hide and seek bunnies

This is a drawing I did a while back for a friend's nursery. I thought it was cute and wanted to post it now.

Knoxville's Children's Festival of Reading

OK all you Knoxville residents, you simply must come to the the Children's Festival of Reading, May 31st, at World's Fair Park. I will be there, along with poet and performer Allan Wolf, signing copies of Immersed in Verse.

Allan Wolf, who will be performing as well as signing

Several other young adult fiction books that I have illustrated will also be available for purchase (or you can bring your own copies) and I'd be happy to sign those for you or your kids. Bring the whole family, it will be amazing fun!

"The best part? This year, the summer reading program's theme is Starship Adventure, so we'll be playing with flying UFO's and dressing up like aliens. Check out the fun on Saturday, May 31, from 10-3 at the World's Fair Park."

Thanks Style Memo!

A big thank you to Style Memo and long time friend and blogger Kari Skaflen (founder of Style Memo) for the kind mention of my work. It is so wonderful to see that so many of the things I'm going for in my work are being picked up by others. It's very rewarding and encouraging. You simply must check out Style Memo and all of Kari's fabulous independent fashion finds. It's truly an underground feast.

Thanks Design Dust!

for the kind mention. what a beautiful blog!

Sketches of the Day

Knaveheart's Curse

Knaveheart's Curse, the sequel to Vampire Island, is up on Amazon for pre-order. Horray!

Work in Progress

Sketch of the Day

Elvis and Olive in the flesh

I was so excited to take a trip down to Barnes and Noble today to pick up my very own copy of Elvis and Olive. It looks even more fabulous in person with the embossing, etc. I love what Scholastic did with the dandelions on the hard cover beneath the jacket. It was also fun to go through and see all my chapter spots.

I highly encourage all of you to go out and purchase this book. This is a great story and Stephanie Watson is a gifted author. You won't be disappointed.

How I Saved My Father's Life (and ruined everything else)

is now online and in book stores. yippee!

an Itty Bitty sneak peek

of things to come...

Cover Girls

I just received the Print magazine's April 08 issue in the mail today and was excited to see my Paula Danziger book cover in the article "Cover Girls: Young adult novels are rebranded as often as their latest readers come of age". It's a very interesting article on how covers change to fit the times while the story itself remains classic. I must reitorate how honored I feel to have been able to work on the latest version of Danziger's The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (and other related titles). She's is such a great and iconic writer and if you haven't yet read these books, go out and get them now (my cover versions of course ;)).

ancestral series

I've been tossing around quite a few ideas for what my next series of paintings will be on and I think I've finally decided on something that I'm really excited about. I want to create a series based on my ancestors (predominently female)/family tree. This is the initial idea sketch I've come up with and I think I'm liking where it's going. I'll keep you updated as to how it evolves.

Sketch for next painting

I'm so excited to get started on my next painting project. This one is going to be fun, fun, fun. I mean what's better than a robot kitten and a star clad vespa driving gamine?

just finished...

...the first color round for the Soccer themed book for Stone Arch Books. I thought she was a cutie.

And now there is a second version with a different, more sporty uniform but still very cute.

the latest

C'est Fini!

It is finished! I'm happy with the final results of the Hart's painting and was equally happy to present it to their family on Valentine's day (even though it was hard to give up as it did look so good in my entertainment room...don't you think?). Looks like I better get to painting something else that will look good in this room. Hope they like it too.

Almost finished

I just need to make a few more tweaks add the hearts and this painting is finished! I'll miss havin my friends around to keep me company but I'm sure the Harts are anxious to take this home.

Ros...in about 4 years

The next Hart family member, Rosilind, is underway. This was the most difficult for me as the sketch was so great and hard to live up to. I like the painting but don't think it looks as much like Rosilind as I'd like it too. I might mess with it a bit more...but then again I really like the painting...will see.

zeke

These were taken at night so the pics aren't perfect but this gives you an idea of what Zeke, the next Hart family memeber, looks like. I'll have to take another pic in the daylight which will hopefully show colors better. I think this definitely captures more of Zeke's overall "look" rather than a perfect likeness.