I’ve been wanting to do a blog entry on the differences between being a fine artist verses being a childrens illustrator in today’’s market and the difficulties I’ve had of balancing both.  

I recently was part of an art show with my brother and sister-in-law at MModern  in Palm Springs.  The theme was “Fairy tales Retold’ and I decided to take a dark view of the subject, creating images of fairies and mermaids that were naked and sinister.  My inspiration harkened back to early myths of merfolk and Fey people as troublesome mischief makers, kidnapping children and luring the curious to unfortunate ends

I am a narrative painter; I want the image to tell a complete story through gesture and expression of the figure the way an illustration might.  The fine art painting does not rely on text to tell the story, however, and can tell a story with more complexity and subtlety than an illustration.  I also enjoy working with adult themes in my images and can let some of my inner art-history geek come through.

The trouble with fine art is that it is not a guarantee that you will be compensated for your work.  Galleries take 50% or more for commission to sell a piece of art and you must put your faith in the gallery-owner’s abilities to find the right audience to help move the work.  The fine-art world, like every other industry is affected by the slow economy and because art is a luxury item, sales are down.  Also, after spending so much time with a piece of art, sometimes I have a hard time parting with the original. 

Illustration is fun for different reasons.  I work on illustrations the way one might put a puzzle together, fitting pieces of composition and color into the final art.  I love using the bright palette appropriate to children’s art and the challenge of creating characters that are expressive and believable (despite being Boston Terriers or Koalas).  In the illustration world, one works with the input of an art director or designer.  The subject matter is safe and often someone else’s idea. The contracts have been negotiated before work is begun, however, with a much smaller commission taken by agents.  The deadlines are quick, but I almost always get to keep original art.  

Because my styles and subject matter in illustration are so drastically different than my paintings, I sometimes worry that one career will get in the way of the other.  In the fine-art world, traditionally there is a bias against the commercial world though this is changing thanks to the “Lowbrow” art movement.   In the children’s illustration world, I’d love to share  samples of all of my work with potential clients, though I worry about scaring them away with work that is inappropriate for the industry.  My grandmother is always telling me I should stick to the kid’s stuff, but I just feel like I have more to say.

In the meantime, I’m working to come up with new illustration and painting styles and mediums hat reflect who I am and better merge these two worlds!

Prolific children’s writer Anastasia Suen’s blog “Six Traits” (Picture Book of the Day) has posted on my book “The Months” for her blogs’ weekly “Poetry Friday”. The post offers a couple of ideas on how the book can be used in lessons. Pretty cool!!

I’ve just been interviewed for the Gourmet Food Garden blog, to describe my most memorable meal. Sir James Galway has also been interviewed here, so I’m in good company!

Speaking of interviews, last week I was also interviewed by Katie Schwartz, blogger, essayist, and author of the wonderful and funny book Emotionally Pantsed. Read it and get the dish on what Chris Sarandon thought of my drawing of him from “The Princess Bride”!

I’m also happy to announce that Honey Cake, by Joan Betty Stuchner, published by Random House, is finally out in stores. I did the cover illustration, and the book designer, Gloria Cheng, did an amazing job. It looks even more beautiful in real life!

I am a member of a children’s illustrators’ group called the Picture Book Junkies (we’re the “PBJ’s” - yes, just like peanut butter and jelly)! About once a year, we do a promotional postcard as a group, and this year we have decided on a “Back To School” theme.
We also share a group blog. We have a weekly theme, and then each of us posts once a week on the theme. This week, our theme is our “Back To School” postcard art.  (I designed the postcard this year, too: front and back)

Please check it out, and enjoy!

Today, I mailed out more than 100 flyers (front, back) to Austin area librarians, advertising my school/library program. Beyond my website, this is the first time I’ve marketed directly to librarians.

I began by downloading promotional materials of other authors and illustrators. Once I had a taste of the competition, I wrote, designed, and then had the flyers printed and folded at Kinkos.

An author friend of mine gave me a list he’d already compiled of local librarians. Only thing I had to do was to confirm his list with the AISD website, just in case some librarians had moved. I also sent flyers to private school, some of my best and most reliable customers.

The most exciting thing about this flyer was making a last minute revision. Normally, I’m not thrilled about stopping the presses to make a change. But in this case, my newest book, Ron’s Big Mission, has been selected by the Junior Library Guild. I think that’s good enough news to throw away a few flyers to make that addition.

This year, I adjusted my pricing down a bit. I’m charging $600 for a full day (three presentations). Four hundred for a half day (two presentations). And all that is negotiable. Some of my colleagues have said I should charge more, that the going rate for an author/illustrator visit is at least $1,000.00, and that’s low. But I’ve been doing school visits for about 10 years now, and at that price, I’d have not visited many school, if any at all — com’mon.

Typically, I visit about 6 to 7 schools per year, and I also speak at maybe one or two conferences. But with a slowdown in educational work, and two trade books that won’t provide any income for well over a year, I could use a boost from school visits.

Wish me luck!

Be sure to check out an interview with illustrator Duane Smith, conducted by Don Tate, both Tugeau 2 artists. The interview can be found at The Brown Bookshelf, and is about Duane’s new book, Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.

Over the past year, I’ve mistakenly referred to Corrine Naden’s and my book, Ron’s Big Mission, as Ron’s Mission, Little Ron’s Big Mission, and Little Ron on a Big Mission. It’s not entirely my fault because the title did change several times.

But to make matters worse, until recently, I’d also posted that the book would publish with Dial. And to make matters worse than that, I addressed emails to my editor as Ron. His name is Steve. He was patient with me.

I’ve got it straight now. The book that I illustrated is called Ron’s Big Mission. It’s edited by Steve. And it will publish with Dutton later this year . . . um, I think. Possibly early next.

Anyway, I received 1st color proofs and they look great! Dutton did a fantastic job. I’d used a rougher than normal watercolor paper, so I was worried about the reproduction. My 140-pound watercolor paper turned out to be 300-pound extra rough, but I didn’t realize it until half way through the project. I continued to paint, and I just hoped everything would turn out OK.

I have no idea what kind of scanning process Dutton used, but the rough paper texture is gone. I couldn’t be happier.

I have created a new website to help promote my latest picture book, due to be released by Raven Tree Press in September. The blog will be updated with news, activities, and info about the book.

Check it out here: http://mariachibook.blogspot.com

Hello, this is the first time I’ve ever Blogged!  However, I’m happy to do so as Nicole has encouraged me to participate and I trust her judgment and direction.  I also am delighted to announce the publication, and reviews for my book, A Boy Named Beckoning:  The True Story of Dr. Carlos Montezuma (Lerner/Carolrhoda).

I’m thrilled that the book has earned starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist…and, a Book of the Month from Rutgers University.  Also, I’ve had the pleasure be interviewed on Bookbites web cast.  You can hear it at www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids

This project has been an inspiring 12 years in the making.  The research has been exhilarating and daunting at the same time.  I firmly believe that while A Boy Named Beckoning is a Native American story it also reaches out to everyone who needs and wants a hero.  For me, there have never been enough words to describe how profound of an influence Carlos Montezuma has had on my own life. 

I was also challenged by the art while illustrating the story.  My usual medium is watercolor but this book called out for acrylic.  I experimented with different types of papers for each spread.  Contact papers with wood patterns, rice paper, and even an archival newspaper of the Chicago Tribune dated in the late 1800’s.  What fun I had!  To be honest, I look forward to doing this type of work again.  Sure, there are a few things that I would do differently but overall I’m very pleased and proud of the book.

We’ve built a temporary website for this book.  You can see it at www.beckoning-carlosmontezuma.com.  Also, Dani is graciously uploading a number of images for the book on the Tuguea2 website.  Thanks for your hard work Dani! Go Tugeau2 team-you’re the best!

Thanks for reading my first blog. 

Best to all,

Gina Capaldi

Hi.  I’ve had several emails come in referencing my recent post entitled, “Something For Your Pocket?” (June) 

One comment in particular seemed to be the catalyst:

“…the Publisher I was speaking with went on about how it would take innovation and creativity on behalf of the book publishers to look for and create books that ‘make sense’ in the current market.  Books, perhaps, that could work on many different levels - interfacing with web platforms and social networks, for instance.  And, yes, these sorts of books just might call for an illustrator(s) that have experience in all areas of this ‘interface.’  Illustrators for these concepts are likely to require not only digital submissions but vector art creation, basic knowledge of web development, animation, etc.  Are you all ready for that?”

Me again. 

The emails I received were in sharp response to this suggestion. 

“What does that mean for me, children’s book illustrator with no digital aptitude whatsoever?”  

“I’m concerned!” 

“This is very depressing!”

So we’re clear, I do not believe that this will happen overnight.  I do not believe that multi-platform books/networks will ‘take over’ the children’s industry just as I don’t believe that Kindles or Sony Readers will significantly hurt book sales in our children’s market.  Bookmakers simply want to be a part of this emerging genre.  They want to be on the front lines of something new and exciting.  One or two popular books in this genre could mean big earnings for a mid-sized publisher, so they have to entertain the ideas and plans and ideas into motion.  

Just the other day, my husband was speaking with a senior editor who thought it was high time for a resurgence of children’s book classics - Three Pigs and Billy Goats, for instance.  Our industry has strayed far away from ‘classic.’  Kids need modern tellings of these old tales. 

So don’t despair, just be aware!  And embrace what’s new as you find your path in this industry. 

Thank you!

Reading the latest Publisher’s Weekly (July 7), I’ve come accross a starred review for OLD BEAR, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, due to release in August of this year from Greenwillow.  The reviewer had this to say:

In time for autumn, Henkes masterfully tells of a hibernating bear who “dreamed that spring had come and he was a cub again.” Henke’s surefooted art guides readers through time: a terracotta dust jacket and acorn-brown frontpapers inked with dark brown leaves set the season.  The tawny bear, pictured in full-page or four-to-a-page images, curls in his den, his eyes closed and his paws relaxed.  full-bleed spereads depict his dreams, first of being small among enormous flowers (”He took a nap in a giant pink crocus”), then of wandering on lush green summer hillsides (”The sky clouded over over, and it rained blueberries”).  His hibernation vision of fall includes rust-colored birds and orange fish, and his imaginary winter is a cool blue expanse under stars “of all colors.”  When the bear’s eyes open on a real spring day, he feels refreshed, if larger and older than his dream self.  Lyrically describing the young-at-heart, Henkes plays an artist’s game of hot and cold watercolor hues.  Lilac endpapers crowded with flowers and butterflies and a back cover image of the bear in springtime balance the cover’s imagery and gently and calmly acknowledge the annual cycle. (Publisher’s Weekly, July 7, 2008, page 57)

Isn’t that a lovely description of the art?  Surefooted. 

Confident, capable. 

Not liable to stumble or fall. 

What an essential element of art and writing!  Especially for this age range (2-7 years). 

I think it’s an adjetive we can all strive for - to be surefooted in our art and our storytelling.  Goes along with consistency.  It’s not just the handling of one aspect - of line or color, for example.  It’s the combination of composition, line, color, hue, writing, timing.  Surefooted.  Take it with you!

NT

Want to stay on top of trends in the kid’s markets? I want to share a good little resource with you. Big Blue Dot is a multimedia firm (web, print and TV) devoted to serving the kids’ industry. They have a great little bi-monthly email newsletter called Trend Update, which tracks trends in the kid’s world. It’s a little cool tip-sheet that’s a free, effortless way way to stay on top of what’s hot and going on at the moment. Check it out!

Many companies like BBD, plus children’s publishers, put out similar newsletters. Happy web surfing, and if you happen upon any that you find useful and would like to share, please do (in the comments)!

So I had this outstanding invoice, the second and final payment on a book project for a medium-sized publishing house.  It was well past 90 days overdue.  My emails to the assigning editor were forwarded on the accounting department.  But I wasn’t gettting any response from the ’accountant’ - my calls went unanswered, my emails not returned. 

Another week goes by and I decide I need to be a bit more proactive.  I call, and I call, and I call.  I leave messages with reception, I leave messages on the accountant’s voice mail, and I go ahead and phone the President and Publisher of the house and leave her a message detailing my frustrations.  A late-paying invoice, unfortunately, isn’t altogether uncommon these days, but the fact that I was being ignored was both unprofessional and annoying.  In addition to the call to the Publisher, I sent an email to eveyone I knew at the publishing house including the editorial director, the assigning editor, and the creative director.  Call it a cheap shot, but I let them know that I’d put that probing call into the Publisher.  I was, for the first time in my career, a bit worried I might not get paid….so I got serious.      

Less than an hour later I was contacted by both the accountatnt and the editorial director.  This entire publishing house is full of sweet, smart, and genuine people, but they’d dropped the ball with my invoice and my probing, and they excused themselves.   They tried to make it clear to me how they would fix things.  I’d be given a check number in two days.  And the check would release two days after that.  ”What exactly has been the problem?,” I asked. 

The clearest response to my query was given to me by the Publisher of the house the next morning when she phoned to apologize for all the trouble.  I’d like to report on the highlights of this conversation because it helped me make sense out of everything I’d been hearing.  And it’s always helpful to know and understand the market news and how the trickle-down affects us…and our pockets. 

The Publisher detailed for me the history of AMS (Advanced Marketing Services), an entity that for over 20 years led the publishing industry in book wholesaling and distributing.  They were responsible for shipping over 100 million books each year.  AMS distributed books to the big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco as well as Amazon to name a few.  The technology AMS harnessed was able to capture book sales at every location, allowing the book publishers to track books and book stock in real time - a real plus to the warehouses and book publishers as they maximized their profits.  AMS also captured a propreitary system called ACUPAK - which allowed them to handle less-than-full cartons of materials/books.  AMS serviced hundreds of publishers thoughout the US and abroad.

But executive corruption plagued AMS as early as 2003.  Their funding by Wells Fargo was pulled in 2007 and they filed bankruptcy.    Baker + Taylor, another big name in book publishing, bought the assets of AMS and formed BTMS in late 2007.  The sale agreement has been tricky as both companies are fighting to moderate their cash flow.  The details and paperwork are still being untangled - millions of dollars is held up in this quagmire.  The bigger publishers have had a much easier time stomaching the holdup of $$ while the mid-size and small publishers are hurting.  Random House is rumored to have 10 million dollars in assets held up this mess and the small publisher I was dealing with had “100’s of thousands of dollars” they were waiting on.  BTMS is decidedly confident that everyone WILL reclaim their book stock and money.  Definitely.  But the quesiton of WHEN remains uncertain.

(Please note here that I have indeed been paid by this publisher and I don’t have ’overdue’ invoices out anywhere else - seems most if not all of the affected publishers are making it work, somehow.)  

The Publisher, making light of this tough time during which she sees her house struggling to make timely payments, optomistically went on about other current issues hurting bookmakers:

• Changing labor laws in China directly affect our cost of printing.  The changes, speaking from a human standpoint, are for the BEST, obviously, but they will drive printing costs up.
• Natural disaster and increasing oil prices drive printing costs up as well.  The Publisher suggested a 30% increase in printing costs in 60 days this spring alone. 
• Decreasing sales and restructuring at Borders weakens the market: smaller sales = less demand. 

So what does this all mean for all of us?  And how can freelancers help themselves in this tough publishing climate? 

Well, the Publisher I was speaking with went on about how it would take innovation and creativity on behalf of the book publishers to look for and create books that ‘make sense’ in the current market.  Books, perhaps, that could work on many different levels - interfacing with web platforms and social networks, for instance.  And, yes, these sorts of books just might call for an illustrator(s) that have experience in all areas of this ‘interface.’  Illustrators for these concepts are likely to require not only digital submissions but vector art creation, basic knowledge of web development, animation, etc.  Are you all ready for that?   

I’ve spoken with some illustrators who ARE very excited about growth in this new direction.  It IS exciting, new, and different and several publishing houses are setting precedents with their new projects - check out Scholastic’s 39 Clues, and Harper Collin’s  www.fourthstorymedia.com which is still gaining momentum.  There is plenty of artistic opportunity - albeit not altogether traditional artistic needs - in this emerging genre.  And that’s how I like to think of it, as a genre of children’s publishing.  

And welcoming this genre doesn’t mean that we’re closing the door on traditional picture books.  Just the other day my husband spoke to an editor at Harpers who said she was trying to bring back ‘the classics’ - whether in a new format with new illustrations or re-telling of the classics, either way, she thought kids were losing touch with those classic stories because of all the NEW licenced and branded characters they were being inundated with.  Hmmmm, what a concept!     

Additioanlly, in the past six months alone, I’ve seen a slew of new imprints make headlines - in the wake of the Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin merger, Allyn Johnston has started work on her own (as of yet unnamed) imprint at Simon & Schuster.  David Macaulay has been given his own collaborative ”studio” with Roaring Brook Press.  Haper Collins has welcomed Donna Bray and Alessandra Balzar (from Hyperion) for a new imprint, “Balzar & Bray.”  And there’s more…Bowen Press (Brenda Bowen) at Harper Collins, growing lists for publishers like Sterling and FS&G.  This all means NEW titles and the need for picture book illustration.

The turbulence in children’s publishing - form AMS/BTMS to the restructuring, mergers, and layoffs we’ve seen over the past six months to a year (in both trade and educational publishing) - cannot be overlooked.  All combined, it IS making for a currently slow and uncertain market.  But what comes out of tough times - the new genres, the new topics of interest, revisiting how old stories are told - it’s all EXCITING.  And I encourage you all to embrace and think about this.  Let it fuel your work and your passion for this business. 

Optimistically Yours,

NT

Well, I finally did it! I’ve recently been experimenting with music and video production software and I thought it would be fun to create a book trailer for my recent book CAPTAIN CHEECH. And it was a nothing but lots of fun! It took me about 15 hours to create (specially when you are learning new software) but it was ALL worth it!… I used Photoshop, GarageBand, iMovie and Keynote.

Hope you Enjoy!

Hello everyone! I’ve just updated my website with a fresh look and some new artwork. Come on over and take a look… www.danijones.com

As a sidenote, if you run into problems or have issues with any of the features or navigation, please do let me know. I’m always tweaking stuff here and there.

Have a great day! - Dani

I’m about to admit something very embarrassing here. Recently, I’ve been feeling nostalgic. Maybe because I’m in my mid-40s, and I haven’t been home in awhile, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood. So I downloaded a bunch of music last night, stuff that was popular when I was a kid.

I grew up in the 70s and 80, and mostly listened to funk, soul and R&B music. But in Des Moines, during that time period, that kind of music wasn’t played on the radio stations. We had a record player at home (and an 8-track and later a cassette player), but for the most part, we were stuck with mainstream popular music, music that I really didn’t care for. Or so I thought. Here’s what I downloaded last night, and what I listened to all day, misty-eyed and homesick:

Barry Manilow
Pains me to admit, but I loved this music. Reminds me of when I used to go camping with my grandparents in their RV trailer. Those were the days. I miss my grandma.

The Bee Gees
This music brings back the days when I used to go to the Metro Disco, a teenage disco club. Must have been about 7th grade, such an awkward time. Even though I didn’t like to dance, I loved going to The Metro. Mostly to hang out on the sidelines with my friends and make fun of the serious disco dancers, John Travolta wannabe types.

Barry and Andy Gibb
Again, this music reminds me of the times I spent with my grandparents. My mom raised my brothers and I, but she was my grandma’s baby girl. So, we spent a lot of time with my grandparents.

Elton John
Painful music, painful time. Takes me back to my little league baseball days. I hated little league baseball. It was one of those things that, as a boy, I was supposed to do, that I didn’t want to do, but I did it because . . . well, I don’t know if there was any getting out of it. Many a day, my three brothers and I, and my mom, crammed into her old, beat up, VW bug and headed to the ballpark. Elton John on the radio.

Barbra Streisand
This music takes me back to the time when my parents split up. My mom didn’t work, she stayed at home and took care of us kids and our home. So when she and my dad split up, she had to learn a skill and get a job. She went to school and learned basic clerical work — short-hand, filing, how to take dictation. I was so proud of her.

I even downloaded some Celine Dion, which has noting to do with my childhood, but,  shhh, I’ve already given you enough fodder to last a lifetime of jokes.

*********
Edit to original post: The wife just caught me listening to my newly downloaded music, Barry Manilow’s Mandy. She had a good laugh. Apparently when she was growing up, her family actually had records for their record player, so they didn’t have to listen to the radio. She won’t admit to listening to Barry Manilow, but I’m sure she did. Curious she knows all the lyrics.

After months of, hats, gloves, and snow covered streets followed by quite a chilly spring season, the long-awaited sizzle of summer is upon us here in Cleveland.  And I couldn’t be more pleased.

The air conditioning units are back in the windows.  The ceiling fans have been dusted and turned on.  A few of my planted seeds are actually sprouting, and outdoor home and garden improvements are currently being debated.   

This is “Year 2” for us in our first home; a petite Queen Anne Victorian built way back in 1897.  The house is generally in good shape but still needs a lot of love and attention.  Our ‘project’ list has gotten seriously long and we have become very good friends with our plumber.  The work is never-ending, a labor of love, and though it has tried my patience over and over again, the home stands for everything we believe in – family, integrity, history, creativity, hard work, doing it right, originality, the American dream.  

Proudly, the Tugeau 2 Agency operates from the 3^rd floor office, and much to our delight (and the delight of others) the business of children’s books thematically agrees with our purple and red dollhouse-like home.  The office bathroom was originally a crinoline closet!   But it’s so hot that the wood sweats up here in the summertime.  Somewhere near the bottom of our house project list, we have made a note to ‘install a central air system’ which will likely cost a small fortune, so, for now, I stick a bulky AC unit in the office window and crank the cold air.  The unit emits a constant medium-to-high-level din and it will isolate me not only from the heat and humidity, but from the sounds of summer – the rustle of trees, the mowers and blowers preening the neighborhood, and kids screaming by on their bikes.  It’s sort of like a hotel room without the bed or cheesy art prints. 

Yesterday was our first real taste of summer – 89 degrees and soupy.  We had the air conditioner in the window and on full blast by 9:30am.  As I went about my day in the office, I was happy and comfortable in the cool air, but constantly fighting a sentimental urge.  There was something about the light, the heat, and the artificial coolness that made me yearn for a day from the past.   

I wanted to call my friends, meet on bikes at the corner, ride to the pool, enjoy hours on beach towels laid out on the concrete deck (kids weren’t allowed to use the lounge chairs) put on pink lip gloss and tons of coconut smelling tanning lotion, and read teeny bopper magazines in between swimming in the deep end a reading a few paragraphs our required summer reading (Pygmalion?).  And I wanted to spend some time spinning wildly and laughing on the carousel of the pool playground, next to the bike rack, while listening to the sounds of tennis being played on the nearby city courts.  I wanted to get back on our bikes, stop for a slice of Little Ceasar’s pizza, and shout nonchalant goodbyes to each girl as she rode in a different direction home.  I wanted to enter the back door of my family’s home, sunkissed and exhausted, hair still damp, go down into the cool cool basesment of my youth, plop down on the couch covered in thin worn gingham fabric and close my eyes.  No anxiety about project lists or resurfacing the driveway, no knowing the plumber’s phone number by heart, no seedlings to care for, no business to run, no work at all…only the quiet and peaceful end to a perfect summer’s day.

I came out of my daydream, though a bit reluctantly, and went back to paying our first-of-the-month bills with a smile.   

Welcome to Summer, everyone.  May it be filled with lots of enjoyable work and fond memories!

NT

I’ve been working on some mini-pieces. They are called ACEO’s, which stands for Artist Cards - Editions and Originals. The size is always 2.5 x 3.5. Here is one of my most recent pieces. I picture this particular  knitting doggie listening to (and sometimes looking up to watch a snippet of) the old TV show “Murder, She Wrote”. Do you get that mood from her, too?
Hope you enjoy!

Hello everyone! my name is Natalia.  I am one of the artists who Tugeau2 represents, and it’s great!. I live in Lima, Peru, with my boyfriend -who is photographer and graphic designer- we both workfreelance so we are always at home. I started working as illustrator when my painting studies at the Fine Arts School ended and instantly liked it!

Nicole asked me how my country was, so i’ll tell you a little. Peru as many countries in South America, has a mixture of Catholic and native culture. Most of the people are Catholic and we celebrate a lot of holidays related with that belief. About food, we love our traditional cuisine, is very particular and really diverse, it’s based on corn and several different kind of potatoes (we have a variety of over a thousand!) on the highlands and on fish all over the coastal cities. i particularly love the latter and use to go on summer vacation (january) to a city nearby where you can find a lot of fish based dishes. unfortunately this year my boyfriend and i had some health issues and had to spent that time at home, so we used those weeks to check some really nice illustrated books and such.

i’ll be sharing with you more details of my culture soon!

on the picture: my father had a brief trip to the U.S. about 3 weeks ago and brought me some wonderful books: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Pop-Up Book”, “Frida” by Ana Juan, “Wolves in the Walls” by Dave McKean and “The Wizard, The Ugly, and the Book of Shame” by Pablo Bernasconi … “The Night Eater” by Ana Juan never arrived!…oh, and he also brought me some acrylic inks that in Peru are almost impossible to find!.

I had been working on an illustration for my weekly post at the PBJ’s. I really liked how it was coming along, so I started compiling ideas of ways to improve the picture. I implemented these changes and I think they have really improved the piece aesthetically as well as from a narrative standpoint. I’d love to hear what you think!

Version 1

Revised version

Here’s that kitty cat again… this time, she is ready for bed. I have prints available of these two and other new little paintings in my Etsy store. Hope you enjoy!

I’ve been doing some paintings, just to creatively ‘loosen up’ a little.
Here is one of the pieces. This also has a companion piece which I will post at a later date! Hope you enjoy the work!

I draw my family a lot, and they’ve all gotten pretty used to it and don’t grumble much, although my husband has objected to the number of sketches I’ve drawn of him holding a beer.  But that’s when he tends to hold still, when he’s done working in the garden and comes in for a refreshing beverage and to check on the ball game.  As for kids and pets, they’re most easily drawn when they’re asleep.  

I recently had the opportunity to do the cover illustration for the Graphic Artists’ Guild national newsletter (March/April 2008). The subject I was given was “Trademark”. I of course looked for any opportunity to integrate cute and cuddly characters into the illustration. This one worked well using these funny dogs to help tell the story. Hope you enjoy!

Visit danijones.com to see my latest artwork!

Included are several new personal pieces I made recently for last weekend’s NE-SCBWI conference (you can read about my adventures here), and a few images from my picture book The Best Mariachi in the World, which is set to be released this fall by Raven Tree Press.