Grady

One of my earliest childhood memories is trying to convince our three-legged dog, Grady, to hold a marker and color in the border of a book of fairy tales. I came across this old snapshot of the both of us. We adopted him after he was hit by a car and needed some special care. He was the perfect childhood pet; waited at the bus stop each afternoon for my arrival and a patient model during dress up. What a pup!

New Year, New Blog, New Possibilities...

The new year brings new resolutions, possibilities and opportunities.
One resolution is to blog. With the exciting things happening in the next few months it would be a shame not to record them. So here it goes....

10 bluebirds...

Great News....

I delivered the paintings for Froggy Went a-Courtin' to Soundprints in Norwalk, CT this week.

10 botanical borders, 10 bluebirds, 4 spots, 10 spreads and a cover are all in their capable hands. It was exciting - and a relief! The Froggy book will be packaged with a CD that includes a read along narration and a musical rendition of the song. This is the latest in Smithsonian's series American Favorites that celebrates our country's musical heritage.

Inspired by the Pasadena Trip

MFA "Homework": Create a piece of art inspired by Pasadena

The assignment was so open that I decided to do some of the things on my wish list; a girl bear, a poster and art nouveau decoration.

The moment I opened my first Little Bear book illustrated by Maurice Sendak I wanted to be an illustrator. I poured over those pen and inks of that cute cub as he decided that wearing his own fur coat in the winter was warm enough. Pair that with my affection for Sendak's posters then add a dash of Mucha and here's what I came up with...

The sketch.

The painting.

The finish.

To learn more about The Huntington click here: http://www.huntington.org/

Inspired by Elizabeth Shippen Green

"Jehane – The Constant Lover"
Harper's Monthly Magazine
September 1906


I was attracted to the intricate swirling shapes of the background contrasting against the solid color and diagonals of the cloak which directs the eye to the woman’s face. The color with little shading on her face pulls her forward from the detail and busyness of the wall treatment.

This is reverse thinking for me. My tendency would be to make the focal point busy with detail and simplify the background. I like the ornamental quality of the background like a decorative border integrated into the scene. Inspired by this and other pieces by Elizabeth Shippen Green the experiment begins...

The sketch.

The finish.

Please know I'm not fooling myself into thinking this is of Elizabeth Shippen Green's quality but it was fun to be a wannabe red rose girl for a few days!

Pasadena Trip

From November 3rd through the 10th I was in Pasadena with my MFA group.

Highlights fromthe trip included...

...visiting Paul Rogers and Kenton Nelson at Castle Green.

...presentations by Mark Murphy, Maria Rendon, Calef Brown and Gary Meyer.

...touring Dreamworks and seeing an old VUGames/Funnybone friend, Ted Forgrave, a 3d superstar.

...checking our Nick Studios and Storyopolis.

...giant burritos for lunch.

...seeing Dave Chiaperino and Chris Cherubini, also VUGames/Funnybone friends, who now work for Disney and Activision respectively and are also 3D superstars.

...and of course being reunited with "the group"!

Lori Ann and me.

I bunked at LA's house and was escorted around in her Mercedes wagon that runs on VEGGIE OIL!