They meet!

I just finished one more spread from my picture book dummy. Here's where the two main characters finally meet. Happiness!

I'm getting ready to go to the Denver SCBWI conference next month. I can't wait to go to the new illustrator intensive and have a portfolio review with Adam Rex. Now I have to make business cards and print whole bunch of stuff.

Illustration Friday: Influence

Here is Wynken, Blynken, and Nod painted. I had a lot of fun working on this one! This is my interpretation of a sleepy-time poem by Eugene Field. I imagine if you read it to your wide-awake little person, it would certainly influence them to sleep.
If you go to Between the End Pages you can print out a copy of this along with the poem that inspired it. Here's the whole poem:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod 
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we!"
                     Said Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
   That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
   Never afeard are we";
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
   As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea---
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea,
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

Printing Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Today I finally got to print my latest block. It's for a bedtime poem by Eugene Field called Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. The poem is fantastic and full of goofy nonsense to illustrate.
Here's the block-

And here are some photos of inking and printing the linocut-

I used a piece of linoleum that I mounted to a block a couple years ago and never carved. It was softer than what I've been using recently. I started by carving the moon and my lines came out skinnier than I intended because I was surprised by the softness of of the linoleum. Hopefully the moon won't look out of place once everything is painted. I'll paint it tomorrow when the ink is dry enough. Here it is in black and white-

Favorite Printmaking Sites

I shared some of my favorite relief printing sites on Between the End Pages. There are links for how-to's, amazing art for inspiration, and a couple good places to buy supplies. It's especially for all you artists I've been talking to who want to try some linocuts!

Poems!

I've been working on an illustration for a nonsensical lullaby by Eugene Field. It's so much fun!

I'll tell you more about this poem later, but in the meantime I've been having a good time reading other silly, playful children's poems and I wanted to share a few.

The Microbe by Hilaire Belloc

The microbe is so very small You cannot make him out at all, But many sanguine people hope To see him through a microscope. His jointed tongue that lies beneath A hundred curious rows of teeth; His seven tufted tails with lots Of lovely pink and purple spots, On each of which a pattern stands, Composed of forty separate bands; His eyebrows of a tender green; All these have never yet been seen-- But Scientists, who ought to know, Assure us that is must be so... Oh! let us never, never doubt What nobody is sure about! There are holes in The Sky by Spike Milligan There are holes in the sky Where the rain gets in But there ever so small That's why the rain is thin. To Make an Amblongus Pie by Edward Lear Take 4 pounds (say 4 1/2 pounds) of fresh Amblongusses, and put them in a small pipkin.   Cover them with water and boil them for 8 hours incessantly, after which add 2 pints of new milk, and proceed to boil for 4 hours more.  When you have ascertained that the Amblongusses are quite soft, take them out and place them in a wide pan, taking care to shake them well previously. Grate some nutmeg over the surface, and cover them carefully with powdered gingerbread, curry-powder, and a sufficient quantity of Cayenne pepper. Remove the pan into the next room, and place it on the floor. Bring it back again, and let it simmer for three-quarters of an hour. Shake the pan violently till all the Amblongusses have become a pale purple colour. Then, having prepared a paste, insert the whole carefully, adding at the same time a small pigeon, 2 slices of beef, 4 cauliflowers, and any number of oysters. Watch patiently till the crust begins to rise, and add a pinch of salt from time to time. Serve up in a clean dish, and throw the whole out of the window as fast as possible. He he he he he!!!! These poems came from http://www.poemsforchildren.org/