Illustrator's Day a Success!

Thanks to the incredible work of the committee, most notabley Jane and Joan, and our many volunteers, Illustrator's Day '08 was a great success! Our speakers were all amazing! We'd really hoped to have a day where a variety of topics relevant to working illustrators would be addressed, and everyone contributed an incredible amount of information. So, now I'm all inspired, I need to get back to work!

SCBWI Los Angeles Illustrator's Day

I'm happy to be involved with the organization of the 2008 illustrators Day here in LA. This year's them is 'the Business of Illustrating' and we hope to touch upon topics that will be relevant to both the beginner and seasoned professional. For complete details go to http://www.scbwisocal.org/events/la_illustrators_day.html

Everyone should also check out Jane Smith's article in Kite Tales for some great sneak peak interviews with guest speakers Joann Hill, Lorena Siminovich, and Steve Myhre (http://scbwisocal.org/kitetales/2008/KTFall08.pdf)

Alaska

I recently spent some time in Alaska visiting my brother and his family. To say the place is inspiring is a bit of an understatement. I took ohhh just a few photos... also probably a bit of an understatement... Since the theme of the trip had been 'bears', I came home ready to paint them. Here's a photo taken near my brother's house, and then an illustration set in the environment. (Bye the way, despite our preparations and angst, only Kirk and Pat saw a bear. It was while they were rafting/fishing, and the bear was most definitely not interested in them.)

Color Doodles

Here's an illustration done from the scbwi doodles. I'm still deciding if they're Barbary Pirates or Mamluk soldiers...

scbwi '08

I spent Saturday at the SCBWI National Conference. It was, as always, a great chance to see friends and catch up on industry news. As you can tell from above I took detailed notes... I danced the night away, thanks to the strong persuasive talents of Paula Yoo, Lisa Wheeler, and Kevan Atteberry...and we even got Jane Smith out there..crazy! Congratulations to Ken Min, a fellow Los Angeles illustrator and friend who placed second in the illustration contest! Anyone interested in details of the conference check out Paula's Blog http://paulayoo.com/

black and white work

Since returning from KW I've been plugging away at a middle grade novel. Here's a sample illustration from the second chapter.

Hula Lullaby at The Dubuque Museum of Art

Photos from the opening reception held for the summer art exhibits at the Dubuque Museum of Art. It was a fun night! Great food, Great wine, and friends both old and new. Thank you very much to Stacy Gage and the Museum staff!