F. Scott Fitzgerald final painting

Here is the finished painting of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Jazz Age which I talked about in an earlier posting. It is my first oil painting in over a year. It felt just like old times although I could have done without the toxic oder in my small studio! I hope you enjoy the painting. This paintings is available for sale if you are interested, $500.

Let There Be Rock!

My third blog post in a week. I am on a roll this new year! Anyway I just want to share a finished printed project I received in the mail this week. It's a slim 32 page paperback book for Zaner-Bloser called "Let There Be Rock!". I illustrated it a year and a half ago. I just now got around to tracking down printed copies. It's a cute story about a grandfather telling his grandson about his days in a high school rock band in 1957. I completed 8 small illustration for this chapter book and really enjoyed depicting the cloths, hair styles and other details from the 1950's.

Sadly for many of the smaller educational projects I have done I rarely get to see the final printed sample. For this project I made an effort to track down some copies and the publisher kindly sent me free books. It looks great and I am happy to see this project to it's natural conclusion.

F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Jazz Age

I'm working on a new sample image based on the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books, one I like to reread every few years. Later this year there will also be a new movie version staring Leonardo DiCaprio, so I guess in a way I am gearing up for that.

I am always looking for reasons to paint images from the 1920's as it is a favorite subject, especially NYC during that time. I keep hoping an editor will present me with a story set in those times for me to illustrate! With that in mind my portrait incorporates iconic imagery of the 20's, F. Scott's writings come to life.

I will be doing the final painting in oil which I have not worked with in over a year. The creamy thick paint seems perfect for this image, a medium that most great painters of that time worked in. Below are some character sketches, my compositional drawing and a color study. I will share the final painting when I am done!

More "Can Man" news

Despite being out for almost two years now great news for "The Can Man" keeps rolling in!

The Alabama Department of Education selected "The Can Man" as a finalist for the Alabama Camellia Award Program 2011-12 Book List.

It is also a Show Me 2012-2013 final nominee from the Missouri Association of School Librarians. One of just 10 books. Grade school kids through out the state of Missouri make the final vote. See the list of books here.

Ultimately these state reading award nominations along with the ones in New York and Pennsylvania that I mentioned last year mean more kids will be reading the book which is really wonderful.

Lastly 25,800 kids last summer had "The Can Man" read to them up and down the east coast as part of TD Banks summer reading program. Follow this link to learn more.

What a great way to start out the new year!

Happy Holidays!

This is the first Christmas after living in Seattle for 17 years that I will actually be here for the holidays. I will miss my family both in California and Connecticut but at the same time I am feeling a little giddy at the thought of being in the city this time of year. It's also nice avoiding the holiday travel hassles. Last year we were delayed an extra three days when coming back from Connecticut!

So in honor of the season I wanted to share again one of my few holiday illustrations. I completed it two years ago but it still remains one of my favorite samples. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Cooking magazine project

Recently I was lucky to be asked to complete two illustrations for the highly respected food magazine "The Art of Eating". They will be appearing in the next issue, out soon. It's not often that I get a chance to stretch my legs with a different kind of project outside of the children's book market. Because of that I really tried to savor this project like a fine meal. The article is about two French recipes for cabbage. My solutions were to paint a French landscape and a still life with the ingredients for one of the recipes. I set up this still life in my studio with nice lighting and painted directly from observation. I can't say I painted the French landscape from life but I can dream. It was a real pleasure working this way again as was the whole project. Many thanks to Edward Behr. Bon appetite!

Whidbey Island school visit

Yesterday I was lucky to be able to visit Wellington Day School in my old stomping ground in Clinton on Whidbey Island. In fact my first six children's book were illustrated while living in Clinton from 2001-2004.

Here is a photo during my visit. Sadly though I forgot to take pictures of the best part- the kids. It was a whirlwind visit so easy to forget. The twenty, 1st-3rd graders were really attentive while I talked to them about two of my books, "Nature's Paintbox" and "The Can Man". I haven't done a lot of school visits this year so it was a real pleasure. Also the beautiful weather made for an enjoyable ferry ride.