Earth Day and everything…

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I hope fans of Ornithoblogical aren’t too disgruntled, but I haven’t had much time for birds lately. However—lucky me—on this Earth Day, I’ll be painting a bucolic setting for an upcoming picture book full of mountains and trees. I might even go out and hug a tree for real later, before the rain starts.

I’ve also been working on a few new pieces for Kiwi Magazine’s regular “Cooking with Kids” feature. Last issue, we learned how to prepare an artichoke for slaughter…

In the next, we learn how to shuck corn, or in my anthropomorphized version, perform a cornhusking striptease. You’ll have to wait a few months to see that full frontal, but if you want a little teaser, I do share details and sketches of what I’m up to over on Instagram.

Speaking of Instagram, here are two sneak peeks at some details from the same book I’m working on today (sorry, Facebook and Twitter friends—old news to you)…

Okay, it’s back to the picture book trenches for me. I hope your Earth Day is full of sunshine and daffodils.

ripple blog

Occasionally, I participate in IllustrationFriday, a website where illustrators share images on a given topic. This week is very special—we are doing our part to raise money to benefit wildlife effected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Ripple Blog was created by illustrator Kelly Light, as a place where artists can post images on the subject for sale as 2.5" x 3.5" “sketchcards.” Here’s what she says...

“[The sketchcards] will be made available for a small donation of $10.00 to either  The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies or The International Bird Rescue Research Center. I have no affiliation with them. Every penny will go. When the cards sell, We ask for a donation confirmation and [artists] will be asked to sign the back with a thank you...If we all do small acts together—we can cause a ripple—and it can grow. We can DO SOMETHING. Thank you, thank you for checking this out and thinking about it.”

I’m contributing one of my illustrations from “Ornithoblogical,” (titled, “Tastes Like Chicken”) that I posted the day before learning about Ripple.

illustration friday: expired

illustration friday: subterranean

This week’s subject for Illustration Friday is “subterranean” which made me wonder: if there weren’t so many rats beneath NYC, would galactic worms stand more of a chance? Hmmmm...it has been a long week.

illustration friday: perspective

This week’s Illustration Friday word is “perspective.” You guessed it—I am killing two birds with one image. For more birdie imagery, check out ornithoblogical.

illustration friday: adrift

illustration friday: clumsy

This week’s word is “clumsy,” and yes, it’s only Tuesday. I’m getting a jump on things in preparation for the SCBWI conference here in NYC on Friday. Until then, I’m steering clear of toy cars.

illustration friday: wilderness

killing 2 birds, or more, with...

This week I’m finally joining in the fun at Illustration Friday, with an interpretation of the word: confined. Handy that it relates to my recent imagery, isn’t it? For more of that, you can check out my birdie blog, ornithoblogical.