Honorable mention in the new 3x3!

Breaking news: I am very pleased to announce that one of my illustrations has been awarded an honorable mention in the latest 3x3 Picture Book Show! It's an image from "No Crocodiles in Town", a picture book I'm currently working on.

Detail

Early pencil sketch

I've been absent from this blog the past few months for both good reasons (a fantastic trip to New York, where I met with lots of my favorite publishers, attended the SCBWI Conference and caught up with long-lost friends) ... and for not-so-good reasons (involving hospitals and unbearable dread).  In the midst of it all, I have tried to continue sketching and grappling with new manuscripts.  But this blog fell by the wayside, somewhat :-(  .  Hopefully this won't happen again...

Now that I'm here, I did want to mention—horribly, ludicrously late—that I finally received my copy of 3x3 No. 10, the annual from last year (!!) ... and it's a beaut! Look:

Beautifully printed and hard-bound, it unites work from all three of the shows (Picture Book, Pro, and Student Work) in a single volume. Below is my page, featuring the cover and four spreads from "Crocodile Shoes" (my as-yet-unpublished picture book, discussed ad nauseum on this blog already).

In a happy coincidence, the page next to mine had images by my friend Zack Rock whose new book ("Homer Henry Hudson's Curio Museum") will be published very soon! Go Zack, go! In fact, the whole annual is overflowing with wonderful work, definitely worth a look.

For those of you who are interested, the 3x3 annual No. 10 is available in both print and digital formats — click here to see!

SCBWI Bulletin

I'm very proud to have my illustration on the cover of the current SCBWI Bulletin (January/ February 2014). As always, the requirement is to include within the illustration an image of a kite — the logo of the SCBWI. 

I did a lot of searching and had a lot of different ideas (including giant children in Paris, and even an octopus flying eight kites at once). But once I saw the image of a butterfly-shaped kite, it was suddenly obvious to me that a caterpillar should be flying it. Perfect! Transformation, inspiration and imagination are what children's books are all about!! Now all I have to do is pull it off...

I sent along a few variations of this idea to SCBWI, and we all agreed on the one on the left so I then got to work. After refining the composition and characters, I did a number of color studies, like so:

Once the colors are decided, I can go on to the next steps. My illustrations are done in mixed media, with both hand-painted elements and collage in varying amounts (depending on the subject and on the amount of time). Some collage elements are prepared in advance according to the chosen color scheme, while others are happy accidents. This is true whether I collage with paper ephemera...

...or with monoprints that I make myself— here's a peek at a set of photos showing printmaking in progress.

Once I've printed the monoprint sheets in the colors that I'll be using, then I begin cutting and gluing.  I usually start with the background—

And then I create the characters and foreground elements.  Here's our hero...

...and his faithful sidekick:

As you can see, the individual elements that make up a character (limbs, shoes, clothes, face, hair...) are created separately then assembled. I paint some of the details with acrylics and, after I've glued them all together, I go over it again with an oil glaze to add a bit of dimension and oomph. Sometimes I scratch back in — sgraffito — or even sandpaper it, until it resembles what I have in my mind's eye as much as possible.  Needless to say, it's not an exact science...

Finally, referring to my color study, I assemble the composition as a whole — first gluing the background elements then the foreground ones. In this particular illustration, there was a lot of foreground foliage which framed the image. Some were collaged, and some painted in india ink.  Here's the finished piece:

Voilà!!

PS.  If you're a SCBWI member, you can view the Bulletin online right here. It even includes an interview with yours truly in it!

2013!

I want to wish you very happy new year — better late than never, eh? I've been a bit AWOL in recent times but I hope to be more present in the year to come.  Until I return to regular posting, here's an offshoot from something I've been working on, to wish you bonne année, and auguri per tutto— buona vita, buon lavoro, buon futuro...

Can't say better than that!!

On my table

Here are a few things that are on and around my table these days...

My new surroundings seem to be having an effect on me.

The crocodiles have come along for the ride, too!

As for Pomelo, well — he always regarded my table as his bed anyway...

Finally, check this out:

I just got word the other day that Beatrice Alemagna is making more of her canvas silhouettes.  

And best of all, she can make one for you (yes, YOU!) if you let her know, too. Just imagine!

Marjolaine Brillant : young illustratrice from Poitou.

Miranda van Dijk : Her "Hidden Memories" are a poetic mélange of leaves and photos.