Got Illo?

Back in 2005 this great little magazine started up called Illustration '05. The whole magazine was all about illustration, nothing else. I subscribed right away and enjoyed issues containing stunning images printed to the highest caliber, and informative interviews with some of the top talent in the industry. The first two issues featured Peter de Seve, Marc Gabbana, Joe De Vito, Joeseph Csatari, C.F. Payne, Sergio Giovine, Leslie Cabarga. All that in only two issues! (Illustration '05)

Sadly, there wasn't enough interest, as in subscribers, to keep this this great little magazine in print. But there's good news. illo. is back! With a new name, Illustration '05 just wouldn't work anymore, but the same great look and superb quality. Be sure to check out their website. Just click on the magazine cover in the archives. You'll find in-depth previews. There are even some back issues from '05 still available. Head over to order button and place your order. I placed mine. And I'm really looking forward to the upcoming issue featuring James Gurney. How about you? Let's make sure this great magazine is around for a long, long time.

The Crown Goes to...

After serving as a judge, and engaging in lively and passionate discussions with my fellow judges in the Fiction Picture Book category of the 2007 Cybils, I'm proud to announce The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice N. Harrington and illustrated by Shelley Jackson has been crowned the winner! With a vivid, expressive voice, brilliant use of energetic images, a lot of spunk, and a heartwarming surprise ending, The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County is sure to capture your heart.

The nominating panel gave us a tough job, with seven amazing titles to choose from, each covering widely varied topics and styles, but all exceptionally well done picture books.

Congratulations to all the 2007 winning authors and illustrators!
See sidebar.

Special thanks to all the panelists, judges, and especially the organizers, for making this all happen!

Mary in Color- Final

Final color drawing of Mary

Note* Just click on the label Mary, or scroll down, to see the entire work-in-progress. The new scanner worked great! I only had to do minor color adjustments. (I did tweak the color slightly after seeing this scan online. )

Mary in Color-Part 3

Detail of Mary.

At this point I've concentrated on finishing up everything on Mary. Next, I'll be making some adjustments to the reflections and moving on to the wood for the window frame. I should be able to post the finish on Monday.

Mary in Color-Part 2

I've finished up the leaves and most of the areas reflecting in the glass. The sepia color worked perfect as a base under the green leaves. I was able to get the depth I wanted, with less layers, by working over a complimentary color. I used ground pastel dust applied with tissues for the blue areas. Everything else is color pencil. While working on the leaves, I was able to take advantage of the view out my studio window. As long as it wasn't too late in the day, the sun hitting the leaves of the lemon tree just outside my window made a great source of reference.

Mary in Color-Part 1

With this illustration of Mary, my work has become true mixed-media. The final underpainting was done in graphite on vellum. (Previous post.) For the stage shown here I scanned the graphite drawing, then worked on the blue areas of glass in Photoshop. I also isolated areas that I wanted to print out in a sepia tone for the underpainting. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time and I felt this piece, with all the warm tones, would be the perfect one to try it on. After printing this out on my art paper I will be layering in pastel and color pencil.

Coming soon...Mary in Color

Now that I have a large-format scanner, I will be able to scan in one piece, hopefully, the final color drawing of Mary. If you don't remember, or didn't see it before, I did a work-in-progress of the B&W underpainting of Mary. Since I'm having some issues with the software on the new scanner and am waiting to hear back from tech support, I'll post the color in stages each day this week. So stay tuned!

Final B&W Underpainting

Rainy Day Delivery

It's a rare rainy day. Well actually, so far this year, not so rare. We've had more rain in one month than we did in all of 2007. But back to the point. It's cold and rainy. That kind of gray day where the sky opens up and lets out a continual drizzle. Now that is a rare thing here! So a package in the mail was a great treat. Not a surprise, it was expected, but a treat. Now, if it would only stop raining so I could head out to my studio and start setting it up.

My studio is detached from the house. Most of the time I find this to be an advantage, but not today.

Scanner in the Mail!

I did it! I found the right scanner for me! (I hope. Fingers crossed.) It sounds right. It scans just the right size. It works with my PC. It's a new item. It's hard to get a hold of- at the right price that is- you know, the discounted internet specials. Lots of those places have it on backorder. It seems to be getting snapped up pretty quickly. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

You can read more about it here:
PlustekOpticPro A320