Carving

I'm trying to get these prints done by Wednesday so I can include them in my portfolio for the SCBWI Conference. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but we are short-handed at my job and I've had to be at work extra days. I'm going to do a little more carving right now! Why do I use such a slooooow medium?!

Beautiful Ladies!

Look what I got in the mail from my talented friend Brooke Boynton Hughes!




They represent Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Please check out Brooke's Etsy shop where you can buy her wonderful cards and prints!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

An Armchair Story

A couple weeks ago my dad's family had a reunion and I got to meet a bunch of young family members for the first time.

Sienna (in pink) (who LOOOOOVES broccoli) whispered the most incredible story in my ear while we sat in an oversized armchair. It had twists, and turns, and surprise characters, and of course, Princesses! Here are a couple drawings I did... but keep in mind, this is only the opening of the story. I wish you could hear the whole thing!

Opinions?

I'm getting ready to go to the LA SCBWI Conference. Yay!!!! I feel so grateful that I get to go this year, but I also feel somewhat unprepared. I've had so many things happening in my life all at once, I'm just trying to keep everything straight.

So, if I could beg a little help, I'd love to hear anyone's opinion on which image I should use as a postcard to give away at the conference. Thank you so much for your opinion!

The Tourists

Circus

The Summer Garden

Birdland

Anyone else going to the conference this year? If you are an artist, Tina Kugler has compiled lots of links to tips about preparing your portfolio and what to expect. Check it out at Between the End Pages!

Illustration Friday: Lost

Wouldn't it be great to be lost in the circus?! This was really fun to paint. It's still a little confusing to look at with all of the black and white stripes, but overall I like it. 

This image is based on  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern as I mentioned earlier. When I had the idea to make this image, I emailed Ms Morgenstern to make sure I could do it without infringing on copyright. Through her, I reached the book's editor at Random House to ask my question. Ms Marshall, the editor was quick to get back to me and let me know that I could make any artwork I wanted based on the book. The copyright infringement comes into the picture if I use the title of the book, the character’s names, or any phrases from the book in the art, or as a title to my own artwork, and then sell the work. So just to be safe, I didn't include any text in my image. However, the book describes beautifully the detailed signs for the tents, and the name of the circus spelled in lights. I really wanted to include those things! Instead you can read the magical book, The Night Circus and visualize the lettering and signs while you read.

Printing the Circus

I was excited to print my new Circus linocut this evening, but it really didn't go well. Some days are just not good print days and I've discovered that it's best to cut your losses and try again another day. I did get one good one though. That's enough to tell that I like it!

When I'm printing by hand, I put weight on one side of the paper and roll up the other like this to check how the ink is transferring. It's pretty easy to grab the roller at this point and put a little more ink on the block. I'll show how the finished print turned out soon.

Today's update: It was a good printing day! I started by scraping a quarter inch of ink off the top of my jar. It was too dried up and old. Now I'm back in business. Soon I'll paint the print and it'll be easier to make sense of all of those black and white stripes.