The tempeture has dropped a few degrees and last night we got a wonderful thunderstorm.   It’s something we haven’t had here in Austin for quite awhile.  It was a nice break from the dry spell that we had all summer.  I’m so happy it’s October.   The boys and I spent all weekend decorating our house for the holiday.  

I was asked to decorate a hatbox for the Hill Country Book Festival.  The hatbox will be auctioned off and the funds generated from the sale will benefit the Williamson County Literacy Council.    They ladies I painted on the box do look a bit clique-ish so here ya go.     I used pen and ink to outline the faces directly onto the box and then used watercolors.   I haven’t used them in quite a while, like years!   It was a very fun project.   

I was in a half wake, half sleep state the other morning and my mind was trying to figure out what to draw for Artday Monday.   Theme was/is Opposites.   This illustration came to me.  Opposite creatures, opposite times of day, opposite stances, opposite orientation,  opposite directions..etc..

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough with the laundry.  It never ever seems to end!!!  A good friend of mine hires someone to come to her home and clean her family’s laundry.  I’m so jealous.   

I can’t ever seem to finish because I can’t finish in one day.  There is too much!    Call me anytime and ask what I’m doing….and I’ll answer, LAUNDRY!   I need 4 washers and 4 dryers so I can do lots of loads at one time.   While I’m thinking about it, I could use 4 dishwashers too!

This is my  laundry room.   HELP!

Foggy can mean so many things…. foggy mind (which I have) foggy air conditions, foggy smog stuff…
I choose an insecticide fogger.  YUCK!  Why would anyone put that toxic stuff in their air?

I could not think of anything interesting for the word “Sour.”   I automatically think of lemons and limes.   I didn’t feel inspired with this word.  Usually something pops in my head but this time, nothing.  I was sick of thinking about it so I decided to use this sketch in my sketchbook of a sour old lady.   I fear it may be my future.

I love this twice a week challenge.  I decided to use India ink, Sumi ink, and a small nib to create this Monday’s illustration. The small color spots I colored in with Pantone markers.  I copied my rough sketch on to a clean piece of vellum paper.  I like the smoothness of the paper but it isn’t very conducive to washes.  I didn’t care, this was Artday Monday.  I was free to play.

Once I copied the illustration and cleaned up the lines, I started to ink.   My nib was old and it didn’t hold the ink very well so the lines are thicker then I wanted.    I inked the flea first to make sure I didn’t accidentally cover him with any of the hair lines. 

 Finally, everything is inked and I’m ready to start with the Sumi ink washes.

I tried to vary the color of the wash by adding water.  This will dilute the pigment and allow me to create lighter and darker washes. I didn’t have much control over the ink on this paper so I decided to NOT control it. 

This image was scanned while the other images were taken with a digital camera.   I didn’t want allot of color and I wanted to draw the eye to the Bloody Mary so I left all monotone except the drink and the celery.

I call this illustration  ”Hair of the Dog”

I should be working on my manuscripts.  I have two that need my attention.   They are on my list of things to do.  I really should work on them, really.  The problem is, I’m enjoying doing the crazy illustrations.  

I think this is what I needed.  A chance to doodle and not be caught up in the final art.   Leaving things just a bit undone.   No pressure = FUN!  And  I’m having fun.    I’m drawing the first thing that comes into my head.  It feels like art therapy.   The theme for this Illustration Friday is Fierce. Although a great theme,   I kept hearing the winner of Project Runway Christian Siriano say, “It’s Fierce.” After I shook the phrase out of my mind, I came up with what I thought was the most fierce thing of all, a mother protecting her child.   

 So, I’ve started Illustration Friday and I love it..but, once I was done with     that weeks theme, I was ready to do another and was pretty sad to wait.     I did some perusing on the internet and found…

ILLUSTRATION MONDAY..HURAY!!  

This weeks them was Home Town.

 I grew up in El Paso. The western most tip of Texas. We boarder Mexico, and New Mexco. The theme home town sparks so many memories and I wasn’t sure which one I would do. There was Asarco…a tall smokestack that loomed over our elementary school playground. It was part of a copper smeltering plant and filled the air will pollution that smelled of sulfer. Or I could have done the Rio Grande. This river looks harmless and shallow but often proves deadly to those who want to cross. A simple river that devides one country from another. Intead of these very poinient icons of El Paso, I chose a symble that brought back good memories and one place that I must go to every time I return home. Chico’s Tacos! I love this place.

I can’t be the only whiney baby out there who goes through long…..LONG …Super duper long periods of time where I’m afraid to draw.   I don’t know why this happens.  Feelings of mediocrity and depression.   I find  things that I “have” to do before I can sit down to illustrate, address a manuscript, paint or basically do anything to advance my career.  It’s self sabotage.  

 This fear hurdle creeps up on me and then suddenly, I have to do the laundry..or redo the closets.   I find myself baking allot as well.   I can always legitimize why I’m not working.  I mean, I’m baking wonderful deserts because I love my kids and I want them to feel loved with homemade baked goods fresh from the oven.  

Ahhh good times right?   Well, I feel it’s time to kick myself in the pants.   Logically I know what I’m doing …so I have to work through it and force myself to sit in my art-room and do something other then play online dominoes.  I’ve decided to start Illustration Friday.   

This weeks topic came in the e-mail as it always does.  I usually look at the topic, think about what I  would do.  Feel satisfied with it and then do nothing about it.  That’s it!   Nothing ever happens.   But not this time.  This weeks topic is Hoard.    I usually try to not be so obvious, but  baby steps.  I didn’t want to stress over it.   Here is my rough sketch for hoard.  I will post the illustrations progress.  

I’ve messed around with it some more.

I’ve decided to keep my illustration Friday’s sketchy and free.   I want to keep lines, mistakes, and pencil marks.   I never turn in anything loose but I’ve always liked loose drawings.   This is now my exercise.   I’ve had to load the image with a digital camera.   My scanner no longer is compatible with my computer now that I’ve upgraded to Tiger.    I’ve also misplaced every single brush except one old crummy one.   I tried to paint watercolor, but it didn’t work in places with the fixative.   Where the watercolor wouldn’t adhere, I used markers.  Somethings worked, many things didn’t.  There are so many areas II would like to fix,  but I didn’t let it bother me and I moved forward.  It was a very freeing and relaxing exercise. 

   I can’t wait for next Friday.

To celebrate the start of my body falling apart, I decided to go on an adventure…while I still could. When I was a little girl, I saw a story in National Geographic about an ancient Inca city in the clouds.  I remember focusing on the images that went along with the text.   The pictures showed a great city made of stone.  Stone steps, paths, walls and windows.   Each rock expertly cut to fit with the next.   The place is Matchu Picchu.  I desperatly wanted to see this place but I didn’t want to take a bus like many tourists.  I wanted to come upon it like the inca’s people did so long ago.  Instead of throwing a party to celebrate my 40th birthday, I decided to hike the Royal Inca trail.

 This was the first day.  It was misleading!!   We casually strolled along the trial which meandered along the countryside.  We hiked for about 5 hours this day.  

The second day was about 5 hours as well, BUT it was all up the mountain.  Due to the high altitude, my heart felt like it would beat straight out of my chest.    My body hurt but my mind and soul soared.  I’ve never seen such beauty. 

Day one and day two were just warm ups.   I had no idea what was instore for me on the third day.   Clilmbing mountains were hard on my heart and lungs, but going back down killed my knees.  On the third day we asended to the top of dead womans pass (about 14,000 ft) then decended only  to asend again… then to decend…I felt like a achey yo yo.  We did this all day of day three for 10 1/2  hours.   I honestly did not think I was capable of such things.  I amazed myself.

My legs started to revolt.  My muscles hurt like never before.  On the forth and final day we still had about 5 hours till we reached the sun gate.   The sun gate is a stone gateway.  Once you walk through it, you can see Matchu Picchu for the first time.   After such a long trek, the site brought tears to my weary eyes. 

The switchback scar is how the busses get up to Matchu Picchu.  

I have had an idea in my head for these many years, since I was a child really, as to how amazing this hike would be.   Usually when you create an ideal about how something’s going to be, you’re pretty much dooming yourself for disssapointment.   This trip, walk, treasure hunt, pilgramage, trek and adventure proved to be more powerful then ideals.   There are no words, there are no pictures that can convey the power of the trail and the beauty of matchu Picchu.   I took paper, watercolors, pencils and ink pens with me on the trip thinking I would sit and draw what I saw.  I drew nothing.  I couldn’t wrap my mind around such an amazing place.  It still hasn’t sunk in.   I am in compleat awe.  

The only thing that made this trip better, was experiancing it with my best friend and husband Glenn.

We (Austin SCBWI) have changed our fall conference to the spring. It makes quite a difference.   Our wildflowers are blooming, the heat is not yet stifling, and everyone is happy and excited to be done with winter.  Austinites are primed for insight.  So it goes without saying that our conference ROCKED!

Our line up included Agent Erin Murphy (So funny and wonderful.  I got to know her and fell in love with her personality!), Deborah Wayshak who is the executive editor at Candlewick Press.  ( I could kick myself for not hunting her down and getting to know her better.  My loss indeed!!!)  We also had Alvina Ling, editor from Little Brown.  ( She also seemed to elude me.  Perhaps they’ve heard the talk and kept a nice distance. Smart smart people!!)  Christina Tugeau was our art agent.  (She IS cute as a button and such a delight!  She offered great insight to each artists work.  It is much appreciated.) Peter Jacobi spoke at our conference and was wonderful.   He is a visiting professor from Indiana University’s School of Journalism.  We also had the inspiring Naomi Pasemann who worked for 44 years as a  public school teacher and counselor.  Her speech was so powerful, funny and motivating.  She was absolutely amazing.

Here’s an image of our local illustrators/authors intensely listening to one of our speakers.

We included many formats for our illustrators to get their work seen.   Before each conference, I put together a little welcome basket/bag for our conference faculty.   Items are from local establishments that are ment to promote our wonderful city.   One thing that’s included are blank notecards.    The illustratos who attended the conference were encouraged to place their image on a notecard.   This was a great way to promote our talented illustrators.   

Here is what the stack looked like before they went into the editors/agents/professor/teacher’s bag.

Here is the slew of talented illustrators cards.  Not all of the illustrations had arrived yet. 

Another way we promoted our illustrators was to have an auction.    We tend to do something like this every year at our conference.    Any participating illustrator or author must use the same item. This year we used a wood birdhouse.   What’s fun about it is how different they all turn out to be.   For some of us (me), it gets kind of competitive.  This year I was blown away by what showed up. 

And last we have the portfolio contest.   The winner  was Clint Young.  He won a $75.00 gift certificate to Jerry’s Artarama. Second place was Patrice Barton.  She won a $50.00 gift certificate, and third place went to Janee Trasler who won a $25.00 gift certificate.   Three AMAZING talents.   

                                                                   Patrice, Janee, and Clint

It was a long but fruitful day.   After the conference, we all headed down to Threadgills for some good southern food.    Ahhh, the end.

So, I’ve taken some time off.   Ok, I’ve taken ALLOT of time off….but I’m ready to get back to it.   Sometimes your artistic mind needs to take a long vacation and think about other things.   I’ve come to understand that blogging once a month is more difficult then say, once a week.   With once a month, it’s easy to forget that you are going to make an entry at all.   The month drifts by and …BAMN, you’re a big looser cause you didn’t get your blog done.   SO, I’m going to try once a week.    TRY is the word I want everyone to focus on.     

I’m amazed at people who can do digital art. I need to do this book in digital art for reasons I wont go into. It would be much faster for me to paint but I’ve decided to try my hand at illustrating digitally.

I am always feeling the “WOW” factor. I seem to learn through error and accidents so working on the computer has given me many learning opportunities. I’m figuring out how to use different brushes to add texture and items in the picture are starting to look more painterly. NICE! I’m learning to let go of keeping my illustrations perfectly clean and tight and loosening up with color and layers. It doesn’t show much on this illustration but trust me, I’ve learned allot. I can’t wait to see how much I know after this book is complete.

I don’t know how it happened but I have become a hockey mom. A hockey mom and a hockey wife.

Both my boys and husband are in a hockey league. My boys play for the Road Runner Squirts and my husband…. well, that’s a whole different league!! The boys got to name their team and so with a vote, the team name became the Austin Raptors. I decided that it would be fun to make t-shirts for their team.

I love these pictures of Dianna Aston and myself. We had such a great time.

Oops, where did August go? I guess with the end of summer break, getting my kids ready to go back to school, and me teaching this fall….the month got away from me.

Last month, I received an e-mail from Mark Mitchell, an Austin SCBWI luminary, sending out information regarding ABC’s Children’s Picture Book Competition.

Rita Mills of The Book Connection was searching for illustration talent to pair up with the 12 final picture book manuscripts. Mark and I were both chosen to do a single illustration and were assigned a text that matched our style. The manuscript I was assigned called JunkFood Jack was fun to illustrate. I had a great time researching the candy!

below was the first sketch.

I added different shades of gray in photoshop and sent this sketch to Rita for approval.

I got the go ahead and started painting. I made changes as I worked.

Here is the final image. Again, I really REALLY enjoyed researching the candy!!!

To cast your vote for the best picture book manuscript, please go to…

http://www.ABCbookcompetition.org

I’m going to visit one of my best friends Dianna Aston. She is an amazing writer for children’s books.

Some of her titles include;

When You Where Born,

An Egg is Quiet,

A Seed is Sleepy,

and many many more. She recently moved from Buda, Tx to San Miguel Allende where she has started a charity for children called The Oz Project. I was happy to designe the logo for the charity.

below is information regarding “The Oz Project.”

Inspiration is the cornerstone of THE OZ PROJECT , founded by hot-air balloon enthusiasts in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico who will lift children like these into the realm of the rainbow, where dreams awaken. The first trip up is July 25, 2007, when girls from Casa Hogar Santa Julia Don Bosco, A.C., a girls’ orphanage, will rise with the sun in colorful balloons [from the pueblo's town center, we hope]. Aloft, these children will see a world without borders and discover a magical peace that gives wings to imagination. Del cielo, no hay fronterras y no hay limites en sus suenos. Our vision of them will be an invitation to reach into forgotten places where dreams fade with time, an invitation to offer them knowledge of the world, inspiration for the soul, and the power of choice.

These children are sharing their dreams with us. You can help us make life better for orphans in San Miguel de Allende–and around the world–by volunteering your time, donating money or sponsoring a balloon ride — around $175 USD per child. US Tax Deductible Donations may be made to the San Miguel Educational Foundation, noting Santa Julia Balloon Project on the memo line. Mail to 9902 Crystal Court, Suite 107 BC 2323 121A, Laredo, Texas 78045. It is important that you email our orphanage liaison Robin Loving at [email protected] if you’re sending a donation in order to ensure that your funding goes for this project. Your support of The Oz Project means a great deal to these deserving kids as we continue working to make life better for them.

I saw an add asking for an artist to design ABC posters with a cowboy theme.

Though I didn’t take the job, I gave myself the assignment of coming up with an idea for A. Then I made myself color it on the computer. Every time I use the computer, I’m amazed at what comes out and how much it’s like painting. Of course, there are differences, but the layering, the melding of colors, the shadows and light, very similar.