Pauline

I've been busy  tidying up a number of different images, all in various stages of finish and/or publication.  In the mean time I hope you will enjoy this recent chicken head.  Thank you.

Interior of the Castle of Shadows

Here are  few of the interior chapter headings for The Castle of Shadows, which will be out this Spring.  We alternated three castle frames from chapter to chapter with an individualized circle image specific to the chapter.  The project was a lot of fun.  There are more where these came from.

Castle of Shadows Map

The Castle of Shadows is due out this spring from Houghton Mifflin.  Here is a sneak preview of the map I did for this charming story by Ellen Renner, which I can  best describe as a cross between a Hitchcockian political thriller and The Secret Garden.
The type placement is mine, and only an approximation.  The final design will be cleaner.

The Air

This piece was commissioned by a lover of Christian Morgenstern's Gallows Songs.  The poem, translated from German:

The Air

The air was once close to dying.


"Help me, my heavenly father"
she exclaimed with a very dull look.
"I am stupid, I'm fat;
You know everything else for the Council--
send me on trips, in a bath
and sour milk is recommended;
if not-- let me get the devil!"


The gentleman, fearing humiliation in front, 
invented for them- Tonmassage.


It is since then the world screams.
And the air grows splendid.

My challenge was to illustrate air.  Bubbles came to mind quickly, but a broader image left me stumped.  The bright fellow who commissioned the piece plays world class tuba and when another friend happened to mention that the B flat played for alligators on a tuba sounds precisely like their mating call, I decided to investigate further.  The male alligators respond to the tuba by reciprocating the same guttural noise, laying low in the water.  The vibrations off of their back create this amazing ripple and bubble effect on the bog surface.

With tonal massage, milk and birth all calling for representation, this is the image I cooked up.

Harbinger

Sara Wilson Etienne has a new book coming out soon named Harbinger.  She asked a number of us to create a piece in tribute to her story.  To read more about me and it, follow the link!

http://alturl.com/krg3o

For the Price of a Song

The safest miner in the coal shaft is the one with the most canaries, right?  Are all of those cages a precaution against air quality or tonight's dinner?  I picture our fella here as the guy to contact, after months from the surface, for what you need.  And what you need is security. I bet he carries batteries too.

Brio and the Alien

826LA is a non-profit that puts on field trips for  kids in the Los Angeles area.  I like to participate in the storytelling/bookmaking field trip as 'the illustrator'.  The kids, often 1st-4th grades write a story together as a class while the illustrator draws it.  The story ends on a cliffhanger, and each child writes his own ending.  The whole thing gets bound together and everyone walks out as a new author.  For fun, I'm posting one story about Brio, a fox with a love for Michael Jackson dolls, who lives with her family in their den.  One day, while picnicking, a baby alien with 100 legs, ten eyes, and a face shaped like a cherry steals Brio away and takes her to his planet in his giant cherry spaceship.  There, he puts Brio in a brain switching machine. The rest of the Fox family builds an army, then a shuttle (from legos and bandaids) to come to the rescue.  But which being contains the real Brio?  I illustrate while the story takes shape.

These are 20 minute drawings! By seat of pants, rest assured.  Be gentle.

Castle of Shadows

New this spring is Castle of Shadows from Houghton Mifflin.  I did the wrap-around cover and interior spots.  Be sure to check it out.  I like to call it a mix between The Secret Garden and a Hitchcock political thriller for the chapter book set.  Pretty nifty.  Art directed by Scott Magoon.  I'm one of the cool kids now.

Bay of Toughpigs

I'm an unashamed muppet freak and I participated in an online tribute to the muppet website, Toughpigs with this digital offering.  To the left are the variations I considered, color-wise.  Did I mention that I got to watch them film a couple of scenes for the new movie?!  Pretty exciting stuff.

Where have I been?

Aside from some other projects I'm not posting yet, I challenged myself to exploring photoshop painting.  For 90 days in a row, I illustrated a song from a showtune, giving myself two hours tops. I didn't include the time for an underdrawing, which added another hour and a half.  Here are a couple of examples.  Bare in mind (please!) that these are totally learning experiences and exploration.  Fun, tho.
 http://twohourstops.blogspot.com/

A sneak peek

This is one of the projects I've been working on lately.  Not finished yet, but I wanted to post.

Out of season is a delicacy, right?

Christmas has come and gone, but it's the memories we still carry with us.  This past Dec, I created a new set of spot illustrations for Vroman's in Pasadena.  Every year they publish a number of YA short stories in a limited run collection and this year they asked me to draw a few images.  In tandem, some original illustrations from The Nutty Nutcracker were also on display in the store.  In fact, if you're in the area, I believe you may still be able to catch a glimpse.