Good Perusing

Publishers Weekly
Fall 2010 Children's Announcements

(and Spring 2011 Sneak Previews)

PBAA, Summer Edition

The Summer 2010 edition of the
Picture Book Artists Association is up!
(You can find me here.)

Revision (Or, The Story of My Life!)

I'm working on yet more revisions for a picture book idea. So true what they say, the simpler the story, the more difficult it is to tell. One thing that tends to gunk it up for me is which part to tell with words and which with pictures. The joy comes in little moments of figuring it all out.

It's That Time of Year Again

Time to sign up for the Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature!

Home Again, Home Again...

We're back from vacation. Does anyone else bring projects with them when they go away? Part of me feels like a loser for not being able to put things aside completely. But I've learned that if I do, it's painfully hard to pick up the thread again when I return. Besides, at the risk of sounding Pollyanna-ish, I love my work!

Since I'm an early riser anyway it was easy to get up and spend a few hours writing and drawing before the bustle of the day began. Sunrise, plus beach, plus coffee made for an inspiring time.

Here are a bunch of sunrises... it was fascinating, how the colors and light were constantly changing:



























































































Oh, and I did spend a fair amount of time doing this:

Good Eats in Charlotte

Here's a map for the July issue of Charlotte Magazine, for an article about restaurants on Central Avenue. (Not wise to work on this kind of map when I'm hungry.)

I Kid You Not

Saw three boys and their ducks sitting on the back steps of my local library last week. They said they were "taking them for a walk."

I love my library.

Ripple Effect

My illustrator friend Kelly Light is causing a ripple. She decided to start creating sketchcards-- tiny 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" pieces of original art-- to sell for $10 each to benefit the animal life being devastated by the deluge of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. (Sorry, I just can't call it a "spill" anymore.)















She put out a call to others to see if they would contribute, and the result has been an outpouring of art from professional illustrators, designers, fine artists, kids, and anyone who wanted to help.















Sometimes we can only do small things and hope they make a difference.















Please visit ripplesketches.blogspot.com to see artwork created with love by people from all over the world. The cards are $10 apiece, and 100% of each purchase is being donated to The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies and the International Bird Rescue Research Center.