depressed. It's a roller coaster, and it has earned me the right to get serious about my work. (it also helps to have an advocate in your corner for those ditch moments… thanks Ken and Sara.)

So, go ahead, take your unique voice and get to work!

Tomie dePaola Illustration Contest

{Graphite Drawing with Digital Mixed Media, 2014}

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I was really excited that the Tomie dePaola competition was a little more complex this year. We were supposed to illustrate a wordless spread with 4-6 panels that told a story. I spent quite a bit of time working out my story panels and was pretty pleased with the way my entry turned out. I'm happy to have this as an addition to my portfolio! Thanks for the prompt SCBWI and Tomie! I can't wait to see which 10 finalists Tomie chooses!

Bootcamp Project for May: Editorial Illustration

{Graphite Drawing with Digital Collage, 2014}

After having April off from "Make Art That Sells" (an e-course from Lilla Rogers' Studio) the class was back in full force with a project for editorial illustration. We were asked to create a piece of art in response to an article about meditation. The article was about the benefits of meditation but also about how the author found a lot of convincing excuses not to do it. (things like being busy, a wandering mind, etc.) I chose to focus on the inability to concentrate because I struggle with that also! Above is the finished piece. I used a lot of scanned textures and some ink drawings that are left over from previous projects. 

{Graphite Drawing, 2014}

This is the drawing I started with by scanning it into Photoshop and painting it. The thing I love most about the Lilla Rogers' class is that it makes you think about how you create your art in a different light. It also makes you fall back in love with the process which helps create a more successful end product. There are also tons of hints about marketability! 

The Meet-up

{Watercolor, 2014}

This is a personal piece I just finished. I wanted to illustrate a town for my portfolio but then I couldn't help myself from adding a little bit of a story. One of these days I need to do a massive sketchbook post too. I have tons and tons of sketches that I will share soon. I think sketchbooks are the best thing about being an illustrator. 

Dreaming of Spring!

{Click image to view larger}

Watercolor/Digital, 2014

I do enjoy aspects of every season but I am already looking forward to planting my 2014 garden this spring! With the short winter days, and long nights I guess that leaves me time to sketch variations on what I will plant and where. 

Inktober Highlights

{Bear, Sketchbook, 2013}

{Rabbit, Sketchbook, 2013}

 

 {Briar Rose Awake, Sketchbook, 2013}

{Like Moths, Sketchbook, 2013}

 {Fall Harbinger, Sketchbook 2013}

 {Forest Floor, Sketchbook, 2013}

{Brave Merida, Sketchbook, 2013}

Don't let my blog absence fool you! I've been a busy lady the last few months. I finished my 4th picture book illustrations during the first week of October and have been working on personal projects off and on. I've also been using my daily sketchbook time (ie. drinking coffee, watching Sesame Street and trying to fend of my 10 month old pen stealer.) to participate in the #inktober fun on Instagram. I love seeing what everyone else is doing and it feels good to be a part of a huge community of people who are all over the world doing the same thing. The above sketches are some of my favorites from this month. I am also planing on participating in PiBoIdMo which is essentially one picture book idea a day for the month. You can read more about it at Tara Lazar's Blog. I hope to share some of my work from that during the month of November.

Cookies Between Friends

{Digital Mixed Media, 2013}

It has been awhile since I last posted! It isn't because I haven't been working on anything. In fact, it's very much the opposite. I've been pretty swamped with work and I have several things I'd like to share on my blog. I thought I would start with this little personal illustration I created during some down time a few months back. I liked the way it turned out and I have some other little mice I would like to finish once I have some free time. I'm currently working on my 4th picture book, which I am very excited about! Juggling motherhood, an illustration career and general life stuff (and summer is always extra busy too!) has proven to be difficult but rewarding. I really enjoy blogging too, so I hope to try and fit a bit more in. 

Windsor Heights 4th of July Poster

{Drawing and Digital, 2013}

**Click Image to View Larger**

Today is Flag Day and I thought it would be a perfect day to share this poster that was created for the Windsor Heights 4th of July celebration. If you live in central Iowa, I highly recommend Windsor Heights' Independence Day festivities. Their parade is wonderful, they have activities for kids, music, food and fireworks! Their even doing a bike decorating contest for kids this year. How cool is that? I created this by scanning in a drawing and painting it in Photoshop. 

Illustration Friday - Wheel

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{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?

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!

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. 

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!

What's New?

{Sketch, 2012}

It's been well over a month since my last post, which is pretty unusual for this blog. A lot has been going on in the past few months. First, I found out my husband and I are expecting in December. My first trimester was a bit tough on me and needless to say, I got through it but didn't accomplish much work. I'm feeling much better now, thanks! Second, I signed a contract to do another book with Pelican Publishing. More on that later, but here is a tiny sneak peek of one of the spreads so far. I'm still in the sketching phase, but I have a lot of work to do before December comes on the calendar! Hoping to keep the blogging up, but with so much work and so little time, posts will probably be a little sparse for the next few months. I don't want to turn this into a baby blog either, but I might post a few cute little projects I work on for baby and a few little updates here and there. Good to be back!

Beaverdale Farmer's Market

{Coloring Page, 2012}

This is a coloring page I did as a children's activity for our local farmer's market. My husband and I got involved in helping out and we've been doing several things to prepare for the start next week. If you are local, you can find out more information at BeaverdaleFarmFest.com!

Summer Camping

{Graphite on Watercolor Paper, 2012}
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This is the full illustration that surrounds the characters that I shared in my previous post. When I was a kid, I really looked forward to camping. Actually, if I get a chance, I still look forward to it! It is one of my favorite things about growing up in Michigan; the lake, the dunes, the campgrounds and the state parks. I am going to finish this in watercolor, and then I will share the final illustration!

Bears Sketch

{Sketch, 2012}

These bears are the main characters of a larger piece I am working on. Once I get it all drawn up, I plan to use watercolor as the coloring method. I love the life in the original sketch, so I thought I would share it. I love drawing bears!