Illustration

Peaks Island Book Celebration

Posted by on Apr 8, 2019 in Book: What Makes an Opossum Tick?, Children's Book Illustration, Illustration, Peaks Island, Portland Public Library | 2 comments

My beloved library invited author Lyn Smith and me to present our latest book this past Saturday, What Makes an Opossum Tick? How delightful to see my books lining the front window. Thank you, Peaks Island Library! Lyn brought cookies from the 1690 House in Wells. Someone else got a photo before me! These tasty cuties were a big hit. Kids snacked on gummy worms, too, getting into the opossum spirit. Lyn talked about her writing process, based on real events at her family’s nearby summer cottage in Moody Point. As Literacy Specialist/Instructional Strategist for Kennebunk Elementary...

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Kidlit Con Providence

Posted by on Mar 30, 2019 in Children's Book Illustration, Collage, Comics, Curious City, Drawing, Illustration, Travels | 0 comments

A week ago today I was in the thick of children’s books everything at Kidlit Con Providence, and I’m still unpacking all the goodness. I checked into the Hotel Providence with my travel mates, Lyn Smith and Kirsten Cappy. Author and illustrator Jarrett Lerner joined us in the hotel bar for dinner. He got our robot groove going. This year’s organizer, Charlotte Taylor, gave welcoming remarks and thankful applause to author and blogger, Mia Wenjen, who gathered the panel participants last fall. I learned about the conference via her @Pragmatic Mom. LeUyen Pham gave a stellar...

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The Half-Light

Posted by on Mar 19, 2019 in Illustration, Portland Stage Company | 1 comment

While feverishly working on next season’s posters for Portland Stage Company, I took a welcome break from my studio to see Monica Wood’s incredible The Half-Light on St. Patrick’s Day. A year ago I was doing the same mad dash to finish all the poster illustrations in less than two months. Portland Stage juggles many factors in choosing their season, not to mention the logistics of casting, contracts, and commitments. It means a killer deadline for me, too! I’d forgotten about all these ideas not chosen. The story involves Iris, a divorced secretary trying to find her...

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Awesome Opossums in Orono

Posted by on Mar 16, 2019 in Book: Porcupine's Promenade, Book: What Makes an Opossum Tick?, Children's Book Illustration, Illustration, School Visits | 4 comments

Author Lyn Smith and I traveled north to Orono on Monday to visit the awesome Asa C. Adams Elementary School. What a warm and welcoming learning place filled with color and history! The knotty pine halls are lined with fantastic art by students from Pre K to 5th grade. Librarian Diana Smart and art teacher Nancy Fitch had prepared well for our visit, with an Arts and Literacy celebration prior to our arrival. We were tickled by this decorated door to the library! Lyn read aloud What Makes an Opossum Tick? to each of the 6 groups who gathered during the day. I detailed my process of making...

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What Makes a Book Tick?

Posted by on Feb 24, 2019 in Book: What Makes an Opossum Tick?, Children's Book Illustration, Illustration | 4 comments

I’m so excited What Makes an Opossum Tick? by Lyn Smith is now published!! She and I will be guests of the Graves Library’s Pasco Lecture Series next Sunday, March 3 at 2 PM. Hope you can join us! We’ll also be celebrating our book at the Peaks Island Library on Saturday, April 6 at 10 AM. After illustrating Lyn’s first book, A Porcupine’s Promenade, I knew she had another story up her sleeve. I blogged about it HERE after I delivered the illustrations last September. Now that it’s out, here’s more details of my process. The illustrations began...

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Valentine’s a poppin’

Posted by on Feb 5, 2019 in Drawing, Illustration, Maine College of Art | 0 comments

I’m tickled to be part of the Illustration MECA Valentine Pop Up shop at Maine College of Art’s Artist @ Work! Being a total fiend for paper, greetings, red/pink, and LOVE, I was ready with my house of cards. It opened this past First Friday on a bitter cold night. Yet Portland’s still HOT. Senior illustration major Elinor Cania, effervescent as ever, greeted valentine shoppers with hearts galore. I drew her last year when she modeled jewelry in the MECA Fashion Show. Eli specializes in spectacular hand-lettering, with a dash of wit. Here’s one of her cards: The...

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