Some things are cookin'

I have a few prospects cookin' up, although it is too soon to speak of just yet. I also have a conference coming up soonish which I am excited about for the New Jersey Chapter of SCBWI. This is the first time that I will go to a conference and have to bring a preassigned illustration! I miss those critiques in college. It was so exciting to see that when given the same assignment, endless solutions may arise and in so many colors and styles! So stay tuned!! :)

P.S. Wonderful author/ illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba posted a very entertaining blog contest yesterday. She gave four spots from her various books illustrating her dog Bernie's many appearances in her stories and asked bloggers to figure out which spot came from what book. Well I won and I am going to get a signed copy of Paco and the Giant Chile Plant!!!

Specultation Cover

I painted this illustration as a speculation for a publisher. They asked for the cover in color and a sketch for one of the spreads. Well, they decided to go with a different artist....bummer:( Hopefully my day will come soon, I am just so antsy to get my first children's book with all the promos I send out and all. I just get so frustrated sometimes because everyone has different tastes, which I suppose is a good thing, except when one publisher says I am too cartoony and then another one says I should rely less on reference because they look too much like photos. And so continues the never ending battle of finding some happy medium between cartoon world and realism to please all.....




....I changed the title and also added a cute caterpillar for fun.

Character's Contest Winner's Issue Cover

I just completed the cover to what will be the contest's winners issue of Character's Magazine. I am excited to see it all printed up and I hope the kids will get a kick out of it!

Grape Border Mural

My mom has been asking me to paint her grapes in the kitchen, so I finally did it last week for her birthday. She liked it so much she wants me to paint more around the whole kitchen!

New Postcard

Mini Golf Sculpts

Many times I am asked what it is I do for compensation while I am waiting for the next illustration assignment. I also freelance at a shop where I work with other artists to make mini golf course props. I mostly paint sculpts and murals, but sometimes I get to sculpt and paint my own creation. All our sculpts are made out of foam and then hardcoated to plastic for painting. I sculpted and painted this little penguin for a golf course in Paramus,NJ. He is hitchhiking. The turkeys I only painted. The punk rockers are entering a haunted ride about Thanksgiving and are suspicious of the fat turkey who has had quite a fright!

I just joined Children's Illustrators!

View it here:
http://www.childrensillustrators.com/illustrator.cgi/crodillustration

NJ SCBWI Conference

I had such a great time at the conference. When I first walked in I registered and then went into the room where everyone was gathering for coffee and waiting for the faculty panel to start speaking. I sit at a table and see this woman flipping through a Sprouts magazine (the NJ Chapter issues out a magazine a few times a year) with my owl painting on the cover!!!! I later found out it was supposed to be a surprise and they announced my name during the intros and I stood and had everyone clap. I was just thinking to myself, what a great way to start your day! All day I felt like a celebrity with people congratulating me and asking about my art. It felt nice, I never had something like this happen to me, almost like winning a contest.

The rest of the conference went quite well. Author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen gave such a great workshop on how to pace your picture book and how to figure out where you need to cut down on text. She gave her "10 Commandments to a Picture Book Manuscript". That was just great. There were other workshops I attended on promotional pieces for illustrators, behind the scenes of making a book at the publishing house, making a book dummy, and picture book basics. All the information was so helpful. At lunch I sat at a table with 2 agents, 2 authors, and a self publisher. I learned quite a bit about self publishing where I previously was not fond of it and now I think it is just good for certain people, just not everyone. This woman says she published 12 books on her own and makes more money selling them in schools and book signings than she would have if she went through a publishing house. The most memorable thing she said was "Why are we putting our hearts and souls into perfecting a manuscript just to have some 28 year old yuppie with no kids tell us how it needs to be fixed. I finish a book and ask what the children and parents think, they are my advisers."

I had my portfolio critiqued by Patrick Collins, who I already knew was not fond of my work from doing a drop off last summer. Since I had not met him the first time he reviewed my portfolio it was interesting to see where he was coming from especially after I had added some new pieces the second time. He seemed to like my "Ice Cold Trouble" painting the best with the eskimo which interestingly I did after he critiqued me the first time. I also did something called speed pitching where I was put in a line and each of us had 2 minutes to talk to each of 3 editors/agents about our books and get their input. I pitched my "Finding Farah" story but I'm not so sure they were in love with my main character because he is a ferret. I bought some books, one by Sudipta and another by Eileen Spinelli. It was a great and eventful day and Princeton was the best and most beautiful place to hold this conference.

Fundraiser for my Cousin

Yesterday I attended a fundraiser for my cousin. My aunt and uncle want to try a new oxygen treatment that they thought may help "wake up" parts of the brain to help with his cerebral palsy. I donated 2 prints ("Koala's Uggs" and "Boo Boo Bear") that were auctioned off as well as a personalized painting of your favorite pet which was raffled off. The woman who won the pet portrait was very excited and said she wanted me to do her son's dog. Overall it was a great turn out, many gift baskets were donated that were also raffled off. I am not sure how much was made in the end, but I hope my cousin made enough to forgo the treatment. I hope it will help him.

Newest painting to be published in the June/July 2008 issue 150 of New York Spirit Magazine...I still feel like it needs some touch ups before I add it to my portfolio...comments??