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Hi, friends!

Man oh man, how I've neglected this blog!
Somehow it is already MAY.
MAY 2014.
How did that happen?
Seriously, the year is flying.
FLYING!

A super quick update:
Since my last post in January I have . . .

-Moved out of Brooklyn, New York, and down to charming Baltimore, Maryland. A BIG change, but a very good one.

-Started and (almost) finished the art for a picture book titled YARD SALE, written by Eve Bunting (!Pinch me!), that will come out in spring 2015.

-Purchased a new sketchbook where a tiny hedgehog showed up one happy day in February. Now, two and a half months later, it is hard to draw anything BUT Hedgehog. I'm obsessed.


-Finally jumped in to the wonderful world of Twitter, where I have had the opportunity to meet and chat with so many lovely and awesome new people. Hooray for social media (mostly:)!

-Received actual bound copies of my new book as author/illustrator, THE TROUBLEMAKER. I am so pleased with how it's turned out. A million thanks to my editor, art director and all of Clarion/HMH for encouraging and supporting me and this book. I'll be doing my first read aloud to a group of 60(!) Pre-K kiddos next week. Please, keep your fingers crossed for me! :)


THE TROUBLEMAKER's book birthday is one month from today. June 3rd, 2014. I cannot wait! You can read more about the book here.
I'll leave you with my first ever attempt at animation, below.

Happy weekend, all! Hope it's a fantastic one.
xo~Lauren

The Troublemaker from Lauren Castillo on Vimeo.

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Exercise your art chops!

Summer Solstice! What could be better after a full day’s work (or surfing), or sight-seeing around San Diego, than hunkering down, and drawing pictures with other passionate story-tellers?

We’ll work on hand-on drawing-and-sharing, in class, in person. Examine the latest picture books, plus a few timeless classics. And address aspects of the current children’s book market.

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Join us!

Class:        Children’s Book Illustration – ART-40011
Dates:       June 26 – August 21  (9 meetings)
Day:           Wednesdays
Time:         6:30pm – 9:30pm
Location:  Extension, Room 128

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Required books: 

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Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books (paperback) :: Uri Shulevitz   ISBN: 9780823059355

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Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals (paperback)
:: Ed Emberley   ISBN: 9780316789790

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Don’t delay, sign up today!

You may purchase textbooks via the UCSD Bookstore.
extension.ucsd.edu.  Register now.  Ask about ART 40011
Fee:  $250 / $275 after 6/10/13

  

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Sketches for NANA IN THE CITY; Clarion books; Coming Fall 2014

I've just begun character studies for my next (3rd) book as author, Nana in the City, about a boy who travels to the city to visit his nana and needs a little convincing about why the city is a good place (for a nana) to live. I'm looking forward to jumping in to final art this spring!

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I have been working on creating my own desktop reference for characters, young, old, multiracial. Concentrating on facial expressions and features these are the first of my studies. The studies help me to keep consistency within a character from page to page in a picture book. Hopefully it will grow into a reference of my own style that I can go to when I am working on illustrations for stories. In addition to these I also have a backlog of photos of children and adults from those that I work with in Christian Education and the summer theater for children in our town.

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This is a character study I was doing for a book... then all of a sudden I got a new idea and I kindda forgot about it...
I didnt really like the boy's face but who cares I am not going to continue with this project... or at least not for now.

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I've been away for a bit this summer...but I'm back!! I had this character I've been working on for awhile - I have actually even developed her much further than this old sketch- but I thought these sketches fit the prompt or task at hand quite well - 4 panels (studies) one character. My scanner is out for some tea, probably with some long lost techy friends, so I had to make do with a camera shot hope the quality doesn't bother anyone. Excellent Monday Artday prompt!! -Amarettogirl

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by Aldous Huxley illustrated by Barbara Cooney Random House 1967 Weekly Reader Children's Book Club edition I have been meaning to write about this for a long time now and finally got the push when I was over at Bottom Shelf Books. The kick in the rear was this line in a review of The Flower by John Light: If Aldous Huxley and Edgar Allen Poe teamed up to create a children's book, this would

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This episode of Just One More Book! is part of our showcase coverage of the International Reading Association’s 52nd annual conference.

Mark speaks with Ira Wolfman, Senior Vice President Editorial with Weekly Reader Magazine, and Dr. Michael Cohen, developmental psychologist and educational researcher with the Michael Cohen Group, about the results of a recent study that illustrates the importance of magazines as part of a literacy strategy.

Participate in the conversation by leaving a comment on this interview, or send an email to [email protected].

Tags:Ira Wolfman, IRA2007, Michael Cohen, research results, Weekly ReaderIra Wolfman, IRA2007, Michael Cohen, research results, Weekly Reader

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