New year, new postcards

  It's been a while since I sent out any promo cards.  It's always so hard to decide which images to use. So this time I  guess I let the season and the weather decide. Brutal "polar plunge" temps here in Cleveland, and across much of the country. I wish safety, warmth and cozy dreams for you in the new year.  These brave souls on my cards will be celebrating outside only in the imagination, I'm afraid.
  Oh, except for the penguins. They will be happy.  This one is a work in progress so far... and taken from a riddles piece originally created for Ranger Rick magazine.  We had pancakes this morning, courtesy of Dave. He makes the best pancakes ever.  The key is fruit, walnuts, vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon and a good apron. Flip me one.

postcard in progress

original work

postcard

original version for Hal Leonard

postcard

original for Highlights

On with the Snow!

cover

 Snow comes very early here. But that's a normal climate change in Illustrationville. Last week it was really good packing snow. I was fortunate again to illustrate a cover for Hal Leonard's music students' magazine. For this piece I used traditional media: pastels and colored pencil on mi-tientes paper, with only a small bit of photoshop for cleaning and color adjustments. White pastel works well to capture the effect of snow as long one is lucky in choosing the color of the paper.  I have a drawer full of unused and partially used pastel paper and often go through it several times, testing the pastels on small swatches before settling on a color. The title was hand lettered on a separate layer. The sketch took part of a day, the finished art another day (and some of the night).  "There's no business like snow business....."

detail

 dog

100 Degrees and Snowing

  A cover for High Five magazine. 

   We've had record heat temps the last few days! But it's winter already in Illustration Land! 

 Uh-oh, hold on, little squirrel! I think she'll be OK. 
 It's January now. Record chill.  Polar vortex  descending again, making outdoor activity actually dangerous! Keep warm, kids. Here's the final printed cover:

An article for Ranger Rick about snow and how the right conditions of precipitation make the perfect packing snow. I really had fun with these kids;  playing around with the expressions and the spirit of the fight.

Thanks to Billl Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes for some snowman inspiration. 

Party in the Park 2013!

 Out with the the old and in with the new!  I anticipate much excitement in the new year, as fresh as the first fallen snow in a woodland grotto.  It's a  good day for a walk and writing stories, rich with the scent of fir and odorless skunks.

My Little Chickadee

actual size

enlargement

  One of my facebook friends, Mary Anne Lloyd, organized a silent art auction to help raise funds for Casco Bay High School, a public expiditionary learning school in Portland, Maine. Mary Anne is also a cool illustrator who, among other things, is a keen observer of felines and turns cats into characters I particularly adore.  www.maryannelloyd.com  She asked me to contribute if I had time and sent me a tiny wooden ornament. Well, who could resist?

  For 26 tiny pieces of art they raised a record amount of $1500 which goes directly to their expeditions, which are kind of like learning adventures. Here is the school's facebook page about the event where you can see all of the artists' pieces along with some photos of the presentation. 

  This is smaller than probably anything I have worked on for some time. (height: 3 3/4 ").  Pencil and gouache, sprayed with several coats of fixative. The wood is a good quality birch, with a darker stain on the edge.

 I've just ordered more ornaments and may be able to offer them for sale for the holidays. I hope I can do a few more.  
 Addendum: Looks like I'm too busy with other work this month to make any more of these, but I will have a head start for next year! 

Chillin' Moves

  Just completed this illustration for High Five magazine. This was a great visualization to beat the heat. Kelley Cunningham, AD extraordinaire. There are 9 hidden F's in the scene. If you can find them, you win a popsicle and a free dance lesson at Thaw Paw Studios. 

Happy New Year!

A piece I did for Your Big Back Yard that I turned into a card.  Pastels and colored pencils.