I’m revising a Wizard of Oz painting as a portfolio piece by changing to the look of the Wicked Witch. The image here shows the resulting oil character study using a sculpted maquette as reference, along with photos of real people, etc. I’ll then add the witch to the composition. The flying monkeys detail included shows some of the right side of the painting that the witch will be added to.
Read MoreNew work for Concordia Publishing
I finished the illustrations for a children’s Advent book for Concordia Publishing recently. Which means it’s basically an introduction, for kids, to Jesus and his life. Concordia is a Lutheran publisher and this is the first book I’ve worked on for them.
Adam Rex event
On October 21st I’ll be hosting guest artist Adam Rex at the Ringling College of Art and Design via Zoom. He’ll do a presentation about his work followed by Q & A with students. I’ve enjoyed Adam’s work for years. It’ll be fun to meet him and question him on various topics. The event is open only to the Ringling community, but I’m always happy to talk about Adam’s work. The attached image is the poster created to advertise the event. It shows a sampling of Adam’s style and was designed by Ringling faculty member, John Herzog.
New work for "Light a Candle"
This image is a pencil illustration I drew for “Light a Candle” for Redline Editorial Publishing as part of their “I Am America” series of historical fiction books.
This book is set in Gold Rush California and involves the Chinese immigrant worker community. This drawing is of a Chinese New Years parade in a small California town and shows the Lion Dance being performed. The main character of the book is Emma, and she’s shown on the left in the middle distance.
I've completed the art for "Brave Bird at Wounded Knee"
I’m just now finishing up revisions on the interior illustration for “Brave Bird at Wounded Knee” for Redline Editorial publishing as part of their “I Am America” series. It’ll be coming out in 2023.
I'm illustrating 2 books in the "I Am America" series for Redline Editorial publishing
I’ve been commissioned to illustrate books 9 and 10 in the “I Am America” series of historical fiction published by Redline Editorial, an academic publisher.
The idea is to present American history through the lens of those who don’t typically write the history i.e. those not in power, the minority group involved.
I’ve attached the cover image I provided for book 9. The cover layout requires me to do a circular(tondo) composition.
My work was featured in the SCBWI Regional March newsletter
The regional chapter of SCBWI featured one of my paintings in their March newsletter. They also commissioned me to design their logo for next year’s Florida conference, but I had to say no because of the tight deadline they asked for. I have too much on my plate. Too bad.
But SCBWI is a great organization. I highly recommend them for those interested in getting started in kids publishing-they’re a great resource.
Picture Book Project
This image is a work-in-progress cover painting for a person project, a children’ picture book dummy, called “Iron John.” More images to come.
A new book I've signed on to illustrated, "Lemon and Cedar"
This is a test image for “Lemon and Cedar,” a kids book I’ll be illustrating later this year. It’s meant to bring awareness to the plight of the red wolf population in a North Carolina national park. More info on that coming soon.
Read MoreOne of 17 paintings I created for "The Storyteller," a new children's book
One of the 17 paintings I created for “The Storyteller,” a new children’s book
Read MoreA new painting for "The Storyteller"
This is a new painting I did, recently revised, for “The Storyteller,” written by Nora Naenicke. The story is set on the coast of equatorial Africa, and involves the Mamiwata mythology that exists in several coastal countries of that continent. Mamiwata is a water goddess, something like a mermaid. The first image on my portfolio page shows a painting I did of the Mamiwata character underwater with the main character, the boy seen in the center of this painting.
Read MoreCover I did for "Animal Stories" for Barnes & Noble/Sterling Publishing
Several years ago, I painted the attached image for the cover of “Animal Stories,” one of several books I illustrated for Barnes & Nobles’ Classic Starts for Kids series. I illustrated a total of 8 books for that series, of which this is one. It included doing 10 black and white interior illustrations as well.
I realized I’d never shared it so thought I’d do so now. Back when I was still painting in acrylic. They cropped it oddly, oh well…
How I got my first job as an illustrator
How I first got started in illustration, how I got my first jobs, is the question I most often get from young artists. Which is understandable, because it can be confusing as to how to get started when you’re 18 and have zero idea as to get from where you are to where you want to be.
There are many paths to being an illustrator. But for me, I knew I wanted to be the best artist possible, no matter what I chose to do with it, so I studied painting.
After that, I built up my portfolio to the point where I felt it was ready (what to include, and tips is a topic for another post) which took years haha, and then I approached agents, or artist’s reps. I signed on with an agent, and, for me, that was where things took off. There’s a debate amongst illustrators about whether to have an agent or not. For me, it was a great help, initially, to have someone on my team who knew the ins and outs of illustration, who knew contracts, who had a relationship with publishers, etc. And I got work, lots of it. Getting an agent really was the turning point for me. I’ve worked in children’s illustration almost exclusively, and in children’s publishing, as far as I can tell, publishers seem to want to work with agented illustrators exclusively. That is, unless you already have superstars status in the industry. And I can understand why publishers would want to work with agents, because publishers have probably learned it’s just better to work with knowledgable agents, who tend to be generally more informed than illustrators are in the business side of things. The debate is a topic for another day, but the point here is it was key for me in getting work.
The image attached is one of my first portfolio pieces, an illustration for Goldilocks. I think it’s a good painting, and you can see the fine-artsy feel to it. I showed this painting at an SCBWI event where Mark Teague was the keynote speaker. He was an amazing speaker, but I overheard him criticizing my portfolio, saying the characters didn’t have any life, they weren’t dynamic. And he was absolutely right. This Goldilocks painting, while a good painting, lacked some qualities that differentiate good illustration from painting. Illustrators are telling stories, and the characters drive the narrative. If they’re not engaging, that’s a problem.
Anyway, I’ve progressed from then. Thanks Mark.