thar she blows
My superhero Marty framed three originals from Here Come the Humpbacks for the upcoming Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit at Charlesbridge Publishing during Children’s Book Week in May. It was worth the hustle: Charlesbridge designer Whitney Leader-Picone was due to arrive on Peaks Island for a quick outing with her parents, visiting from California. What good sports to sail across the bay on a blustery spring day. We gathered at the island cafe along with fellow islanders and Charlesbridge regulars Tim Nihoff and Anne Sibley O’Brien. I can’t tell you how rare such...
Read MoreNew England made
Complaining about the weather is a perennial sport for New Englanders, but I wouldn’t trade the four seasons for anything. These natural shifts are important to my rhythm, and provide endless inspiration. As seasons come and go, spring is definite marker of time. Everybody’s wondering, are we DONE with winter yet? As the snow recedes once again I’m aware how winter has narrowed my hunched and huddled orbits. I noticed a bench in the woods for the first time. It overlooks a small pond, but the path is very hidden. Sitting there, I recalled an early illustration that set my...
Read Morespring rites
It’s been an eventful spring break. I have eggs and peeps on the brain, which may explain this drawing of Maine College of Art student Molly Steinmetz. She’s a maker and shaker that needed to be drawn, and with tulips no less. In between lots of walks and sorting out tax stuff, I read Here Come the Humpbacks! at a Peaks Island benefit for our fiercely independent local bookstore, Longfellow Books, which suffered major damages to their store during a February storm. We showed them some love. Thanks to Eleanor Morse for pulling it together and Scott Nash for the design below. What...
Read Morewalk this way
When people ask where I get my ideas, I have to say, “walking my dog.” In any kind of weather, and we have all kinds in Maine, I trot around the island, things popping into my head. I’m also noticing things, large and small, and as my dad used to say, “getting the stink blown off.” Posie is my witness. Sometimes my daughter goes along and we take turns documenting. If it’s low tide, we go to the beach. If it’s high tide, we head to the woods. Trees show themselves and we listen. There comes a deep awareness after a storm. On a hot day, a tidepool...
Read MoreLincoln School knows the way
I woke up this morning at 3 AM to the deep blasts of a fog horn. Fog is a familiar creature to coastal folks and plays a significant role in this story by Robin Hansen. Last week, the Lincoln School in Augusta, Maine was a lively destination. I joined their intrepid art teacher, Robin Brooks, for a quick talk about the making of Ice Harbor Mittens, complete with sketches to share, a few original pastels from the book, and even my grandfather’s buoy, which makes an appearance in the story. A ship in their lunch room seemed a fitting symbol for our exchange. I also brought along a model...
Read MoreOceans alive at PIE
What a treat to visit the amazing kids at the Peaks Island School on Read Across America Day! I brought along my latest book, Here Come the Humpbacks to talk about reading pictures. Color and composition are part of the visual narrative. Color can tell us about time of day, temperature; how cold is the water? Scale can show us size relationships. I showed this spread to talk about why I take a plastic bag to the beach: first, there’s the poop business to pick up. Then, always some plastic: a bottle, a coffee cup, part of a shoe. Every little bit I carry away makes a better habitat for...
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