Being Specific

Having spent eons now on a (still unfinished) illustrated middle grade novel, I can attest to the absolute necessity of proper character development.  Of course everyone knows how important unique characters are.  And everyone who begins to write and/or illustrate thinks they're creating them.  But, thinking and doing are not the same.  Looking at some of my early work, what frustrates me most is the lack of depth and differentiation.  The characters have a bit of spark, but they're not specific enough.  They should have been pushed more. Lots more. So, I've set up an exercise for myself to paint at least two animal portraits a week.  I've started with friends' and family's and may take on others as they come.  Hopefully by the end of the project the specific will be so engrained in my work that I’ll never paint another generic dog again.   

Here's some examples:

Ginger

Silvia

Settled in..Sorta

A few months ago my husband and I decided to take the plunge and buy a fixer.  Our new house is in a great location, but it's small and it is, well, a fixer.  To save money I've been working as the general, hiring subcontractors, pulling permits, designing, and supervising.  We've removed the asbestos, put in new heating/air and ductwork, upgraded the electrical, redone the walls, floors and ceilings (the ceiling will need to be redon, thanks to the heating dudes), trenched the outdoor electrical, and put on a new roof.  I've been painting and tiling and pulling out hair.  Needless to say, although I've also been trying to write and illustrate, work has been a slow.  As many freelancers know, sometimes life just gets in the way.  But, happily this past weekend I was able to get my studio, not just up and running, (it's suposedly been up and running since week one) but also functioning.  I've reorganized the area and now, at last, am ready to WORK.  Yay!

EYEWITNESS REPORTS: EYEWITNESS REPORTS: AUCTION 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK

EYEWITNESS REPORTS: EYEWITNESS REPORTS: AUCTION 1 BEGINS NEXT WEEK: "Starting Monday August 23rd you can begin bidding online for the artwork created by a whole slew of amazing picture book artists who have cr..."

http://theeyewitnessreports.com/EYEWITNESS_REPORTS/JUNE_1,_2010.html

EYEWITNESS REPORTS at Gallery Nucleus August 14th

EYEWITNESS REPORTS: A Charity Art Auction for 826LA

I'm psyched to be a part of EYEWITNESS REPORTS a benefit art auction in support of 826LA. Dan Santat has enlisted some seriously big names to help raise funds for 826LA a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 and their teachers become inspired to write. It's a huge opportunity to own original art from some brightest kidlit illustrators today while supporting a great cause. My eyewitness is one of the zapped dogs. Poor sod, didn't know what happened to him. He's painted in b& in honor of the 30's monster flicks that inspired him. You can see him and all the other eyewitness reports at http://www.theeyewitnessreports.com

FIRST EBAY ONLINE AUCTION: AUG 23 - 27

SECOND EBAY ONLINE AUCTION: AUG 30 - SEPT 3

You can also see the art in person at NUCLEUS GALLERY from Aug 14-17 Open public viewing. Books will be signed, and limited prints from the book will be sold. Visit www.gallerynucleus.com for more details

BRAIN BURPS ABOUT BOOKS - HOW TO SUBMIT A BOOK FOR PUBLICATION

Katie Davis, best selling Author/Illustrator and Kidlit expert was inspired by this coming weekends national scbwi conference to do a blog talk radio piece on her now famous Brain Burps About Books on how to submit a book for publication.  She explains the process and highlights several books, including GRANDMOTHER HAVE THE ANGELS COME?  Any aspiring picture book author and illustrators out there give it a listen http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brainburps  and check out Katie's site: http://www.katiedavis.com/

Library of the Early Mind trailer 1.mov

On my list 'to see' list:

Trailer for "Library of the Early Mind," a documentary film exploring children's literature. Website: www.childrenslitproject.wordpress.comDirected by Edward J Delaney; produced by Edward J Delaney and Steven Withrow. Featuring Chris Van Allsburg, Lemony Snicket, Lois Lowry, Natalie Babbitt, Norton Juster, Jeff Kinney, Brian Pinkney, Brian Selznick, Roger Sutton, Mo Willems, Leslea Newman, Nancy Garden, David Small, Sarah Stewart, Jack Gantos, Richard Michelson, Lane Smith, Peter H Reynolds, Elizabeth Bird, Mary Jane Begin, Nick Clark, Arthur A Levine, Mary Downing Hahn, Jane Yolen, Anita Silvey