3 x 3 ~ Children's Show Annual

One good thing about returning from vacation is collecting all the mail that's been piling up. (I love getting real, old-fashioned mail!) This was an excellent surprise: a copy of 3 x 3 Magazine's 2012 Children's Show Annual.

I'm thrilled to have illustrations from Maggie & Oliver included, along with the work of so many talented and much-admired colleagues. I'm still drooling over all the gorgeous artwork.

Thank you, 3 x 3!

Coming Soon!

Soon, as in, October!

Projects, Puppies, and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm finally working on the cover art for Maggie & Oliver! Can't wait until it comes out this Fall. Ironic, isn't it, how things happen so slowly in publishing, but time seems to pass faster the older you get. That must make it all even out in the end.


















Here's another peek at some interior art... these will be chapter heads. Can you tell the story takes place in an old-fashioned setting?
















And some most exciting news... here's the newest addition to our family! (Whose brilliant idea was it to get a puppy in the middle of a winter of epic snow? I won't answer that...)























May 2011 bring you projects, and puppies, and whatever else you hope for!

On My Desk

Working on rough cover color ideas for this project.

(Notice, the cats have been displaced. For now.)

What's On My Desk

This week I'm working on endpaper illustrations and a few other bits and pieces for Maggie and Oliver, a middle-grade novel by author Valerie Hobbs.

There's always a stage in the process where I think the art looks like blech. Most times I can work through it. (Figured this out after years of self-torture.)

















Usually my desk looks something like below. My hairy little assistants are always ready to help. (Between nap breaks, that is.) Luckily I also have a standing desk. Keeps the ol' spine happy.






















Here's another piece from the book:

Teeny-Tiny Sketches

These are two little sketches for part of the Maggie and Oliver endpapers. The editor and designer liked the one on the left. (Me, I couldn't decide! I'm bad like that.)

Dept. of Good Stuff: Update!

I'm happy to be posting again about my Maggie and Oliver book illustration project, with an update! Things were put on hold this summer because my lovely & wonderful editor moved to another house. (It's publishing. It happens.) The book was reassigned to a new editor (just as lovely & wonderful)* and I'll be finishing up the cover and endpaper art in the next month or so. Look for a Fall '11 publication date! I still intend to blog about the whole process of working on the book– probably closer to the release.

Meanwhile, here's a sneak peek at one of the interior illos:























*(Just gotta say, I'm feeling really, really fortunate to have the chance to work with so many lovely & wonderful people!)

Almost Done!

I'm almost done with the Maggie & Oliver interior pieces! Here they are hanging on my wall, waiting for one more pass to make sure everything is consistent. (And yeah, those are big messy piles on my flat file waiting to be sorted. Sigh.)


















And a few more pieces. You'll notice how I cropped the view into my family room. No need to show the perpetual mountain-of-laundry...











I probably shouldn't show any final close-ups until they're all approved, but here's another sketch. It's a smaller spot, one of my personal favorites.

Deadlines and Elves

Argh... feeling a bit overwhelmed this week! I'm doing the B & W final art for Maggie & Oliver, have a big map due on Monday, and am yearning to put the final tweaks on a picture book dummy I've been working on forever. But I have to laugh. In almost 17 years of working for myself, this feeling has become familiar. And the work has always gotten done. (Must be those magic elves that drop in at night.)

Meanwhile, here's a sketch from Maggie & Oliver:

Spilling the Beans!

Wow-- time flies when you're having fun, for sure! I can finally talk about the middle grade novel project I've been working on.

Last November I was commissioned to illustrate the cover and black & white interiors for a forthcoming novel by the award-winning author, Valerie Hobbs. (You should have seen my happy dance!) The book is tentatively titled Maggie and Oliver, and is the story of an orphaned girl and dog who cross paths in turn-of-the-century Boston. It will be released by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in 2011.

It's been wonderful getting to know these characters, and I will be blogging about the process of creating the illustrations in the months to come. But for now, the interior sketches are done and I've been given the go-ahead for final art, so deadlines call!

(Above: Meet Maggie and Oliver! These are chapter head sketches.)