Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Love That Library

This past Sunday my awesome town library held a reception for local authors and children's book illustrators. Our library houses a permanent collection of books by people from the area-- there are over 90 of us both past and present-- and they do a bang-up job supporting the arts.

I overcame my inner social-dork long enough to chat with people whose work I greatly admire-- illustrators Paul Meisel and Ross MacDonald, and poet Patricia Hubbell, among others. It was fun to talk shop for a bit, and I must say that I don't think I've ever met a not-nice person in this field. Maybe it's a prerequisite.

So here's the deal: wherever you live, support your local library! It's a rich resource that's available to everyone.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Rain, Rain... Get Outta Here!























The forecast predicts sun for the next few days. (I almost forgot how to pronounce that word!)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Stuck Again?

Keep your hand moving. That's what Lynda Barry advocates in her book, What It Is.













If you're writing and don't know what to say next, write out the alphabet. Keep your hand moving. Eventually the words will flow.




This works for drawing, as well.

I like to get up around 5:00am when the morning is silent, with a cup of coffee in hand. I read, or write, or draw. It's usually a creative time.

This morning my mind was blank.

But hey-- here's a ball point pen! And a scrap of paper! And look, there's a salt shaker!










And a pepper grinder!













I started drawing.

Boring sketches? Yeah! But who cared what they looked like? My hand was moving.

After a short break to shower and get the kids off to school I went back to writing. It turned out to be a productive brainstorming morning.

(And by the way, I highly recommend Lynda's book. It's a wild combination of graphic novel, memoir, and writing/creativity instruction-- very inspiring!)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Yeah, I Know. More Flowers...

... but winter is long so I'm reveling in spring, rainy though it may be. This picture doesn't do justice to the roses. They bloom for such a short while. This was during a rare moment of sun yesterday afternoon:

















And this lady was in the backyard three mornings in a row last week laying her eggs, before she wandered back into the pond:

Monday, June 15, 2009

Monday Map: A Garden. And Rain

















I'm losing my memory. Have I posted this map already? If so it was long enough ago that no one will remember, I suppose.

If we don't get sun around here soon my entire garden is going to rot. Rain in the forecast for the next 10 days. *Sigh.*

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Book Map-in-Progress













Even though it's not necessary to read the manuscript before working on a book map, I love it when the editor sends the text along. I read it if I have the time, but always at least skim it, to get a "feel" for the map, and to look for ideas for spot illustrations that might add a special touch.

This map will have a lot of lettering and not much room for spots, so I'm thinking I'll play around with a decorative border...

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Floral Interlude























A busy day today, working on map sketches and reading manuscripts for my writing group tomorrow. It's our last meeting before summer break and we always have a delicious luncheon. (I'm on the Frittata. Yum!) Hope to do some sketching, too.

Lots of rain and thunder around here this morning! Good for the flowers.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Monday Map: Cool New Project!














No map art to show this morning, other than material for a cool new project-- a map of the Oregon Trail for Kimberly Willis Holt's upcoming novel! (Here's a list of her fabulous books, and she also blogs, here.) I'm trying to restrain myself from using too many exclamation points in this post, but oh, what the heck!! I'm excited!!!

I'll post more as I get farther along with sketches.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Cat & Mouse


















One of my newest Black & White pieces.

Yeah, I have a thing for cats and hats going on right now...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Monday Map: Murfreesboro













Happy June 1, everyone! It was 38 degrees outside this morning, but the sun is shining, and I'm sure it's got to warm up. (We did have a beautiful weekend.) On to a busy week around here...