This month’s word prompt was “swift”. I’m trying to add work to my portfolio that could be biographical or sports-related. This gave me a chance to illustrate one of my favorite moments from the Olympic Summer Games, when Usain Bolt and Andre De Grasse exchanged smiles coming down the stretch of the 100 meter semifinals. As serious as these athletes are about their sport, they still know how to keep it fun… and Usain Bolt is just unbelievably fast!

 

I only had five days from concept to finish for this month’s Word Challenge. It was definitely a bit of a rush but I think it turned out pretty good. The word this month was “Royal”… I knew I wanted to do something nature/science-related for my portfolio. My son, Dillon, gave me the idea to do bees… thanks Dillon!

 

An SCBWI July word prompt “admire” and a Mommy/Daughter day for Evelyn and Angela became material for a portfolio builder. Evelyn had been asking for a horse riding lesson for a very long time now. Angela was able to arrange one with a friend of hers last month. The horse, “April”, was said to love kisses on the nose! Ange wasn’t in the original shot so I added her in . Of course Evy asks, “Why is there a suitcase?”… I attended a workshop through the Boston Illustrator’s Group with E.B. Lewis who encouraged the use of emotion, narrative, and anticipation in illustration.  The suitcase is my “anticipation” element and is supposed to suggest a departure or trip ahead. Hope it works… but I feel like my work will become stronger with his recommendation in mind.

I’ve been working on an illustration for the 10th Annual Holdenwood Trail Run in Shirley, MA. Signs on the property display a fox and hare and there is a locally famous Mother Goose house, so there is a kind of storybook theme to the design. I added the chipmunk for the kids!

I’ve been working hard to finish sketches for my daughter Evelyn’s book, Evelyn and the Dinosaur Egg. This one is a portrait of her just as Outdoor Things was a portrait of Dillon. When sketches are complete, I’ll select two images to complete as paintings and then assemble the book dummy! I enjoyed working on this project. To me it captures Evelyn’s imagination and creativity and how well she adapts when there is a change in plans! The books I wrote and illustrated for both kids are to me a kind of children’s magical realism, where fantastic things happen despite the ordinary surroundings.

This year’s New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference Challenge was to “reinvent Jules Verne”. I illustrated a scene from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in which the Nautilus descends for the first time and is escorted by a multitude of ocean life who are drawn in by the vessel’s electric lights. I redesigned the Nautilus itself: giving it hydropower (thanks to my son for insisting), an organic shape and phosphorescence. The real fun for me was playing with the sense of depth and space in the picture which I pushed a step further with a red/green-blue displacement 3D effect that adds to the fun when viewed with a pair of 3D glasses!