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You may have been wondering why it's so quiet around here lately…
The answer is I've been hard at work! Above are my new postcards (created with my agents, ABLA). They're designed and printed in time for the SCBWI conference (aka #LA15scbwi), which kicks off tomorrow morning bright and early. It takes a good bit of preparation — new portfolio art, new postcards, new dummies or manuscripts. New shoes!
Some people begin to prepare months in advance, but I couldn't. I have another project on the go, also demanding my 1000% attention. I'm working on my picture book for Nord Süd (North South Books): getting to know the characters ...and playing around with the hero...
...with his eponymous green umbrella…
And above all, trying to get the visual narrative to work:Here is the famous storyboard clothesline, with earlier versions of many of the spreads. Of course, by the time the book gets into print there will be more changes, revisions and endless effing tweaks.
So that's where I have been lately. This blog will probably stay quiet for a little while longer, but nowadays I can also be found on Instagram and even tweeting on Twitter.
See you all later — enjoy the summer!
Hello May!
I have been experimenting with some new techniques with plasticine and polymer clay over the last few weeks. Here is one example of my playing..erm experimentation. I created this illo to explore colour and movement- together. What better way to capture those then to depict a flowing stream in Fall. I will definitely be returning to this technique. It was created by using my fingers and some clay tools, sort of like finger painting with think paint-such fun. I hope you like it. It is somewhat of a departure from my usual work.
To download this desktop, simply click on the required screen resolution above, and right click then "save to desktop". Enjoy!
By the way, right now over on
Goodreads there is a giveaway going on until May 22, to win a free copy of Skink on the Brink. Fitzhenry and Whiteside will be giving away 10 free copies. If you haven't had a chance to enter yet, there is still time.
And I wanted to share 2 bits of exciting, peel-me-off-the-ceiling, great news!
Lisa Dalrymple and myself are thrilled to have been nominated for the the 2014 SCBWI Canada Crystal Kite Award.We are honoured to have made the shortlist alongside such amazing Canadian talent.
I also wanted to take a moment to congratulate Marty Chan, author of The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate. He has has been nominated for the
2014 Aurora Award in the category of Best English YA novel, presented by the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association. Also, Tanya Montini was nominated in the Best Artist category. This is especially exciting for me as Tanya designed the beautifully cohesive and stunning cover, which includes my polymer clay-mixed media Infinity Coil medallion illustrations. I am so excited for them both!
As I was cleaning off my desk I can across an initial sketch from Gulliver's Travels. It was just a mere outline of where I wanted to go with the profile of Gulliver, but all I could see at this stage was Logan, who I used for a model. It got me thinking about how artists use reference material. So be sure to check out the links below. And
Happy Birthday Logan!
This...
started as this...
and this...
and came from this shot...
Here are some interesting links to a few artists that I admire, and how they use models, props, and photo reference. Plus, a little sneak peek into their studios. (For Ruth Sanderson click onto her name for an indepth "Artist at Work" page from her website.)
Yup, that's right, it is final artwork time!!! I'm so excited to get started on the plasticine art. Can you tell? It has been so quiet on the blog lately and I didn't even even get a chance to make a July desktop calendar- so sorry everyone, but we made a last minute dash to the cottage.
So this is what is going on over here. I've been mixing and kneading lots of plasticine. It's a great way to keep the arms toned ;) I also keep track of my ratios on a sheet of paper, a sort of mixing chart, so if I run out of a colour I can refer back to it and make it again.
I'm SOOO excited to get cracking on the plasticine art...I think I already said that, oh well. I still feel like I need to pinch myself most mornings because I feel so incredibly lucky and honoured to be working on this picture book project. The story is such a perfect fit. And I have had such a wonderful time bringing Stewie the skink to life in my sketches from Lisa Dalrymple's fab manuscript. I still have a few revisions awaiting approval, that might need further tweaking. It has been a great learning experience to go through my sketches with my editor, Christie Harkin. She gives great constructive feedback, and our brainstorming sessions always leave me feeling energized with tons of great ideas. She totally rocks!!
For those of you who follow me on FB, you may have noticed a bunch of Stewie(the real Stewie) pics that I shared yesterday from Lisa's recent trip to Pinery Park. She shot some fabulous photos of him. And it turns out, after lots of searching with the naturalist outdoors, Stewie surprised them all by hiding under a desk in their office. Stewie found Lisa! That silly Stewie :)
I know it has been rather quite on my blog lately, but believe me there's lots going on behind the scenes. As many of you know, I am in the process of illustrating my first picture, Skink on the Brink (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) written by Lisa Dalrymple, and it's due out in Spring 2013. It has been a very amazing experience so far! I am loving every second of it.
I have been wanting to share with you some of the sketches I have been working on during the rough sketch revision process thus far. So with the thumbs-up from my wonderful editor, Christie Harkin, I have created some collages from tidbits of my sketches, to give you a sneak peek of Stewie the skink, some of his adorable friends and other interesting characters. Keep in mind these are rough sketches, so there will be changes/tweaks during the revision process. ;)
Here we have a collage of some close-ups of the our little skink, Stewie. Isn't he a character? He is a fun loving, toe-tapping charmer, with loads of energy and perseverance.
And here we have a collage of some of the animals that Stewie encounters in the story. Some are friendly, and some most definitely are not...
I hope to be able to share more as I go:) Especially once I get going with the final plasticine art....I can't wait!! I'd love to do some process posts, to show some of the illustrations from concept sketch to final art. What fun! Heeheee ;)
I taught a plasticine workshop in late February for the Nursery School CO-OP organization in my area. My children had attended one of these schools, and I still keep in touch with the lovely ladies that teach and run the school. I had gone into their classroom to do a workshop with the JK kiddos, and they were kind enough to welcome me back to give a workshop to all the teachers in the organization. Turns out I am WAY more nervous talking to a group of adults then a bunch of kids-ekk!
Anyway, while I was there, I was asked if I might be interested in designing and donating a plasticine illustration to their annual fundraising Gala. Well, I was honoured and excited to get started. This nursery school is simply outstanding. Not only are the teachers phenomenal, they're so patient, caring and nurturing. I was continually amazed at the imaginative and interactive ways they would introduce new curriculum to the students- BRAVO!!!
So my illustration idea began when I saw this adorable photo posted on Facebook by
Alma Fullerton, a CANSCAIP and SCBWI CanEast friend. Oh my gosh, how scrumptious is this little mousy?!! Well lots of us thought so, by the comments left on her page. But my editor, Christie Harkin, tagged me and said she thought this would look great in plasticine. " Ooooh yes, it most certainly would!! I love a challenge" I said to myself- yes I do talk to myself aloud quite often ;)
So I got sketching, and I tried not to copy, but rather be inspired by this gleeful expression:
And of course, my little mousy has boots! Surprise, surprise, I love boots ;)
I composed a scene around this little fella, and once I was satisfied, after playing around with the composition, I got to work on rendering the sketch in plasticine. The really fun part. Here are some WIP pics with my iphone:
Unfinished section of WIP
As some of my fellow bloggers may have noticed, blogging creates a certain sense of obligation to post regularly. This is especially true when you know a few readers check regularly, expecting to see something new. So here is a tiny preview of the next piece I've started--another antique in the garden. Unfortunately I do not expect to complete it until later this week.
Despite my desire to follow Thoreau's advice--"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify!"-- another major, unavoidable distraction of the year is underway: a third foot surgery for my 20-y-0 son tomorrow. The other two were his second foot surgery in July, which was a spectacular failure (proving for a second time that if something doesn't hurt much, surgery can fix that) and my mother's tragic illness and death, which pretty much wiped me out from Feb-June. Here's hoping for more productive painting time and a significantly less eventful 2012.
I've been stuck on dinosaurs lately. Here is a piece I recently sketched, currently titled Dino Trouble. I'll show the final once it's done, since I haven't made it that far yet (very large file size partially to blame here). I will update on this shortly!
Here another few quick snaps of this illustration as I'm working on it. The hummingbird is giving a ride to a furry mouse friend and his little buddy is parachuting in above with a napkin. Lately I have had a thing for Echinacea flowers...I've used them in my last 2 plasticine illustrations- they are so, so pretty :)
Can't wait to share more...check back soon. ;)
Here is a close-up of one of the illustrations I am currently working on. I don't know how the weather has been where you live, but here in Southern Ontario it has been very, very VERY wet! Enough rain already, and let's bring on the sunshine! The only good thing about the wet weather we've had is that we now have the lushest, greenest grass and an abundance of tree blossoms. So it is rather pretty outside even in this gloomy, damp weather.:)
I thought it would be fitting to share my butterflies and Echinacea blooms today now that the sun is finally making an appearance- yippeee!
We are off to the cottage this long weekend. It will be the first trip for us this season. Time to crack out my lists and start packing! I hope everyone has a great weekend too!
Had to do something 180 degrees from the red and black stuff. I'm not keen on showing my work-in-progress messes, but it's either this initial lay-in of a painting that ultimately may or may not work out--or nothing. I'm not moving too fast, either: my arrangement of our lavender roses--already at the end of their bloom--totally wilted before I even started painting. So I cut another one for color, and will have to rely on my photo for the rest--though maybe a whole new crop will bloom before I get around to finishing.
I attended the preview party for the 20-20 Show last night and was stunned to find the first place ribbon on the wall next to my collection. I'm sure it was a factor in selling five of the paintings, so I am doubly pleased. Hoping for a few more sales at tomorrow night's Second Saturday event and throughout the run of the show. And that will be about enough partying for me for awhile.
Hi Everyone, I thought I'd share what I am currently working on. This illustration will have children in it as well, so far I have only completed the grandmother character. But as it was inspired by a special memory I thought it would be fun to share at this point.
As I said, this illustration was inspired by a specific fond memory I have of a grandmother-like family friend that joined my sister and I in our teepee, on one hot summer day. As little girls my twin sis and I loved to goof around having fun in the backyard in our teepee playing cowboys and indians, or pirates(obviously we were so not girly-girls). My parent's dear friend Mrs. Margaret, as we lovingly called her, had come to visit. And being the proper english lady that she was, she would have a cuppa tea with my mom while they visited. Well one day when she was over, my sister and I asked if she would like to join us in our teepee. To our delight and surprise( and my mom's too) she slipped off her shoes with a smile, and quickly plopped herself down in our teepee, tea still in hand, to enjoy our company and tell us grand stories. According to my mom it what quite a sight to see. Sitting as prim and proper as possible with her tea cup and saucer squeezed into the little kiddie teepee with the two of us. We loved every minute of it, and we were so honoured that she joined us. We love you and miss you Mrs. Margaret.
Tulip Shadows, Blk & Wht + Red #8, 8 x 8" oil on hardwood canvas panel
Hmm, in the light of day, this one looks so much browner to me than it did last night. To put it another way, why do the lights look so much duller, the reds so much less red. etc? What was I thinking? Oh, yeah, I remember. Instead of "Get it right," I was thinking "Get it done." So for that, I get to "do it again." I'm hearing Hatfield in my head--"Which primary color is it? Nothing with a hyphen or an "ish". "Figure out the values." Needs more pure color, flowers and pitcher are too picky & need to be more simplified. Argh. I know these things, why do I not do them? Guess I'll give it the once-over this morning and re-post tonight.
The SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grants are designed to assist children’s book writers in the completion of a specific project, and are made possible by a generous grant from Amazon.com.
Grants for first place ($2000) and runner up ($500) are awarded in each one of seven different categories:
- General Work-In-Progress grant
- Grant for a contemporary novel for young people
- Nonfiction research grant
- Grant for work by an unpublished author
- Grant for work from a multi-cultural/minority perspective
- Barbara Karlin Grant for unpublished picture book writers.
- Don Freeman Grant for unpublished picture book illustrators.
In any given year, an applicant may apply for: the General Work-In-Progress Grant OR the Work-In-Progress Grant for a Contemporary Novel for Young People OR the Work-In-Progress Nonfiction Research Grant. The Grant for a Work Whose Author has Never Had a Book Published may not be applied for — it will be chosen from all the entries in the other Work-In-Progress categories.
Eligibility: The Grants are available to both full and associate members of the SCBWI. They are not available for projects on which there are already contracts. Please note: members can apply for only one SCBWI grant per calendar year.
Grant Amounts: Seven Grants of $2,000 will be awarded annually, one in each category. Seven Runner-Up Grants of $500 will also be awarded, one in each category. Authors of other projects cited by the judges as noteworthy will receive a Letter of Merit. In any given year, the SCBWI Grant Committee reserves the right to withhold the grant for that year.
Deadline: Completed application and accompanying materials must be postmarked no earlier than February 15th and must be RECEIVED BY March 15th. Receipt of your application will be acknowledged only if a stamped self-addressed post card is enclosed. The recipients of the grants will be announced in September.
Instructions for completing and submitting application materials:
"Sierra Heritage", Granite Drive Valley Oak, 30 x 30" work-in-progress
With this painting in mind, I photographed a large, complicated Rocklin heritage oak last summer. I had planned to finish it before the open studio, but after spending a couple of days getting it drafted and transferred to the canvas (since it's a specific tree, I wanted the drawing to be accurate), there it sat. Now that I have finally started and figured out my values and palette, I'll have to put it aside until the Thanksgiving folderol is over. But with a road map in mind, finishing will just be a matter of putting in the hours.
Kathy majored in Art at St. Mary’s College of MD, where she did an internship at the St. Mary’s County Historical Society’s Print Shop. After graduation she moved to DE where she worked as a graphic designer / pre-press production person in a busy print shop for 18 years .
In 2007, she married Evan Rupff and moved to Blairstown, NJ, where she’s had the wonderful opportunity to develop her fine art skills. Earlier this year she took several Children’s Book Illustration classes at Somerset Art Association with SCBWI’s Lena Shiffman.
She’s excited to be a part of SCBWI and to be learning so much about children’s book-writing and illustration! Here are some sketches and the first illustrations for her first picture book, Fuzz N’ Bunny and the Jellybean Tree.
At the conference it was suggested that she reduce the text and perhaps consider mixing the paper collage with watercolor. This is a work-in-progress.
www.kathleenrupff.com
Hope you enjoyed meeting Kathy. You can visit her website to see more of her artwork.
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy
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2 Comments on Illustrator Saturday – Kathy Rupff, last added: 7/12/2010
9 x 12, oil on linen/hardboard; work-in-progress
After not painting at all for two weeks, then dabbling on a book illustration for a couple of days, it seemed essential to paint something. Although I began painting regularly last summer more as a diversion, doing so now feels like the only thing that makes illustration tolerable. But I lack confidence and feel I've lost a lot of what I had gained over the past few weeks. Art is such a struggle for my dominant right brain.
If I were taking Clint Watson's advice in today's FineArtViews blog, the "social object" story I would tell about this painting is that I started it on the first day of the Sac Plein Air Festival and was so sick I had to pack it in.
Gente, with your indulgence, I offer an excerpt from a yet-to-be-published work, Nine Days Dead. It's a new novel of mine, set in Chicago, with a cast of characters that include: Natalia Ruiz-Rendon, an anthropologist, Naftali Gonzalez, a Jewish/PuertoRican detective, and Iyaloya, a guardian between the worlds.
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The fever had her now, rolling waves of heat cascaded through her body, fueling this work. The herbs she'd taken were for courage and she burned white hot with it. She asked for fear to be burned away like slag from steel and there was no turning back. No conscience now, no soft hearted little lamb. There was only this minute, this choice. She placed nine pennies at the entrance to the cemetery, asked permission with head bowed. The round moon, an unblinking eye, lit the path to the newest section of the cemetery.
But she could have found her way without it, as she'd come here, it was muscle memory. Here the monuments were of thick, polished granite, sculpted and set flush with the ground. There were no ornate pillars with cloth-draped urns, no 19th century statues of winged angels asking blessings from God, no columned mausoleums inscribed with Latin, just headstones with the names of the dear dead. She left the main road and headed down the 15th row, only the slight swish of grass against the soles of her shoes audible.When she arrived at his grave, she set down the small leather bag and withdrew a change of clothing. Preparing for the ceremony had taken most of the past two weeks. A ritual bath every day for nine days. Meditation before bedtime. Buying nine tiny bottles, filling three with white rum, Holy Water, and Florida Water, one with black coffee, the rest with spring water. Nine votive candles smelling of jasmine, and nine blood red carnations, plus a purple, fringed silk scarf to lay it all out on.
She thought of Florinda, the woman brought from Cuba by her parents as a caretaker while they jetted back and forth from Chicago and Miami, supervising their galleries, opening exhibits, and protecting the family wealth. Natalia Ruiz-Rendon was a good daughter, whose lonely life was made bearable by the daily blandishments of Florinda Cienfuegos. Natalia knew that Flori would do anything in her power to stop her tonight. When Natalia was about fifteen, she found out that Florinda was a priestess of her own House, strong with Oya. She'd eavesdropped on a conversation between her beloved Flori and a visitor who'd come and left tribute for an intercession. When she'd asked about it, Florinda bluntly told her that this was not for her to know and that to ever speak of it would enrage her parents.
But Natalia prodded until Flori told her about the House, her pledge to Oya, even her true name, Iyaloya. Then with tears welling in her eyes, she begged the young girl to be accept her own path, the life her parents had made for her, and to trust that Flori was doing what she was meant to do as well. Fifteen years had come and gone since that conversation. Natalia Ruiz-Rendon, never disappointed, never displeased, and shouldered the expectations of her parents and became the youngest PH.D. in anthropology at the University of Miami, and a star at the University of Chicago. But there were dark, liquid secrets that kept pulling her to look where she shouldn't, and when David was killed, her resolve and her promise dissolved. Blood required blood. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
JARRED (A Hoodoo Comedy) closes in just TWO WEEKS - only 8 shows left and they are filling up fast! Purchase your ticket today!Audiences and critics agree: you've never seen anything like this on stage! Hailed as "deliciously funny" (NewCity) and a "gripping production" that "rings with truth and authenticity. (Chicago Examiner)," JARRED offers an inside peek at what happens when jealously meets witchcraft. Tickets at www.teatroluna.orgEmail -- [email protected] for more informationYou can now donate to Teatro Luna Online! Thanks to paypal, you can help support our mission to Showcase Latina Talent and Honor Latina lives by choosing to donate using any major credit card, your debit card, or paypal account. Your donation will be tax deductible up to the fullest extent of the law.Make sure you include your address and contact information so we can send you a thank-you letter!GOT AN OPINION? A STORY? SOMETHING TO SAY?Then you're just the person we're looking for!Join Teatro Luna for a FREE PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP at our Logan Square space on Sunday, December 7th from 12-3.We're starting work on our next show, Restaurant Spanish, and this is your chance to experience our unique ensemble process first hand! You don't have to be Latina, an actor, or a writer to participate - we're looking for people who are willing to jump in and have fun. SPACE IS LIMITED, so please reserve your slot by e-mailing [email protected].
LOOKING FOR A CUTE HOLIDAY GIFT?
Check out these limited edition prayer candles featuring the kinds of saints we all really need: Saint Procrastina, Nuestra Senora Del Cuchi Cuchi, Nuestra Senora of Retail Therapy, Gloriosa Senora de la Mentirita Piadosa, and Santa Escandalosa!There are five different candles, each featuring one of the cast members of JARRED as one of these amazing Saints! These candles will be on sale at the Box Office through the run of JARRED (A HOODOO COMEDY). The final performance will be December 14, 2008 at 6:00 pm.After the 14th, you will be able to purchase on our website!Pricing: $8.00 One Candle, 2 for $15.00, and all five for $35.00Email [email protected] for more information!Lisa Alvarado
Now I've finished most of the girl. I need to soften the darks underneath her neck a bit more. I faded out the wisps of hair at the ends. I like the white of the shirt. Having it vignette works fine. I don't feel the same about the hand. It's actually drawing more attention to it then I want. It looks kind of awkward. Like I didn't know where to stop, which is true. So I will be including her wrist.
Once I've got the form down, I really like drawing hands. Seems like most people don't, but I find if you look at what's really there, and don't let your mind tell you what to draw it's not so hard. Same thing with ears. Draw what you see.
The other thing that happened, without me realizing it, is my paper angle had shifted. While focusing on the details I lost sight of the original placement. Here I have angled the image properly and will have to extent her hair (hair extensions!) and sleeve down to make the bottom edge horizontal again. I guess you can see where I'm going with the color now.
To see all the steps of this work-in-progress click here.
To find out how you can win a signed print of the finished illustration click here.
Prize!
Each day this week I'll be posting a different stage of this illustration. In celebration of hitting my 10,000th visitor to this blog, I will be giving away a signed print of the finished piece. Since it will be difficult to know exactly who the 10,000th person is, I'm going to open this up as a contest. Just stop by any day this week, check out the W-I-P, and leave a comment. Each comment will count as an entry in the drawing. (There will be no limit to the numbers of times you may enter.) On Monday June 23th I will post the name of the winner. So stop by and have a look. Good luck!
Work-In-Progress Part One
At this point I am using Graphite pencils on Duralar Matte. The overall size is 9x18. I know this piece will be mixed media, I know I will be combing B&W with color to push the "concept" of the piece. I'm undecided on where the two will meet. I'm approaching the girl as a complete B&W drawing that can stand on it's own, but keeping the option of it becoming an underpainting, with some color being added, in the back of my mind.
To see all the steps in this work-in-progress click here.
Final color drawing of Mary
Note* Just click on the label Mary, or scroll down, to see the entire work-in-progress. The new scanner worked great! I only had to do minor color adjustments. (I did tweak the color slightly after seeing this scan online. )
Detail of Mary.
At this point I've concentrated on finishing up everything on Mary. Next, I'll be making some adjustments to the reflections and moving on to the wood for the window frame. I should be able to post the finish on Monday.
I've finished up the leaves and most of the areas reflecting in the glass. The sepia color worked perfect as a base under the green leaves. I was able to get the depth I wanted, with less layers, by working over a complimentary color. I used ground pastel dust applied with tissues for the blue areas. Everything else is color pencil. While working on the leaves, I was able to take advantage of the view out my studio window. As long as it wasn't too late in the day, the sun hitting the leaves of the lemon tree just outside my window made a great source of reference.
With this illustration of Mary, my work has become true mixed-media. The final underpainting was done in graphite on vellum. (Previous post.) For the stage shown here I scanned the graphite drawing, then worked on the blue areas of glass in Photoshop. I also isolated areas that I wanted to print out in a sepia tone for the underpainting. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and I felt this piece, with all the warm tones, would be the perfect one to try it on. After printing this out on my art paper I will be layering in pastel and color pencil.
Now that I have a large-format scanner, I will be able to scan in one piece, hopefully, the final color drawing of Mary. If you don't remember, or didn't see it before, I did a work-in-progress of the B&W underpainting of Mary. Since I'm having some issues with the software on the new scanner and am waiting to hear back from tech support, I'll post the color in stages each day this week. So stay tuned!
Final B&W Underpainting
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4 Comments on What I have been up to..., last added: 4/14/2012
Stewie really IS quite a character. Can't wait to see more of him.
Thanks Julie, for popping by my blog to check out Stewie! :)
I LOVE your critters' expressions, Suzanne!