long live lunacy
Have you heard? There will be a full moon on Christmas for the first time since 1977. I’m well versed in lunar cycles, thanks to my contributions to the Lunar Calendar since 1983. Over the years, I’ve had the honor of creating the color cover several times, always a treat. These are a few of the ideas I presented to publisher Nancy F. W. Passmore for the 40th edition. The calendar is a vertical format with a fold, and I like to cross that, if possible. Nancy is fond of the idea of keeping her moon boat afloat, so she picked the bottom left. I was happy to develop the one idea...
Read MoreWarm wishes
What a full and fruitful season this has been. I’m happy to announce my new website and shop, Jamie Peeps Island! You’ll find select originals, prints, and books that I can sign and ship directly to the darling of your choice. When I saw this at the First Friday event for the Wake Up Alice exhibit, I thought yes, fill my cup please! Besides enjoying a steady swell of viewers to the show, I connected with hearty Tilbury House editor, Audrey Maynard. And she bought my Alice! Thanks, Audrey! The entire weekend was abuzz with holiday spirit. Just the trigger for me to design my...
Read MoreOwl Girl
I illustrated the book jacket for Mary Atkinson’s Owl Girl, a middle grade chapter book about a young girl’s difficult summer at her grandparent’s lakeside camp. As soon as I heard the title, I was intrigued. Holly, the main character, is drawn into the Maine woods by the mysterious call of a barred owl. I tried several variations of this. Same idea, but farther removed. Maybe we need to see more of her face, and the owl shows up on her t-shirt. Or perhaps the owl should be in his habitat, with Holly in as a minor figure. The binoculars play a part in the story. Perhaps...
Read MoreEyes open wide
When my Illustration MECA cohort Mary Anne Lloyd asked me to drive senior students on a field trip, I didn’t even blink. Tony DiTerlizzi?!!! Mary Blair?!! Beep beep beep beep YEAH! The closer you get to Amherst, MA, the more you feel in the middle of the woods. It’s a serene feeling, honest. Meeting House roads are all over New England, as my passengers noticed. We arrived at the home of Tony and his partner, Angie, right on time, and were in for a major treat. This pretty much captures the wonder we all felt. Angie made us completely welcome as our jaws dropped at the sight of...
Read MoreWake up Alice!
I am thrilled to have this piece in the current exhibit now in the Lewis Gallery at the Portland Public Library, Wake Up Alice! I love adding collage bits, and photographed cards for inserting into my drawing done with charcoal pencil and pastel on cut paper. I’m pleased to see my fierce little Alice hanging among such esteemed company! To the right, my former MECA student, Declan McCarthy, created a corner chock full of the entire adventure told in comic vignettes he drew on the wall. Here he is before his arm fell off. To my Alice’s left is MECA faculty Judy Labrasca’s...
Read MoreIllustration Research Symposium
The 6th Annual Illustration Research Symposium hosted by the Illustration Research Network and Rhode Island School of Design was a total blast of ideas and great presentations. Thanks to Maine College of Art for sending Illustration Department Chair Mary Anne Lloyd and me to this international gathering of illustration academics. I filled my MECA sketchbook and more. Thursday evening upon arrival at the RISD ISB Gallery, we were warmly greeted by Susan Doyle, Department Head of RISD Illustration at the opening of the conference exhibition, Little Pieces, Big Ideas. It was a delicious entry...
Read MoreVisit JamieHogan.com
