Picture This

I got myself a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet for Christmas. I did a quick sketch of cleaning up.

I came across this cool program for kids. Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create and share Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Click Scratch to check it out. It reminds me of creating things in Flash, but a lot easier.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy I've been visiting the public library and heard that libraries are facing tough times. Though libraries are being used more than ever with the economic down turn. I used to spend hours at the library when I was a child. That's part of where I gained a love of books. The report made me so sad to hear that in Philadelphia they will close 11 branches.

I recently checked out a book by Uri Shulevitz, pictured above, from the library called "Writing with Pictures". It's an older book about how to write and illustrate children's books. Mainly it's about illustrating them. I enjoyed the variety of the illustration examples and the depth that the book covered. Uri Shulevitz is well know for his books "Snow" and "The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship". I think it's a great starter book for illustrators. Some of the material is dated such as the "color preseparation" portion of the book. Reading it made me appreciate the advancements in printing. I can't imagine having to color separate your own artwork. Still a book worth checking out. Reference: Shulevits, Uri. (1985). Writing With Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books . Watson-Guptill Publications. NY, New York.

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin Well, Ben Franklin sure said it right. With the approaching 2009 I'm beginning to wonder about this aspect of being a freelancer. This is something that many institutions of higher learning really don't pay as much attention to when it comes to fine art or commercial art students. I really wish there had been a bare bones class on the business side of illustration. True business stuff that no one likes to do. Here's some stuff that I've been reading about regards to quarterly filing from the IRS.gov and allfreelance.com . Now one can always go to an accountant but when you are starting out accounting fees seem quite heavy on top of the self employment taxes you have to pay. Ugh gives me a headache. I'm going to think on it some more.

Started reading an interesting book called "Free Agent Nation" by Daniel Pink. Free agents are part of the group of working America that work for themselves. It also includes those that work as temps. It gives insight about the benefits and drawbacks of working this way. The business of freelance illustration as been around for a while. He mentions artists have been working this way for years. It's interesting to read about other professionals that are going that route. What is the etymology of freelance? Freelance is from the medieval mercenary warriors who offered their service to the feudal lords and noblemen. "The term became commonplace thanks to Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott, whose 1819 work Ivanhoe included these semifamous lines: "I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances...Thanks to bustling times, a man of action will always find employment." (pg 33, Pink) I thought that was pretty cool to read about. I started imaging myself...

I decided to make things easier on myself recently by opting to use iWeb (part of iLife) to redesign my site. I figured I'd try it out since it came with my new laptop. It had everything I needed. I think before my site was too busy. Some folks like to code or use other software like Dreamweaver. I've tried before and I just spend too much time on web design. Not too fond of web designing.

I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to post any news. I was in an Artist's Book Exhibit at Purdue University. I wasn't able to attend the exhibit, but did get a postcard announcing the show last month.

I enjoy watching movies and books about teachers making a difference. "Front of the Class" was on the other night and it was a wonderful TV movie about one young man's struggle to become a teacher with Tourette Syndrome. Here's an article about Brad Cohen's story on stljewishlights.com.

I've been busy as ever with course work, freelance illustration & design work. I feel very fortunate. It's been a good year so far. I'm looking forward to 2009.

Go forward and make your dreams come true. Ralph Waldo Emerson Courage is the only magic worth having. Erica Jong It is not because things are difficult hat we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. Seneca Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson If there is no wind, row. Latin proverb Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. Lloyd Jones Courage is not the absence of ear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. Ambrose Redmoon If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking. Buddhist proverb Only those who will risk going too far can possible find out how far one can go. TS Eliot

I've been listening to KT Tunstall "Suddenly I See." It's been inspiring me.

I remember meeting Jenny Kostecki- Shaw. When she was just Jenny Kostecki. She was really very talented student in my class at Illustration Academy. I was there as a student as well. It's great to see that her illustration career has been doing so well. Click for her site or for the interview .

I thought of old fashioned canning. Hard work but tasty.

I thought of a monster getting his fill and having enough to eat.

I was thinking about using my old iMac as an addition display with my new iMac. I found some info on this in a article about Macs. There is an option called ScreenRecycler. Software made so you can use your old Mac monitor, Powerbook, or even Windows PC. I decided against this since my office is so small. I prefer more desk real estate. Less clutter. But the ScreenRecycler is an option if you really don't want to part with the old.

I seems like every child has one aversion to a veggie or another. Some illustrators and writers have done a great job with the concept. Author George McClements was featured for "Night of the Veggie Monster" on the Rachel Ray Show. Then Jessica Seinfeld wrote a cookbook, Deceptively Delicious about hiding veggies in kids foods.

I'm slowly working on a wish list of items I'd like for my biz. Hub Wacom Adobe CS3.3 Laptop Probably purchase in that order. From less to more costly. Slowly getting there. I think it's always tempting to buy more then you can afford.

Reminds me of when I drink a hot cup of tea on a cool day. It always makes my glasses foggy.

I'm on to a new printmaking technique of screenprinting or serigraphy. I bought a kit with the basics included. DVD, screen, inks, and fluids. Inks are somewhat limited in the kit. Speedball did include a catalog with inks that can be ordered. There are several ways to make a screenprints: stencils, drawing fluid, or photo emulsion. Still trying to figure out what type of image to use.

I'm so excited to have a real office chair. For many years I went without and used the most uncomfortable folding chair. Found the new chair at Target which had a nice plush feel and affordable price. My back is sighing with relief. Please excuse the office mess.

I just set about mailing a new promotional postcard through the USPS.com's site partner premiumpostcard.com . I think I'll be using this for now on for my mailers. What I've found in the past when I've order larger number of postcards is that I get stuck with all these old leftovers. I'd rather think more about who I'm sending my work to. Make sure it fits their publishing house or magazine. I never send out as nearly as many as I would like too. I also like the address book that keeps all your contacts. It was $1.21 for a single postcard. They also have several options for postcard sizes and folding cards.

Originally I thought of eating or tasting something sour, but decided to look it up in the dictionary to see what it said. The one that caught my eye was the "gratingly wrong or off pitch (a sour note)."

Got a chance to catch some subject matter on the couch.

Another sketch of the fairy girl from the chase sketch.

I participated in an artist trading card show online. It was with the Ankney Art Center.

Thought I'd work more on illustrations that relate to have some kids in it. I'm going to try and work my way up to 3 kids and then 4 kids. Also try to carry scenes over into 3 or 4 illustrations.

I found this program at the University of Hartford, CT. It's a unique program. It's a limited residency MFA program. The program is designed for working illustrators that want to enhance their skills or further their careers and/or teach at the university level.I've been looking at other programs, but the limited residency program really caught my eye.

Sequel To Bunny Night Time. I think I may turn this one into a color illo.

I created this illustration based off of a Korean fairy tale about three girls that are being pursued by a tiger. He wants to eat them. Similar to the tale of "The Three Little Pigs." The tiger is especially fierce in his pursuit of the three girls.

Enjoying time at a pool and sketching.

Childrensillustrators.com has expanded since I first saw their site. Back in the day when they first started it was just the directory. Now I see they've added animations, interviews, and news feed.

I imagined the King Bassett Hound of the Bone Hoard. There's probably one in every doggie neighborhood.

For those of illustrators new and old that are trying to make their way in the biz of illustration, you have to visit the web site of Keri Smith. She has great work, and the hilarious pick-me-ups that she had on her site. If you've had a rough time of it lately in the the competitive world of illustration go to her site for a good laugh. Check out the "How to feel miserable as an artist" , "100 ideas" , and "The Artist's Survival Kit" . I LOL and felt better about the biz of illustration. It's a hard road but once you get there I gather you appreciate it so much more. She has a practical page on "How to start as an illustrator" and I find that a lot of what she says makes sense.

I came across this on Grace Lin's illustration web site. She had a link to Yeondoo Jung a Korean photographer. The images were inspired by children's drawings that have been interpreted into photographs. The wonderful thing about children's drawings are their naivety. Baseline is flush to the edge of the paper, x-ray vision, and their sense of space. I think they are absolutely delightful. Check out Yeondoo Jung site . If you want to learn more about the process of Creative and Mental Growth of children and their art check out the writings of Viktor Lowenfeld. He's well known in the art education circles for researching the stages of creative development. No matter the industrialized culture you come from supposedly we all follow these basic stages from scribble to pseudorealistic stage.

Recently got a hand-me-down book by Richard Scarry. I'd forgotten how much I loved this illustrators work as a child. I loved how he made all of his animals dress up as people going around doing everyday things. I look at the illustrations today and realized why I probably enjoy drawing anthropomorphic animals. When I was a child I never questioned why a pig would be dressed human like and on the next page just be a pig in a pigsty. I get a chuckle out of it. Here's a link for more info on Richard Scarry.

I thought I'd post the work of photographer, Chris Jordan. I mentioned I tend to recycle stuff from my home for use because it's cheap and practical. Of course there are many other reasons why we should try and reuse and recycle products. Chris Jordan's work examines this topic of mass consumption. I was fortune to view an original from his earlier series at the local art museum. It makes you really think about personal consumption. His work takes a statistic and creates it into a visual that we can understand better.

I wonder how often does an illustrator change their style. I've been thinking about changing mine to a very different one. I've enjoyed printmaking so much I've been thinking about going away from my pastel work towards the looser feel of the lino cuts. You can see from my previous post. I enjoy the process and the texture that I see with the lino work, but then my pastels have been my old friend. I've also been thinking about exploring more digital techniques. I keep reading about how many illustrators are making the switch to using a wacom tablet. I've been thinking about changing for a while. So many choices.

I've really enjoyed this process of creating a tunnel book and wanted to share a step-by-step approach. Just like the old days of when Step-By-Step Magazine shared the techniques of top illustrators. I don't consider myself a top illustrator, but I enjoy sharing techniques and processes. What is a tunnel book? It's like a diorama. There is a scene created by a number of pages that have been held together with accordion folds. I've posted a couple of images of two tunnel books that I've made to make things more clear. First you need to have a clear line drawing of what you want to see in your tunnel book frame. I created a line drawing and then scanned it into the computer to clean it up. I resized in Photoshop to accommodate my smaller book size. Then I printed it out. I figured out what I want to appear on each layer of the book pages. You have to consider your illustration with real depth. I am using lino cuts to reproduce each layer. If you are familiar with lino...