Down time

Within the past year I got a chance to hear one of my all-time favorite illustrators, Melissa Sweet, talk about her work. One thing she talked about was the importance of 'down time' -- the time during your day when you're not actually working on your project, but take the time to flip through a magazine, read a book, look at other artists' work, etc. and how these types of activities go a long way toward 're-energizing your batteries' and providing inspiration for future work. Makes sense, right? But I find that although I completely agree with Melissa in theory, it sure is hard to put that theory into practice! Whenever I try to take time out of my day for just such a thing, (well, other than running the usual errands) I always quickly end up feeling guilty that it's daytime and I'm not "working." Especially when a deadline is looming, but even on slower days when I'm trying to create something new, too, where there isn't the same kind of pressure on. I guess I'm still getting used to the idea of the life of the freelancer -- it's hard to break out of that '9 to 5' mold.

Inspirations, Part 1

Back in the late 1980s I began my career as a children's bookseller. I knew that I wanted to write and illustrate children's books one day, and was lucky enough to get a job at The Children's Book Shop in Brookline, Mass. (I'll save how I got the job for another post...) It was great to see the new books coming out, hot off the presses, and put on display each day. One of the early influences on my work was the work of Charlotte Voake. Her beautiful book "First Things First" was published by Joy Street in 1988, and I liked it so much, I decided to write her a fan letter (okay, okay, I was in my 20s and didn't think twice about doing this -- why wouldn't an illustrator want to hear from little ol' me!) and she very kindly wrote back and gave me this little sketch! Of course, this was before the world of selling children's book art became an industry in itself. This particular drawing was a sketch/study for the title page of the book. In the few years that followed, every now and then I'd write to illustrators whose work I admired... and often got little sketches, doodles, and interesting letters in reply. I'll post some of my other 20-year-old treasures in the weeks to come!

In the weeds

Here's a picture of my workspace/desk while in the middle of a project -- what a mess! I decided to post a photo after seeing Anna Alter's photos of her desk over at the blue rose girls blog. Now where did I put that pencil...

Nicholas, meet Nicholas!

One of my very favorite books, both as a child and now as an adult, is "I Am A Bunny" by Richard Scarry. I love this book so much that I've named the main character in my forthcoming "Space Boy" Nicholas, after the intrepid little bunny in Scarry's 1963 gem. I just love how quietly content, happy and self-assured that little bunny is alone in his own world. I guess it's my way of paying tribute to someone whose work continues to fascinate and inspire me.

Brothers

Here are two pieces of final art from another book I'm finishing up at the moment, "Brothers" written by Sarah Wilson. Sarah has written a very sweet rhyming text about the fun of being brothers throughout the seasons of the year. The book will be published by Henry Holt in spring, 2008, I think (I've had this one on my desk for a long time). The good folks at Holt have been amazingly patient with me on this one. I've illustrated my fair share of books now, and I still can't get past the sheer terror of the final art stage. I seem to lose all confidence in choosing colors, painting ability, etc. It's always satisfying when it's finished, but the process is always a rough one for me. Some illustrators can't wait to get that final go-ahead and dive right into their painting -- I wish I could just work on my little sketch dummies forever!

Covers

I don't know why, but working on the covers of my books always gives me extra anxiety. Perhaps because despite the expression, "Don't judge a book by its cover," everyone really does. It's the one chance to make someone pick up your book among the thousands of others; you want to make sure you get things just right. Today, I'm working on cover sketches for Space Boy, a picture book that I've written that will come out next fall from Houghton Mifflin. I'm also waiting to hear back from the editor and designer at HarperCollins about the cover sketches I've submitted for the second Emily Post book.

May I please introduce... Emily!

One thing I'm working on now for HarperCollins is a series of three books about manners for toddlers. The books are written by Peggy Post and Cindy Post-Senning of the well-known Emily Post Institute, and I'm doing the illustrations. I've finished the first one, called Emily's Magic Words: Please, Thank-you and More, and I'm currently working on a revision of Emily's Sharing and Caring Book. The first book will be published in August/September of 2007, the second, hot on its heels, in December/January. Here's what she looks like!

Morska Niespodzianka!

Presenting the Polish edition of Sea Surprise --
My first translated book!

Books at a glance (so far!)

Here are my books!
"Oh, Baby!" and "the snow ghosts" came out in 2003; "Eat Your Peas, Ivy Louise," "Sea Surprise," "Let's Sign (written by Kelly Ault)," and "Fat Bat and Swoop" all came out in the spring and fall of 2005. That was a busy year!
Up next are: Space Boy (fall 2007, HMCo.), Emily's Magic Words (fall 2007, HarperCollins) and Brothers (written by Sarah Wilson) in spring 2008 (Holt).