taking it on the Rhode - see you @ ICON7

It’s been a very busy spring. What with my scant bird posts since the end of April (aka Chicken Month), and my infrequent updates to this page one might think it more of a silent spring. Far from it...

I’ve been at work finishing up the art for J. Patrick Lewis’s World Rat Day, (due to be released by Candlewick in March 2013), and preparing for this year’s ICON7, the big illustration conference in Providence, RI later this month. Also I’m participating in ICON’s Rhode Show Bazaar on the evening of Friday, June 15th. The show is open to the public, so come on out if you’re in the area. A great group of illustrators will be displaying portfolios and selling their wares.

My table (lucky #23 - for all you Michael Jordan fans out there) will feature a first glimpse at Sylvia’s Spinach by Katherine Pryor, a picture book I had the pleasure of illustrating. My publisher, Philip Lee, has generously granted me permission to show it off, even though it won’t be published until later this fall.

In addition, I’ll be hawking hand-painted kid’s shirts, books, and some Ornithoblogical products including—by popular demand—a magnet featuring “Mixer,” last seen in American Illustration 30. I know what you’re thinking...your refrigerator is naked without one.

See you in Providence!

are you sitting down? i'm in the new york times

If so, stand up! At least that’s the message from the article I had the pleasure of illustrating for last week’s Sunday Review section of The New York Times.

Art Director Aviva Michaelov sent me a great piece about the many dangers of sitting all day. Admittedly, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time in my chair lately, working on various projects, so this subject has been very much on my mind (and aching joints). Since the finished pieces turned out nicely, I’d like to take this opportunity to share a bit of my process.

Once I got started with sketches, I kind of couldn’t stop. Sometimes you get assigned something that just illustrates itself, the subject/writing is so good. That was definitely the case for me here.

I’m sure I supplied more sketches than were necessary. Above is my first one, followed by a bunch of the others as ideas evolved.

In then end, what started out as one piece turned into four! Aviva was very gracious, redesigned the page and approached the editor with my ideas, even though (unbeknownst to me) they had  discussed images of standing people.

Then the fun really began. Pictured here may look like a pile of scribbles and splotches—which it is. Behold the ugly underbelly of my process. Through the power of the internet—while waiting for some paint to dry—I watched a video of the great Quentin Blake discussing his process, and picked up a great blotting technique to create the texture in the final skull chair.

Oh!...and in the midst of all this, the Space Shuttle flew by.

Here’s how it looks in print, and a link to the article online. Thanks Aviva ~ that was really fun!

eat your peas...

April is the cruelest month, if you are a chicken-hater, and aren’t a fan of fresh peas. Despite all that, this month, in a series of spots in the latest issue of Kiwi Magazine, I show you how to shell the latter. And you will like them!

what the cluck?! just one more week of chickens...

Feathers have been flying high over on Ornithoblogical this April—a.k.a. “Chicken Month.” And there’s still one more week of new cluckers on the docket. Pictured here are a few of the high/low-lights so far (from top to bottom: Chicken Wire, Chicken Heart, and Chick Pees.) Very sorry to say, I really don’t have to stop after 30 days—there are countless more chicken-related opportunities—but all good things must come to an end.

And with the end of Chicken Month, I take a brief hiatus from birds to focus on rats...specifically, World Rat Day, by the wonderful J. Patrick Lewis. You can read more about that here, and for further reading, Kirkus Reviews posted a great interview with Patrick a few weeks ago.

a long overdue web update

Yes, it’s been a while, but I finally updated my website. Look for lots of new work in ‘children’s’ and a few pieces in ‘grown-ups’ (formally known as editorial). Why the new name? Well, it seems that in 2011, I became primarily a children’s book illustrator, so the distinction seemed appropriate. Because—let’s face it—my grown-up stuff looks like it’s for kids too.

And my lovely publisher, Philip Lee of Readers to Eaters, has given me the go-ahead to provide a few more sneak peeks at Sylvia’s Spinach, due out this November.

Hey, and were you aware that Chicken Month starts in just a few days?

frederick douglass + chicken month

While the concept of the internet was most likely not at the forefront of his mind, I’m also pretty sure Frederick Douglass never anticipated being part of a blog post announcing a month of illustrations devoted to chickens. In case you’re wondering, there is absolutely no connection. More on the honorable Mr. Douglass in a moment...

Yes, you heard right: April is Chicken Month on Ornithoblogical. Every day, a new chicken...no foolin’. Go ahead, cry foul—just try and stop me. If this doesn’t rustle your feathers, and if you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe to Ornithoblogical by clicking on the RSS icon in the lefthand column on the site.

Now for Mr. Douglass. I was happy to contribute to the Book Cover Club again this month for their selection, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Himself. Here’s my take:

Presently, it’s back to the drawing board for me, where I’m up to my ears in rats for World Rat Day. Believe me, it’s not as unpleasant as it sounds. :^)

another peak @ sylvia’s spinach + bird 500 + more

 Happy Friday! Also Happy Birthday to Theodor Geisel, one of my idols.

This week, I’ve been finishing up the final art for “Sylvia’s Spinach”, and finally met my delightful editor/publisher Philip Lee of Readers to Eaters in person. Another teaser from the book is pictured above.

In other news, Ornithoblogical reached a big milestone yesterday with the posting of bird #500. There’s been lots of heavy-lifting going on in my studio this week. Not the least of which has been trying to find a place to store all of that art.

Also, I’ve got series of spots in the current issue of Kiwi Magazine, another installment in their cooking with kids series. This time we wash and trim mushrooms! Living the dream...