Friday Studio Links - Featuring...

The Studio of Holli Conger!

Wait until you step through this door! 

You are about to enter a space all about style.

 

 

I'm not talking about "this space could be featured in a decorating magazine" kind of style. (Although it could!) I'm talking about personal, functional, "this is my art" and "this is where I make it" kind of style. This space is all about personality!

Welcome to the studio of Holli Conger. A girl who creates. And create she does! Her eclectic, whimsical style can be found in magazines, on greeting cards, CD covers, and packaging. Holli not only illustrates children's books- 11 of them so far this year, she is also a successful licensing artist, does killer typography, and has become a huge inspiration to others by documenting her creative journey on Becoming An Illustrator.

 

Holli has a style that shines though no matter what is is working on. This goes for he studio too. Check out the process of how her studio was built here. And be sure to follow Holli's Blog and visit her Website.

Check back on the first Friday of each month for a new Studio Tour. 

Follow this link to see previous Studio Tours.

New Website!

It was time for an overhaul. When I designed my last site I had no idea Flash would become a thing of the past in...well...a flash! My site needed to work across all devices. So I'm launching a new and improved site.

Click on the above image to visit my new website!

The Business of the Business

It seems like the last month has been filled with the business end of what writers and illustrators have to spend a good chunk of their time doing. Running a business. Yes, I'd rather be in the studio drawing or sitting at my desk researching and writing. But a gal's got to do what a gal's got to do.

Design a new look and logo- check!
Design new business cards and stationary- check!

Postcard design and printing- check!
Mailing list of publishers and who is where- check!
Print mailing labels, stamp, and mail postcards- check!
 
Create a new portfolio- check!
Decide on portfolio images- check!
Print images- check!
Assemble portfolio- check!

Register for the local SCBWI-AZ Conference- check!
Prepare and mail portfolio- check! (Yes, a second one!)
Mail PB manuscript and dummy book for conference critique- check!
Proofread, print, and mail first 10 pages of MG novel- check!

Redesign website- check!
Photo shoot  for website- check!
Select and size images for website- check!
Launch new website- check!

Phew! Now back to some writing and illustrating. Right after I write a synopsis and cover letter for that MG novel...

Be sure to visit my new website.

Friday Studio Links- Blogging

It seems like Facebook has taken over blogs. It's quick and easy. You spend some of time scrolling, tap a quick like, maybe even add a comment, then move on. But writing a blog post, that takes time. We all have a few favorites we read regularly, but how often do you leave a comment these days? Have your posts dwindled down to occasional? I'm guilty of it. There's no thumbs up. You've spent enough time "researching". It's time to get back to work. You're inspired, you're energized. You leave with something, without leaving something.

This week I've read some amazingly great blog posts. The kind you can enjoy with your morning cup of coffee, think about during the day, and come back to again later and savor. So for today's studio links, I'm skipping the visuals (this is a hard one for me) and sending you right to these blogs. Check them out. And while you're there leave a comment! I will. Right after I finish this post.

Peter Brown blogs about Style
Tony DiTerlizzi blogs about We Art Boston
Aaron Becker blogs about his sketchbook  (Via a blog post on Design Sponge)
Dan Santat blogs about Finding Time

In an attempt to not neglect my Friday Studio Link posts, I'm going to make this a First Friday regular. Once a month is much more realistic than the once weekly I started the year off with. So check back each month. And enjoy these links!

Full Moon

In honor of tonight's full moon, I am pleased to present some of the best in picture book moon stories. Two new ones start off the list!

Moonday

 by Adam Rex

 

Max and the Tag-Along Moon

by Floyd Cooper

 

   Moon Bear 

written by Brenda Z. Guiberson 

illustrated by Ed Young

 

 One Giant Leap

written by Robert Burleigh
illustrated by Mike Wimmer

Kitten's First Full Moon

by Kevin Henkes

 

 I Took the Moon for a Walk

written by Carolyn Curtis

illustrated by Alison Jay

 Clear Moon, Snow Soon

written by Tony Johnston
illustrated by Guy Porfirio

Owl Moon

written by Jane Yolen

illustrated by John Schoenherr


And of course...

 Goodnight Moon

written by Margaret Wise Brown
illustrated by Clement Hurd

If you'd like to find out what time to watch the moon rise in your area, just follow this link and put in your location. I know where I'll be tonight! To learn more about the books shown click on the image. To see more about the author or illustrator click on their name.

Friday Studio Links- Inspiration

 Spring in the Desert

Spring, it's a busy time. Sorry for the laps in posts on studio tour links. It looks like April is just full of deadlines! Fun stuff like wedding planning. My middle child is getting married the end of April. It's a backyard wedding. Our backyard. The house she grew up in. So along with all the fun plans, we needed major re-landscaping in the yard. Fun things like plants and flowers. Not so fun things like trips to the dump and spreading granite...35 tons worth. Yikes!

Then there's that April 15th deadline, and like a true artist I'm pushing that deadline to the limit.

And lastly, I book deadline. The dummy book for a very exciting project will be mailed next week, labeled requested, written and illustrated by yours truly!


Enjoy your spring. Stop and smell the flowers. If your in part of the country that is still waiting for spring, then check out these links with photos here, and here, and here, and here of what the desert can look like in spring. And watch for the tours to resume in May. 

Friday Studio Links!

The Studios of

Illustrators

Last weekend I got to spend time with all of the artists you see below. Not quite in their studio, but at the 2013 Tuscon Festival of Books! It is the fourth largest book event in the country. And it happens right here in Arizona. It's a two hour drive south for me, but gives you two full days worth of book fun! I went to the presentations of the following picture book illustrators. (Plus, many excellent authors, but since Fridays are all about studios I'm going to focus mainly on the illustrators. Although I did find a couple of cool writing spaces I had to include.)

To see a link to each studio, some with interviews, click on the photo. To go to the website of each artist click on their name. So be sure to click both places!

Peter Brown

Molly Idle

 

Chris Gall

You can also see an interview I did with Chris in 2007 here.

 

Jerry Pinkney

 

Jacqueline Woodson

 

Lester Laminack

 

Adam Rex

 

You can see even more of Adam's studio here.

 

Floyd Cooper

 Mr. Cooper is currently updating his website. 

Check back later at floydcooper.com.

  

Matt Phelan

 

Stephan Pastis

 

Guy Poririo

 

R.L. Stine

Remember, this is just a handful of the talent the Tuscon Festival of Books had to offer. There were many, many sessions I had to pick from, so some I had to miss. If you haven't gone before, mark your calendar for next year!


Be sure to check out the post at Gommies World. She has some great information, and a video, of the workshop Floyd Cooper presented. I was right there in the front row for this one too. It was a very special day!