Illustration Matters

LA Times Kids' Reading Room - "Out of the Pan"

2012-01-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

I illustrated the delightful story, "Out of the Pan", by Joshua Dyer for the LA Times Kids' Reading Room. Click here to read the story.

Lullabies and Nightmares at the Hive

2012-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Sugar and spice and some things not so nice. Snips and snails and monster tales. Sixteen illustrators expose the light and dark sides of childhood, evoking memory and imagination to explore the lullabies and nightmares that still reside within us all.The artists: Robin Angelides, Anthea Brown, Barbara Browning, Diane Browning, Joan Charles, Steven Corvelo, Lisa Deutsch, Terry Diefenbach, Suzy Engleman Block, Marci Hersel, Tanya Maiboroda, Kat McDonough, Irina Mirskaya, Mary Peterson, and Karyn Raz Jane Smith.

Lullabies and Nightmares opens at the Hive Gallery on Saturday, February 4th.

Third Annual Tarot Show - Hive Gallery

2012-01-08T23:32:00.000-08:00

I was pleased to be invited to participate in the annual Tarot exhibit at the Hive Gallery. Twenty-two artists were randomly assigned cards in the major arcana - mine is The World. The show runs now through the end of January. The gallery publishes a limited edition Tarot deck featuring the cards created for the exhibit. The Tarot deck can by purchased at the Hive Gallery.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Creative New Year!

SideShow Books - A Little Bookstore With Big Style

2011-11-22T12:01:00.001-08:00

If you happen to be in West Los Angeles near the Nuart Theater, be sure to walk around the corner, stroll down the quiet little side street and pay a visit to SideShow Books.

Blink and you might miss the tiny box of a building with the crisp green awning. But step inside and you'll discover a book lover's paradise, a used book store full of mystery and surprises, an Aladdin's cave packed with treasures and curiosities (not to mention the world's smallest movie theater).

Inch for inch it's the most comprehensive book store in town. Look around and you'll see books everywhere - stacked floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall - resting on benches and chairs - arranged in neat piles on the floor - and scattered across counters and shelves.

You'll be sure to find something you always wanted or didn't even realize you needed. The only problem is deciding where to look first.

The store is parcelled into well-marked sections, making browsing easy. You can choose from books on the cinema, books about the theater, biographies, collectible magazines, vintage comic books, children's books, entertainment and publishing ephemera, pulp fiction, trashy paperbacks, literature, mysteries, art, and science fiction. The place is chock-a-block with posters and kitschy art, antique cameras, old board games, dolls, toys, and incredible amounts of stuff, all artfully arranged with a kind of kooky logic and a quirky sense of style.

It's obvious a book lover owns this store. Like a sultan, Tony sits among his treasures, where he's happy just to chat or answer any questions you might have. He plays great music, too. The last time I stopped in the sweet, soulful voice of Gram Parsons drifted from the stereo.

And though SideShow Books may be small, they have big ambitions. They've already hosted a couple of events in conjunction with the Nuart, and plan on doing more. They're open until Midnight on Fridays, so it's easy to stop in before or after you see a film.

The big box bookstores are all packing up and moving out, leaving Westside book lovers with very few choices. The Westwood Borders shut their doors last year and Barnes and Noble in the Westside Pavillion will close at the end of this year. If you're looking for a cool place to hang out and to pick up a unique or hard to find book, I suggest you pay a visit to SideShow Books. You can find them at 11323 Idaho Avenue in West LA.

And don't forget to check out the world's smallet movie theater back in the cinema section. It's a great place to catch a classic film, but I think you may have to bring your own popcorn.

Illustration Friday: "Scary"

2011-10-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

Ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the night . . .

Illustrating "The Ice Castle" Part 2: Production Schedule

2011-10-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

When you're a freelancer, juggling multiple assignments can be tricky. For some reason jobs tend to come in a tangle and a rush, all clumped together. I'm sure it's some kind of cosmic law - the same one that dictates that your slice of peanut butter bread always has to fall face down.

One of the benefits of working on a long-term project like a book is that you're given a production schedule that sets out the project milestones clearly and precisely. And although the dates aren't set in stone (publishing is a lot like the army - sometimes you have to hurry up and wait) you still have a pretty good gauge of how to pace yourself and when you can accept other assignments.

It also doesn't hurt if you stick to the schedule and try not to wait until the last minute to do your work -- unless you don't mind 24 hour days and being glued to your chair somehow feels nautral to you. Sometimes you can't help that - you're thrown a last minute change or the editor or art director decides something extra is needed. There can (and most likely will) always be emergencies, so, as my old girl scout leader used to say, be prepared.

I've included a copy of the production schedule for "The Ice Castle" (above). So far things have gone smoothly and with one exception we've stuck pretty close to the schedule. As you can see, even though the pub date isn't until August 2012, a lot of the work is due way in advance so that all of the elements: editing, illustration, book design, marketing, and sales can all come together to make a great book.

Illustrating "The Ice Castle" -- Initial Sketches

2011-10-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

I'm in the midst of illustrating The Ice Castle, a middle grade fantasy adventure written by Pendred Noyce. I thought it might be interesting to share the behind-the-scenes process of creating a book from the illustrator's point of view.

Of course, it all starts with the manuscript. Once I get those, crisp, new pages in my hands, I read the manuscript several times. The initial reading is done quickly so that I can get the overall feel of the book. The second time, I go through the text more carefully, marking up the typescript and making notes to myself about possible illustrations. During the third review, I refine my list and make visual and written notes about the look and feel of the characters, costumes, and the settings. Most of The Ice Castle takes place in the imaginary "Land of Winter", so creating a fantasy world that is grounded in reality is very important to the integrity of this story.

During my initial conversations with the art director, we agreed that the book should contain about thirty black and white interior illustrations, a frontispiece, one iconic image that will appear at the top of each chapter, and of course, a color cover illustration. Working with the author, we each came up with a list of possible illustrations. Once those three lists were combined and edited, I had my working illustration list, although I was free to add or subtract scenes if I thought another would serve the story more effectively.

I was given a lot of leeway and creative freedom by the art director. About the only direction she gave me was to tell the author's story visually -- in other words, it should be clear what the story was about without reading the prose. This directive worked really well for me, since my style and thought processes are highly influenced by film. It's natural for me to think about illustrating a book the same way I would storyboard a movie.The Ice Castle is full of action, mystery and rip-roaring adventure, so it really lends itself to a cinematic illustration style. I was able to exploit unusual angles, close and medium shots and interesting POVs to underscore and heighten the action and emotion of the scenes.

Once I completed the initial sketches, the illustrations were reviewed and most of them were accepted as submitted. Some changes were suggested for existing scenes, one scene was eliminated, and two more were added.

The next step will be to submit those edited sketches and, once they are approved, I'll be able to begin on the finished illustrations.

In my next entry, I'll talk about deadlines and timelines.

Lost in Lexicon: Second Edition

2011-08-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

The second edition of Lost in Lexicon, written by Penny Noyce, made its debut just this week. The book, featuring a new cover, is the first in a series of four "Lexicon" adventures that will be published by Scarletta Press.

It's been just about a year since I finished the illustrations for the first edition, which came out in Fall of 2010 under the Tumblehome Press imprint. It was an auspicious beginning for first-time author Penny Noyce; the book received glowing reviews, won several awards, and then, to top it all off, was chosen to serve as the debut novel for Scarletta's new line of books for children.

Now the fun begins again - we're off and running on the second installment in the series: The Ice Castle. Penny has turned in the final draft of the manuscript and I've finished the first round of sketches and have made a tentative start on the cover. The Ice Castle will be published in the Fall of 2012.

Illustration in the LA Times

2011-07-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

My illustration for the children's story "The Errand", by Anne Loader McGee, will in the Sunday, July 17 edition of the LA Times. You can read the story by clicking on the title above.

Illustration Friday - Stay

2011-07-13T09:53:00.001-07:00

This little character has been floating around in my head for awhile. This week's topic -Stay - seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring her to life.

Illustration Friday - Shadows

2011-06-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes even the fluffiest bunny has a raging beast inside.

The Ice Castle

2011-06-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

I've just started working on the preliminary sketches for The Ice Castle, the second in the "Lexicon" series of middle grade mystery/adventures written by Pendred Noyce. It's exciting to be revisiting characters from the first book, Lost in Lexicon, and to create new ones, like Daphne and Ivan's cousin, Lila. The series (there will be four books in all) is published by Scarletta Press.

Illustration Friday: Soaked

2011-05-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

I'm the Small Wall Artist at the Hive's 6th Anniversary Show

2011-04-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'm one of the featured artists at the Hive during the month of April. The 6th Anniversary Exhibit opened April 2nd and runs through the end of the month. The gallery is open Wednesday through from 1-6pm, and is part of the Downtown Art Walk on Thursday, April 7th. Hope you'll have the chance to drop in!

From the Corner of My Eye

Into the Woods (sold)

Kings in Golden Suits

Mirror, Mirror (sold)

The Tenderness of Wolves (sold)

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

The Hive Gallery Sixth Anniversary Show

2011-03-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

I'll be the "Small Wall" Artist (there are no small walls - only small artists?) at the Hive's 6th Anniversary Show. The exhibit opens on April 2nd and runs through the entire month.

"Lost in Lexicon" To Be Released by Scarletta Press

2011-02-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

Publishers Weekly announced last week that Lost in Lexicon (written by the fabulous Penny Noyce and illustrated by yours truly) will be published by Scarletta Press as the first title in their new line of children's fiction. Lost in Lexicon is the first in a series of four books featuring teen cousins Ivan and Daphne, and will be published in August of this year. Read the complete announcement at http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/46175-scarletta-to-launch-children-s-line.html

Tarot Show at The Hive Gallery

2011-01-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

I'll be participating in the Hive Gallery's 2nd Annual Tarot show, opening Saturday, January 8th and running through the end of the month. Participating artists were asked to submit a piece representing a particular card in the Tarot deck. I chose to illustrate the Page of Cups, part of the Minor Arcana. Since I know nothing about the Tarot, I had a lot of fun researching the symbolism and meaning behind the card. After a process that included a lot of sketching, erasing, crumpling of paper, tossing of paper, and sketching some more, I finally decided upon my final design. I incorporated many of the symbols representing the Page of Cups, including the color blue (expression and communication), feathers (higher thought), fish (emotion, intuition and creativity), and flowers (joy, beauty, and sensitivity). According to my research, the Page of Cups encourages you "to embrace your childlike sense of wonder, because when you do this, there is no limit to your creative flow".

Online with Andrea Looks at "Lost in Lexicon"

2010-12-06T14:15:00.001-08:00

On Monday I joined Penny Noyce, author of "Lost in Lexicon", in an online discussion conducted by blogger Andrea Garrison. Since this was my first interview ever I thought I'd be nervous, but Andrea was so gracious and easy to talk to that I forgot to be nervous and just enjoyed myself. Andrea was well prepared and asked loads of interesting questions about the book, and she gave me a chance to discuss the illustrations. Thanks to both Penny and Andrea!

You can listen to the archived interview by visiting http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onlinewithandrea/2010/12/14/lost-in-lexicon