I have a very cute reason for not updating for a little while. His name is RJ, short for Raymond Joseph, and he joined our family on April 20th. We are thrilled beyond words to have such as happy and healthy little boy. Here he is on the way to his Christening on June 6th.

Obviously there is not a lot of personal art going on at the moment. This past month I completed a nursery rhyme project for one of the educational publishers I regularly work with.

The portfolio website needs a major overhaul, but right now I have other priorities.

Here he is! I was very happy with how it turned it. For those of you on my holiday card list, you'll get your very own! I'm probably going to do a bigger print run this year and sell any extras.

Flickr stream is now updated with the step-by-step photos!

Once my sketch is complete, I do some rough color studies. They don't have to be perfect -- just enough for me to get an idea of the colors that I need to work with.

I consulted a few illustrator friends for a critique, and overwhelmingly everyone liked the cool, blue palette the best. The other one didn't read "holiday" to anyone. This made more sense to me anyway, seeing how I didn't want to use the same palette from the angel last year.

The artwork for my holiday card is finally done. This is the first pastel piece that I've broken down step-by-step, and I'll be posting the pictures later to my Flickr stream.

I wanted to do feathers again, since I had so much fun with the angel last year.

Just in time for Halloween, Tricky Treats has been updated with some fun new power-ups and some cute extra touches! Go check them out at Left Brain Games' website or on Widgetbox. Turn down the sound if you don't like squeaky doors and cackling witches.

Lots of things in the works right now -- there's some new artwork I'm making for my new baby niece, the Christmas card is getting designed, and the website is up for an overhaul.

Here's a "cutesyed up" sketch from one of my recent freelance projects this summer. I haven't been posting that much because I'm working on loads of readers' theaters for an educational publisher.

I would love to finish this in color! I'm booked through September so no personal projects for a while.

My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child in August. I had this in mind as a gift for my new nephew or niece. I was thinking daisies -- there would be greens and whites, with lots of atmospheric perspective! Another pastel piece, of course!

Been very busy with Reader Theaters -- hope to have a color study for this little guy soon!

I've been meaning to do a studio tour for a long time. I took these pictures the week that the crabapple tree was blooming, which my drawing desk overlooks. I have a reading nook, next to my picture book collection and my published works. I keep my pastels in an old typesetting drawer. The entire tour is on my Flickr stream.

Maybe flowers and the alphabet have been overdone, but I'VE never done them :) Nor, I think, are people ever going to get tired of looking at a beautiful flower. This is an idea for a new licensing line. I like the borders, but I'm not going to overdo it -- I'm planning to do this in pastels, so I can't get crazy with small details. I will post a color study shortly.

I'm also going to be working with Really Good Stuff again illustrating another Readers' Theater!

Forty-three years ago my parents got married on Easter weekend. This year it falls near Easter weekend again, so I thought it would be cute to combine Easter and Anniversary greetings! I want to do a color version of this, when I'm not so busy with extra freelancing.

I'm lovin' the sunshine today!

When I think of the word "poise", I think of "elegant balance." My wedding doves are the best example I have of this concept, on many levels.

I created my wedding doves almost six years ago to design a more personalized wedding invitation. On many levels, "poise" is more than just a suspended position. In marriage, everything is a act of balance and teamwork, and on some days it is elegant -- on other days, not so much!

The doves were framed and signed by our guests at the wedding reception. It now hangs in our hallway.

Lots going on here! This is a page from a kindergarten activity book that unfortunately got shelved.

The Hat Kid series continues with this little guy. There is so much green! I'm hoping to break up the humongous shape of the hat with a subtle clover pattern. I also thought it would be funny to show the little bird with the elusive piece of gold in its beak.

I will get this done by St. Patrick's Day!

I don't know about you, but as a kid leaf piles fascinated me. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that I was asthmatic and was forbidden from jumping into billowing clouds of dust.

My "Fall Kids" are soft pastel on Canson paper.

Not quite done in time for Valentine's Day, but oh well! It's soft pastel on Canson paper.

The "Mama Bear" card was created for my mom's birthday a couple of weeks ago. The original doodle had languished long enough in my sketchbook!

It's watercolor, colored pencil, and pastel pencil on watercolor paper.

I'm selling the original artwork in my brand new Etsy store. If there is enough interest in this piece, I'll have some prints made, and some cards probably.

I'm dusting off "The Hat Kid" series to begin developing a licensing line. My Tea Party Girl and Football Player I did years ago, and I'd like love to do a calendar with these guys.

I'll start on the final artwork shortly! It will be in soft pastels, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! The holiday card is finally done and off to the printers. This year, I wanted to get away from "cute" -- I'm really starting to feel typecast. As I've always had a fascination with winged creatures, I decided an angel would be a good project. I'm very happy with how she came out!

Get the Tricky Treats widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!

I'm happy to announce that "Tricky Treats" is now on Widgetbox! Tricky Treats is a Halloween candy-themed "Bejeweled" game. I had so much fun making the art for it!

The Field of Kittens has been on my list for quite some time. Ever since I created The Field of Puppies piece, my friend Angela has wanted a kittens version. So, guess what I created for her as a shower present? I featured her two kitties, Navy (the black one), and Toast (the orange marmie/white one). I think the kitten looking straight out at the viewer is the one that looks most like Toast. Here is my process, from sketch to finish.

Here's the finished product! I printed the invites last week and I'm getting the last of them mailed tomorrow. I added a little sparkle to the umbrella ruffle and gifts with some glitter glue.

I finished the shower mouse invitation artwork this weekend and wanted to share. It's colored pencil, watercolor, and a few highlights with pastel pencils. Now all I have to do is print out the invitations!

I'm thrilled to announce that the Strawberry Shortcake game I worked on this spring is now live! Go check it out at the American Greetings kids' website, AGKidzone!

Here is my contribution for this Illustration Friday's theme for "foggy."

"The Fog" was an early reader assignment for Hartcourt School Publishers. It gave me the chance to create some historical pieces, and work with a story with lots of atmosphere. The little boy in the story, Tom, becomes afraid while walking in the fog, so his mother retrieves a lamp from their house.

I would love to see how the finished product turned out. Unfortunately with larger publishers, you don't always get free samples.