My Version of Little Red Riding Hood
Children
Being Mom is hard!
A day in the life of Mom
Just a little tribute to all moms everywhere!
Just a little hippo crush
The boy and the Barn
Over the past couple of months I’ve been continuing mentoring with EB Lewis. It is definitely hard work but I’m excited by the direction that my watercolors are taking under his tutelage. Here is my newest piece!
Mentoring with EB Lewis
Recently my friend and fellow illustrator Alice Ratterree mentioned that she had begun a mentorship with the awe inspiring EB Lewis. She was enjoying the one-on-one class so much that I just had to check out what she was talking about. Mr. Lewis offers one-on-one tutoring sessions for a very reasonable fee and I right away snapped up the opportunity to work with a true master of watercolor. My experience with Mr. Lewis has been wonderful, I’m learning new things every week and I can’t wait to see what I learn next! Here’s a little taste of what we’re doing. Mr. Lewis saw my small black and white sketch of a boy and alligator and liked the drawing, he suggested we work on it and take it to a painting.
So, I painted it… and he didn’t really like my painting (that’s one thing I LOVE about Mr. Lewis, he doesn’t just tell me it’s good if it’s not, he tells me why he doesn’t like it and makes me do it over again). His critique, too flat, not enough depth, not looking at good enough resource…
He suggested I go back to the black and white, make some changes and try a fully rendered pencil drawing… so I did…
Then he suggested painting over my pencil, to see what happened. He liked this one better, but his critique was that there was a background and foreground but that there was no middle ground and he felt I was still just “coloring” with my watercolors. Plus the pencil muddied things up too much. As usual he was right.
Try number four, he liked it! Now there’s foreground, middle ground and background and I’m not just coloring with my paints, I’m using them as watercolors should be used!
Yay for EB Lewis and his wonderful mentor program. I’m continuing my work with him and can’t wait to see where I end up!
Naughty Nana Book Release
The children’s picture book, Naughty Nana, is being launched this month, just in time for holiday shopping. Written by former teacher and administrator, Saralyn Richard, and illustrated by veteran artist Rebecca Evans, it tells of the mostly-true exploits of an irresistible Old English sheepdog puppy, who just wants to have fun. Her laugh-out-loud adventures will give readers many hours of memorable and thought-provoking pleasure.
Reading is so important to the development of children, and this book is not only entertaining, but also presents a positive message for young readers. It will be of interest to adults who have children or grandchildren, as well as all of the dog lovers out there.
The book is available in hardback and softcover through the website: https://palmcirclepress.com. Purchasers can opt for autographs by the author and by Nana, herself!
Character Study – Asian Family
Just some character sketches I was working on for an asian family and a teacher!
3×3 Entry
This spring the amazing illustration magazine 3×3 (www.3x3mag.com) opened its doors for entries to their contest to be included in the magazine. It is such an inspirational magazine that I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. So I worked my fingers to the bone and sent off an entry. I have yet to find out if I made it in or not but I thought you all might like to share in my creation while I wait for news!
Illustration Friday “Prepare”
This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Prepare”. It made me smile when I considered the possibilities for my sketch because in my house it seems like everything we do takes hours of preparation. It’s hard to go anywhere or do anything with three young children without packing for any and all potential situations and/or catastrophes. A quick trip to the grocery store quickly turns into multiple lost shoes, three trips to the bathroom, a toy for everyone, an extra drink of water, a handful of snacks shoved into my purse a diaper bag with extra clothes in the trunk and then turning around at the end of the street to drive back because I forgot the actual grocery list on the kitchen counter! Now that some of my children are old enough to get themselves “prepared” it makes me laugh to see the kinds of things they believe they NEED, and I wonder… What is going through those little minds?
