By: John Rocco,
on 1/16/2013
So I have finally updated my website and using wordpress I have combined it with a blog.
So if you want to follow my NEW blog you can see it here at http://www.roccoart.com and clicking on the blog button.
You will see lots of new art and a bunch of new stuff, so feel free to peruse. Hope to hear from you there!
By: John Rocco,
on 1/2/2013
By: John Rocco,
on 12/23/2012
To whomever is reading this...I apologize. As you can see, I have not posted anything to this blog in an embarrassingly long time. Excuses? Yes, I have plenty, but I would make a guess and say that you are not entirely interested.
I have just finished a whole bunch of new work, and plan to take a little time to update my website and make some more regular blog posts so you can see what I am working on. In the meantime here is some of the artwork I have been doing since my last post over one year ago! ...
By: John Rocco,
on 9/1/2011
I am very excited about the latest illustrated book I did with Katherine and John Paterson. It's not often that you get to illustrate a book for the National Ambassador of Children's Literature. I ended up doing about 60 paintings for this book.
There is also a very nice interview I did over at 7imps which has a ton of never before seen artwork and detailed discussions about my process. 
By: John Rocco,
on 5/19/2011
John Rocco takes a child’s-eye view of one special summer night in Blackout. At first glance, this captivating picture book seems to offer a straightforward view of a night when a family is forced to move away from their electronic life to a simpler time, a time when families played board games and enjoyed each other’s company. Taking a closer look at the illustrations does for the reader just what the blackout does for the family in the story, allowing us to slow down and appreciate the moment all the more.
Let’s start with the very first image—even before the title page. Here is the main character, a little girl with a screen flickering behind her. Given her dour expression, it appears that the screen isn’t bringing her much joy. Moving to the first pages of the book, we see a busy street in Brooklyn, beneath the bridge. Careful observers will recognize that same girl again in a brownstone window. In other tiny windows, we spot four of the main characters, busy with their work and too busy for the little girl, who wants to play a board game.
0 Comments on "A SPECIAL SUMMER NIGHT"-Great review in BookPage! as of 1/1/1900
By: John Rocco,
on 4/29/2011
Blackout, my new picture book with Disney•Hyperion is getting some nice attention! Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus as well as being selected for the Indiebound Kids Next List for Summer 2011. I am very thrilled. 
By: John Rocco,
on 1/24/2011
Here are some jpgs of more final covers for "Return to Exile" and "The Throne of Fire".
By: John Rocco,
on 12/17/2010
I have just made this image, from Rick Riordan's Bestselling book "The Lost Hero" available for purchase on Imagekind.com
By: John Rocco,
on 11/9/2010
Here are a couple new jacket paintings. One is the third jacket in a series called the Century Books and should be coming out soon (The purple one). The other is for a book I can't talk about yet. I am still working on this one, but very excited on how it is coming out.
By: John Rocco,
on 11/3/2010
On Sunday November 14th there will be an art exhibition and reception at Sparkhouse Studio in South Orange, NJ from 7-9pm
By: John Rocco,
on 10/26/2010
Dark Horse comics have recently licensed some of my artwork to go on their new Gelaskins for laptops and phones and ipads and all that other cool technology that you want to protect from drops and spills and four year old children who have a tendency to knock your stuff on the ground. (Yes, I am talking to you, Alaya)
By: John Rocco,
on 10/15/2010
0 Comments on Illustrators Day Festival as of 1/1/1900
By: John Rocco,
on 6/24/2010
By: John Rocco,
on 6/4/2010
Here is the latest jacket art for World's End. It's a wraparound jacket that where the art is even carried onto the inside jacket flaps. World's End is the second book in the DORMIA series by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski.
This was a fun one, and you can see my inspiration from these two paintings by Howard Pyle.
By: John Rocco,
on 5/4/2010
Last night I went to a media launch event for Rick Riordan's newest series, The Kane Chronicles. (Jacket art by yours truly). The event was in the large atrium of the Brooklyn Museum and there was quite a turnout. Here are some pictures:
Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, made Rick an honorary Brooklyn Citizen. (A good part of The Kane Chronicles takes place in Brooklyn, about five blocks from my house!)
The wonderful voice over artists, who read for the audio version of the book were on hand to give everyone a sample of there talents. They were great!
And, as always, Rick got everyone excited about Egyptian mythology...and his new series of course. He mentioned that the Brooklyn Museum has the largest collection of ancient Egyptian spell books in the world. Pretty dangerous!?!?
0 Comments on Launch of The Kane Chronicles as of 1/1/1900
By: John Rocco,
on 4/27/2010
I haven't blogged in a while, and that means I am busy. I recently joined fellow illustrators David Gordon and Dave Horowitz at the Bridgewater Young Authors Conference which was a lot of fun. I also spoke at the New Jersey Reading Councils recent conference and signed books with Marc Brown.
In my studio I am busy working on a couple of book jackets. One for the new book in the DORMIA series, and a jacket for Rick Riordan's newest book The Lost Hero, which is the first book in Rick's Percy Jackson spinoff series about demi-gods at camp half-blood.
In other news, Rick Riordan's latest series, The Kane Chronicles, hits bookstores on May 4 with its first book The Red Pyramid. Cool!
I am also spending my time working on THE FLINT HEART, by John and Katherine Patterson. It is a middle grade fantasy novel originally created by Edin Phillpotts in 1910. It was just announced that it will be made into a movie by the team that put together the film Bridge to Terabithia. The book will have about 45 paintings in it, so I think I will be having a busy summer. More to come on that as the summer progresses.
Okay, so when I am not busy on all of that...I am working on my picture book called BLACKOUT. It is an almost wordless book, (it has about 100 words, which is almost wordless for me!) about a family in Brooklyn that comes together through the magic of a blackout. Here are some of the drawings to give you a taste.
By: John Rocco,
on 3/2/2010
I thought it would be fun to post some rejected sketches from a bunch of different book jackets that I've illustrated. These were the ideas that didn't make it...
By: John Rocco,
on 2/25/2010
Recently I finished a painting for a new book jacket. I was very inspired by the work of N.C. on this one.
By: John Rocco,
on 2/1/2010
(pictured here; Jennifer Besser (Editor, Disney•Hyperion), me, Peter Glassman (Owner, Books of Wonder)
This past Saturday we had a very nice opening at Books of Wonder in NYC displaying all the artwork from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There was a huge turnout and lots of great questions from the audience. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made the event so special. It was a real thrill for me to see all the art framed and on the wall, and to meet all the fans of the series. It was a super cold saturday, and it was even cold inside (that's why I am still wearing my scarf!) so I was thrilled that people braved the elements and came out.
The artwork will stay up for a while, so if you are in the neighborhood be sure to check it out. A small limited edition signed set of prints have been made and you can purchase them through Books of Wonder while they last. You can preview them all here.
By: John Rocco,
on 1/26/2010
Happy New Year! Here are some of the latest paintings I have completed for some middle grade novels. The first two are for a series called THE CENTURY BOOKS by P.D. Baccalario. The final painting is for the paperback version of a book called THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER by David Whitley. (I loved this book! It's like Jonathan Stroud's The Bartimeous Trilogy meets Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I can't wait to read the next one in this trilogy, which I am supposed to get in a couple days.
In the meantime, I am very excited to announce that I will be illustrating a middle grade fairy tale written by our new Ambassador of Children's Literature, the one and only...Katherine Paterson. The book is called The Flint Heart, originally written by Eden Phillpotts in 1910. Katherine and her husband John have brought new life to this wonderful story which feels to me like a wonderful combination of Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. The Publisher, Candlewick Press will be creating a highly illustrated version of this wonderful tale, which I have the honor of illustrating.
By: John Rocco,
on 1/15/2010
Well the word is out, and so is the new art. Here is the painting that I recently did for Rick Riordan's latest series; The Kane Chronicles. There is some more info on the Wall Street Journal Blog, and a website.
By: John Rocco,
on 1/8/2010
Come on out and join me for a cool art exhibition hosted by my favorite NYC bookstore, Books of Wonder.
When: January 30th 12-2pm
The super awesome editor of the Percy Books, Jennifer Besser will be there as well to answer any of your questions. Should be fun!
By: John Rocco,
on 12/14/2009
Here is another painting from the Lightning Thief Deluxe Edition. It depicts Percy leaving Mount Olympus towards the end of the book. You'll notice the design on the elevator doors is based on the end pages I designed for "The Last Olympian".
I recently took my three year old daughter to the top of the Empire State Building and when we got out on the roof, she kept saying "But I want to go ALL the way up to the tippy top." I can only assume she meant climbing the needle like King Kong, but maybe she meant even further...to the 600th floor!
By: John Rocco,
on 12/4/2009
I am pleased to announce that the Lightning Thief Deluxe Illustrated Edition is now available. I just went over to Books of Wonder in NYC where both Rick Riordan and I have signed copies. Very cool! 
By: John Rocco,
on 11/30/2009
Had a great time at the recent Books of Wonder event this past weekend. Here are some pics.
Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, me and Art Spiegleman.
Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, Art Spiegleman, Francoise Mouly, Charles Santore, Laura Cornell and Brett Helquist.
Left to Right: Charles Santore, Laura Cornell, Brett Helquist, Holly Hobbie and me grinning profusely.
I had a friend just like yours. I have no idea what happened to him :(