The Petite Painting Project travelled last week. For seven days I was out of my usual creative space with two small children in tow. It was almost next to impossible, but I did it. The posting slowed, but I kept coming back to the paper each day and here’s what I learned. If I don’t … Read More
“Painting is poetry that is seen and not heard.” Leonardo da Vinci Ink and watercolor are an elegant and often ideal combination. I love the softness of the watercolor paint and the crisp black of ink. Both mediums respect and support the other’s strengths. The ink pen relieves the watercolor of so much detail duty and … Read More
I have a new favorite book: Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty. Saying that this is my favorite book right now does not do justice to the experience I’ve had with this book, particularly at the timing of when I read it, which happened to be last weekend. Isn’t that a large … Read More
It is really hard to have patience when trying to capture foliage. There so much out there with such variety of distinct personalities that if that is the only subject you focused on, you would have enough work to tackle over the course of multiple lifetimes. I didn’t really have the patience this morning with … Read More
Our front yard hosts an enormous, borderline obnoxious, hydrangea bush that sports hearty bulbs every year. In addition, the back yard invites our neighbor’s hydrangeas to escape through the fence and live with us for a season. My mother in law has this magical ability to pick these flowers. Well, let me clarify that, because I … Read More
The prevailing lesson I walked away from the conference was ths: I must spend less time on more drawings. I have been agonizing over individual pieces, trying o make them p.e.r.f.e.c.t. when I just need to keep my hand moving daily in a forward direction. The portfolio pieces will arise out of this daily exercise. … Read More
So this is the SCBWI National conference. Just so you get the picture. I get off the plane, head for the super shuttle and who is sitting next to me? Deborah Underwood, author of The Quiet Book. This sweet, gentle comforting book that has soothed me in the evenings as much as (or maybe more … Read More
Acres of time yesterday in the air and on the runway (hooray for meeting up serendipitously with Melinda Beavers en route at the airport in Albuquerque) – and some minor scrambling landing a room for an extra night – grateful for Debbie Ohi and Bonnie Adamson who kept me company while I was working through that! … Read More
Today I’m featured in an interview with writer/blogger Holly Hughes, whom I met at the SCBWI conference last year. Not only am I thrilled and honored that she wanted to highlight my work, I’m especially thankful for the thoughtful questions she put forth allowing me to sit back and reflect on process, inspiration and how life … Read More
The prompt was the first paragraph of Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland which I absolutely adored tackling. A part of me wanted to make it classic and part of me wanted to see a modern Alice. So after wrestling with it a few weeks, I decided to do both: Illustrate in a classic style, but have the actual … Read More
