The Cinnamon Rabbit

Royal Navy

2012-01-19T09:21:00.009-05:00

Imagining seafaring jackets with vintage navy-striped collars–away to sea! Playing with jewel tones in pastel, ink, colored pencil on Borden & Riley Paris Bleedproof #234.

Next week: San Francisco!

Spirit

2012-01-11T09:42:00.019-05:00

For me, illustrating is about the marriage of intention with unaltered spirit.

While I switch gears in my career, I'm been creating art for the portfolio around what seem like my two "passion axes": history (narrative) and fashion (aesthetic), two universes I am endlessly inspired by. Meanwhile, my illustration style is also undergoing reinvention by forces of growth and controlled intention....but all the while...unaltered scribbling continues in the after hours, while art-ness puzzles itself out! People from other places appear on computer paper, not caring much for intention:

This is my little way of drawing that is more personal than professional in my mind. I draw like this when I listen to a song that makes my heart beat faster, or at night when it's very still and I slip back out into the studio. My drawers are filled with them and I'm not sure where they ought to live. They're very narrative and feel like little "spirit drawings" to me....for now I plop them into the "Character Studies" page.

I drew her late, after a day of genealogy research. I was trying to capture the feeling when you come into contact with a past that feels very alive, and stories are whispering through you. Do you know that feeling?

2012 In Green Stripes

2012-01-03T16:30:00.010-05:00

Happy little new yearrr! How did you ring it in? We celebrated with dear friends, were treated to treats in Liz's farmhouse, I wondered how many New Year's Eve's were celebrated in front of that old hearth and bread stove since the 17th century when it was built...we had 12 skewered blueberries in our champagne glasses, each berry represented a month so we all crossed our fingers for a sweet year! (just a few tart ones!)

Resolving to:

Bake bread once a week.

Invite more COLOR into our home.

Invite more friends and family into our home.

Keep the muscles stretched.

Keep the eyes and mind sharp.

Keep the soul and spirit fed.

Keep trying anything I'm afraid to.

Laugh about it.

What are yours?

Scarves and Stories

2011-12-21T19:00:00.026-05:00

How will I reconcile the narrative with the decorative? Fashion and picture books? My heart says 2012 holds the answer!

Thanks for art encouragement today over coffee, goes to my dear art school roommate, trusted critic, fellow fashion (mini) lady, Elizabeth. Though she is fabulously making waves in the retail–visual world, she has no web presence I can link you to! She makes visuals for Madewell look fantastic all over the U.S. and could kern the heck out of your typography class. Tomorrow we bake cookies together from dawn to dusk in her old fashioned farm house! Wishing you sweets and merriness.

I'll leave you with my favorite "Virginia" bit from Francis P. Church:

"...there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

What In the World?!

2011-12-19T22:55:00.012-05:00

I'd like to pause in the Christmas action to introduce you to two new studio mates. I saw their weird little faces on Ebay and they had to come home. Standoffish, spotted, great at perching.

Name suggestions?

Glamour In the Square

2011-12-14T15:04:00.008-05:00

Out on Christmas capers yesterday, I spotted an invigorating abundance of fur, spots, print, pattern, textures on the racks and shelves in Harvard Square. Instead of shopping (well, OK, I did a smidge) I came home to paint. More new fashion work up in the portfolio...

& SHOP NEWS:

*THANK YOU* everyone for your purchases of Hearts In the Dark, the editions are moving so fast! which means the kitties will benefit greatly! If I could only give you all enormous hugs! ♥

There is *a 15% OFF SALE* going on TODAY for my picture book prints with code: BOOKPRINT, the last day for Priority shipping is December 19!

I Think We'll Bake Some Gingerbread

2011-12-10T21:33:00.003-05:00

This week is bustling! There are gifts to get, pictures to paint, letters to write, cookies to bake, candles to light (ooph!) Even when it gets topsy-turvy-twistaround crazy it's good to remember the JOY at the heart of it all. Thank you, friends, for spending time with me here on the blog. Hoping you are all enjoying this busy time, wherever you are!

Black Cat Initiative: Hearts In the Dark

2011-12-04T23:35:00.016-05:00

I'm so thrilled to announce a new series of mini prints:

Hearts In the Dark

For the past few weeks, I've been working with my friend and brilliant local artist, E.B. Goodale, to launch a black cat initiative called Hearts In the Dark. Today, we're both releasing a new series of limited edition prints, to raise awareness and funds for our favorite local animal shelters:

Hearts In the Dark: Set of Three by E.B. Goodale

View and shop mine HERE

View and shop E.B. Goodale prints HERE

Since adopting our cats from local shelters we have learned about the sad plight of the black kitty: they are statistically the most overlooked and un-adopted animal in shelters. Really? Yes.

The name "Hearts In the Dark" came from the first day I visited the shelter and walking by a cat carriers in the shelter, was stopped by one in particular. It held 3-4 adult black cats, their black fur all blurring into one liquid shape, quiet pairs eyes staring back at me, almost peacefully resigned to an understanding they would be overlooked again. 3-4 patient hearts waiting in the dark, while the spotted or striped kittens were picked and carted home...

Hearts In the Dark: III

Many factors play into this: photographs don't capture black cats very well (for online viewing), people are superstitious, folks just come to the shelter hoping for stripes and spots! I was told by shelter staff when I scooped up a purring Seri for the first time, that he "knew he would have to work twice as hard to be noticed and chosen!" Sure enough, when I returned two weeks later, his striped and spotted sisters and brother had left him last of the litter, despite his earnest little cuddles. It broke my heart and home with us he went. I have never met a MORE loving, as Emily says, "absurdly affectionate" cat.

Hearts In the Dark: I

Maybe what makes the black cat issue most tragic is the super-loving black cat temperament. Emily and I (having owned all kinds of cats) have often shared our suspicions that black cats have special magic...something spiritual, innate and inordinate affection, an empathy we can't explain but feel lucky to have in our lives. Other black cat owners discuss this too. It's like a black cat owner's secret! We want to spread the word and encourage adoption!

Hearts In the Dark: II

My series is comprised of black cat studies in pan pastels, scanned and printed on my ultra-archival museum grade paper. Our proceeds go to the great Boston area shelters: Black Cat Rescue of Boston and Pets In Need (Seri's first home as "Ace"!) They make gorgeous gift sets or stand alone prints. Each print fits nicely in a standard 5x7 frame. To help spread the word, you can "like" our little page here, where you can share your black cat stories and pictures too! :

Many thanks!

Boughs of Holly

2011-12-04T13:41:00.041-05:00

Ahhh, this is the time of year when we sing songs, cheerily muddling through their "auld" lyrics, strapping nature to the car roof and carting it back into the city, lighting candles in the dark. We got the tree yesterday, but I'd been dreaming about our old-fashioned mantle (transplanted from elsewhere in New England). So, I rushed to decorate it instead as soon as we got home! Time travel.

When you turn the keys and open the cupboards, it smells rich, musty, and years away, like old-fashioned Christmases of another age, with distant french horns, smokey fires, long skirts, ancient carols in ancient tongues, words we don't use anymore whispered over the fire crackle ... (history makes me nerd out).

Can you spot a fawn by Emily?

A feather by Kate?

A holly bough from Jackie? (Carol of the Belles orders getting ready in the background)

A jar from Jess?

Prof. Bhaer and Jo March in their umbrella moment?

My mom is the best at decorating with nature in vignettes, letting branches fall where they may, a star land somewhere, adding something tiny like a doll's chair to spy on. There are always stories to find. I feel like she was the first one to use old tools, shovels and spades, hanging rusty beauty up sometimes to the detriment of walls, playfully throwing something cut from the garden up on a shelf and not fussing too much. I always think of my mom when I deck the halls.

Still working on the dining "corner"...getting there (we have a light now!)

Wishing you light and love–*SPECIAL* announcement tomorrow!

What do they dream about?

2011-11-29T12:57:00.008-05:00

A night in with the cat and Marian McPartland :

Thank you thank you for your orders and good words, friends! Heading into Christmas with a warm heart. Could have something to do with a Seri in my lap.

20% OFF Till Midnight!

2011-11-28T10:49:00.003-05:00

Today I'm celebrating Cyber Monday with a 20% discount on everything in The Shop till the stroke of midnight! Use code CHEER20 at checkout. I've also opened a requests page for custom prints here too if you had something else in mind!

Some gift ideas? hmmm...let's see

For the crafty and stylish little sweetie you might know and love:

An autographed copy of I Had a Favorite Dress+archival print make a pretty pairing!

An autographed copy of Just Being Audrey with a print or boxed card set also make a special gift for a Hepburn fan:

("Audrey on the Silverscreen" is the bestseller)

...and there are two *new* mini prints!
Titled "Cédille Fille I, II" 5x7 mini prints (started from doodles after french class):

(P.S. There are a few of "Carol of the Belles" card sets still left!)

So have fun cruising around Cyber Monday storefronts (I had fun putting up a little digital garland :) Thanks for shopping handmade!

New Christmas Card: Carol of the Belles!

2011-11-21T10:58:00.015-05:00

I'd like to introduce you to a little "belle" who came caroling to my door (painting desk) last week. She wanted to become a Christmas card:

You can order your own 10-card set of "Carol of the Belles" for your holiday letter writing here. They are printed on beautiful white heavyweight matte card stock with a satin finish. Each card comes with a matching shimmery cream envelope. Interiors are blank. Now available for order in The Shop. I had a very small quantity printed, so snap this lady up while you can.
Keep your eyes peeled for new items in The Shop and the upcoming HOLIDAY sale discount code coming soon (but let's please have Thanksgiving first!) If you have a custom print request you can use this request form. Ohh, it's getting cozy 'round here, happiest holidays to you!

Beauty as Duty

2011-11-18T10:38:00.061-05:00

When I need rejuvenation, the museum is my magic place. It's thrilling to buy a ticket and wonder how your vision will be changed once the visit's done. I love the straw-teak smell in the rooms holding the oldest artifacts, the layered years behind glass, the quiet power of color on a wall.

(Peter Coffin, Linde Wing)

Last week, I wandered the MFA with my talented friend, Amanda (kindred spirit & accomplished painter) and wanted to share. (See her post here) If you are in Boston, this fall's exhibits are especially worth a visit! Our aim was to see the current exhibit, "Beauty as Duty" which focuses on the inventive relationship between war-time fashion (and the rationing of it during WWII) and politics (think witty propaganda scarves!)...

"Switch off that light!"

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a world of her own, who lived with her wicked stepmother who kept all her clothing coupons for herself..."

"Trot out your whatnots and save shipping!"

War planes in lace!

Then we happened upon a live show in another gallery, of a Greek women's dance troupe performing ancient steps that Theseus supposedly danced after slaying the minotaur. (My "Denos" blood was appeased.)

(El Anatsui, Black River, 2009, Linde Wing)

Wandering on from there, we found ourselves in the stunning new Linde Contemporary Wing where we made gleeful fools of ourselves with unfettered gasps of "Oooo...LOOOKKKKKK"

(Linde Wing)

(A tiny little shirt as social commentary.)

(Amanda, I can't wait to see your take on toile!)

(Linde Wing)

(Giampalo Babetto, Linde Wing: "It is better to use a form that is somehow pure.")

(I'd like to eat this.)

Finally we searched for our favorite, The Art of the Americas Wing.

There, I visited the man who was the second president of the United States, who once lived down the street from where I live today, in the town that bears his son's name (Quincy). It is said that he thought history would forget him! But we haven't, John Adams! Thanks for your letters to Abigail. I think of you whenever I drive by Peace Field.

(John Adams by Gilbert Stuart)

A sketch of a coffee pot Paul Revere's son poured:

We ended the night in two dim and delicious current exhibits:
Aphrodite and the Gods of Love, and another on rare Jewelry...

(Betsey Cushing Whitney’s American Indian tiara, worn visiting Queen Elizabeth II)

Museum trips are terrible in a way! You are tugged by two forces the entire time: absorption and creation, in almost a frenzied cycle: your eyes are feasting, your brain cogs are turning, your heart is sparking, you need to get to your desk and CREATE, but wait, look over there! On the T home, we were BURSTING with new things to paint, trying to recall them in lists for each other, gratefully dazzled by the beauty we'd seen. Museum day success.

What resets your palette?

type type type

2011-11-08T00:32:00.016-05:00

Been listening for words lately, and not just watching for pictures.
It's a different experience entirely. Words are like wild animals I feel a little unsure of when I go to tame some in the white space. Sometimes I think fellow creatures, especially cats, better understand the nature of how language chooses to inhabit its space.

Cats are very much like stories: coming to you in their own time, of their own choosing, willing to be tamed if respected, finally padding into a patch of sun to glisten at you (if you are lucky).

New York/New Art

2011-11-02T15:49:00.013-04:00

Last weekend in New York City went by in a whirl of wet snow flakes and taxi rides (pictures to come) I'm back and tidying up after a book I just finished before departing, called Letters to Leo by Amy Hest, about a little girl and her loyal pup in NYC (appropriately!) Every time I finish a project, I always pause on clean up:

It's a sweet and sad little moment. You've come to sort of live in that world while you go about your day, gotten comfortable in the neighborhood, befriended some characters and, as soon as you sort your pencils back into their cups, POOF, it's done. Like playing pretend and moping about having to clean up for dinner time...

So cheers, Leo and Annie (more on this duo soon!) Their world existed on Riverside Drive facing the Hudson, so I went there last week to see it for myself:

The Original Art

2011-10-25T14:41:00.022-04:00

Hello lads and ladies! I'm headed on a little trip to New York City...

First stop: 128 East 63rd Street this Thursday night for the opening reception of the 2011 Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators. I have two prints up: a spread from Just Being Audrey and the cover of I Had a Favorite Dress (thank you, jury!). It's always a fun & booky night if you'd like to come, details are here. The show runs through December 29th. I'm so excited for a nose-close peek at this year's exhibit. Can't wait to see fellow book makers & book lovers, hope to see you there!

Also on the itinerary despite possible drear (it looks like rainy weather will be accompanying me to the city): a long-awaited visit to Bemelman's Bar for a cocktail with Madeline, a pilgrimage to the former Maya Schaper's Cheese & Antiques building on the upper west side (for silly fangirl reasons!), Riverside Park (which I've been drawing for an upcoming book with Candlewick, but have never been to) and a little visit to Books of Wonder...rain rain stay away!

Bicycle Busy

2011-10-12T13:43:00.005-04:00

Hello hello! I've been busy drawing wobbly bicycles for a brand new book, but I will be back shortly! Hope you are doing fine.

Pop!

2011-10-05T13:18:00.008-04:00

Fall color in the studio.
A lot of cheerfulness for $2.99 at the grocery store!

Complete with shy & mysterious black cat.

Faster Than the Speed of Light

2011-09-29T10:25:00.031-04:00

It's probably silly that I was giddy as heck cranking up the radio to listen to THIS PROGRAM on my drive through town this morning. Have you heard about the recent discovery of the tiny little neutrino? The little thing that has supposedly finally broken the speed of light?

I love wondering how it (if this little neutrino does indeed topple our entire understanding of space, relativity and time) could change our world in a more imaginative direction. Time travel? Textbooks? The theoretical physicist on the program surmised that we'd have to recalibrate many things in our lives, including our GPS systems. Of course! I got goosebumps because, perhaps it isn't SO far in the future that we will need to not just know "where" we are but "when" we are?

Maybe it's because I've make my living by believing and imagining, or because as artists we are trained to imagine and extrapolate out in all possible directions, or I was raised on a hearty dose of Gene Roddenberry and mentions of string theory (thanks, Dad)... but "big picture" science, like language, and like genealogy, has always served as "caffeine" for inspiration. Whenever science rocks our world, my heart hopes and mind expands and I'm pushed again to create. OK! Back to Earth–work to do!

Brush Test

2011-09-26T13:52:00.011-04:00

A little test before settling down with my book interiors today...
Hugs and thanks to all the folks who came out to MICE and made it a busy, happy day!

Quick Newsflash

2011-09-20T14:52:00.025-04:00

I'll be vending at MICE Expo at my Alma mater this weekend!
Open edition and mini prints, picture books, and the surviving stock of Audrey greeting card sets, so get them while they last! I'll be at a table in the sea of artists, including fellow alums (Amanda Atkins, Valerie Arruda, Ellen Crenshaw, Barbara Geoghegan, Renée Kurilla, Keith MacLelland, Scott Murry, Chris O'Neill, Michael Rapa, Keith Zulawnik). I'd love to see/meet you if you happen to be exploring Boston this weekend (or traipsing around Somerville–my old town!)

Where:

Lesley University Hall
(Porter Square, Red Line)
1815 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA

When:
This Saturday, September 24th, 10-6

See you!

Almost Fall

2011-09-13T15:38:00.024-04:00

Hey ladies & gents!

Been busy with art & life, so it's been a little quiet round the blog. Also, while we weren't looking... Fall has slowly whispered in!

I get the feeling that Fall does the bulk of its work in the morning...flavors the sun with "back to school" and adds a handful of crispy leaves to sidewalks, before slipping back under the shade of the trees and forfeiting the rest of the day to Summer.

It's a fun in-between time of year when you can hear cicadas out the window, while biting into a Paula Red. Color is about to explode and sing all over the highways on our drives to and fro. Isn't it funny how we are amazed each time the seasons change over, as if it's never happened before? It's like a little spell cast on New Englanders.

Can't wait.

BBGB!

2011-09-07T18:09:00.003-04:00

These very smart little video reviews were sent to me last week from the sweet folks (Jill and Jenesse) at their BBGB bookstore in Richmond...(another reason to visit Richmond!) It was the first thing I saw in the morning Friday and I think I smiled the rest of the week through : )

Hey! I think Joe's on to something here...Tally LOVE the bangles...

Thanks girls! Glad you enjoyed :)

HUGS & THANKS for your excellent reading, smart observations, Tally, Joe, Gracie, and Lotti! ♥

Crisis In the Horn of Africa

2011-09-01T13:40:00.017-04:00

With the help of Audrey's kind friends and family over at the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, we are offering the "Audrey & the Children" print to generate profits for UNICEF 's work in the deadly Somalia Crisis. The news coverage has been quiet but the death toll numbers are LOUD (outlined here ) and most of those numbers are children.

Audrey's very last mission for UNICEF was to Somalia. When this news story stopped my heart last week, her face came clearly to mind. These children occupied Audrey's heart, mind, and time until her death. She would be there in a heartbeat.

Limited Edition "Audrey & the Children" 13x19 archival signed and dated print with all profits to UNICEF via Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. The children in the painting are dressed in the traditional garb of the various places Audrey served around the world. (Click to enlarge) :

Gratitude to Ellen, Rob, Sean and Luca and the folks at AHCF. Praying that Audrey's work can continue in Somalia ♥

LINKS:

PURCHASE "Audrey & the Children" print with profits to Somalia HERE.

DONATE to the Somalia Emergency at Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund HERE.

AUDREYHEPBURN.COM

UNICEF.ORG

Royals

2011-08-30T20:10:00.008-04:00

My recent travels through time and lineage (working on the family genealogy) has brought me so much fresh material for new characters! Last month I wandered the lives of the royals, after I traced one little line (aided by research collected by my aunt and uncle) to my 9th great grandfather, Charles II (making my 10th great grandmother, this lady and my 11th great grandmother this lady).

I've read that thousands of folks are linked to Charles II which fascinates me...we're ALL family really, and the events we've all learned about in history class are more personal than we can even imagine...

Wild!

2011-08-25T10:56:00.008-04:00

Spent the weekend in the majesty of Maine...

with this talented-bride to-be and some adventurous ladies, and one VERY uninvited lady named Irene (boo), who we met HEAD ON while we drove through to get back into the city....did you get an Irene visit too? Hope you are safe and all is well, East Coasters!!

Shoes, News, Reviews!

2011-08-22T16:43:00.025-04:00

SHOES:

Dearest Jama Rattigan has featured and reviewed Dress over on her blog. Boni and I are interviewed on our favorite wearables (mine are shoe-centric, hers are adorable!)...Click here to read.

NEWS:

Just in: I Had a Favorite Dress will be stocked at Anthropologie!

Dress has also made it into this year's Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, along with Just Being Audrey, and more art from this year's crop of picture books. Love and thanks to the jury! If you are in the NYC area this fall, take a peek, more info here.

REVIEWS:

Publisher's Weekly called Dress "Tailor-made, so to speak, for the Etsy generation of DIY enthusiasts." I really hope readers get crafty after reading this book. Reuse, resourcefulness, and reinvention! More reviews here: Thanks, PW. And thank you, Kirkus. Merci, Wall Street Journal. Et merci beaucoup, Jana!

A little break

2011-08-22T09:54:00.014-04:00

As many projects come to conclusion all at once, the studio has become a busy tumbleweed world! Even in the MOST busy times, it's important to get away, even for a little bit. Just long enough for a quick tea party last week:

(thanks to talented illustrator friend, Ellen!)

and urban seal spying:

Amanda captures his reflection, he's such a little ghost!

Seal belly!

(Thanks to illustrator lady, Amanda for the pics!)

I couldn't help but think of the "selkie" story, when one of the seals swam close and looked at us with those eerie deep brown eyes...This beautiful movie, one of my ALL time favorites, tells the selkie tale so well:

Back to work!

Real-Life-Rose

2011-08-15T09:10:00.021-04:00

Came in last night from a quick trip out of state and found a little message and a link waiting in the inbox. It made me SMILE :) ...

images via Maia and Q's blog UneEnvie

I recently met Q's artist mom, Maia over email, when she needed a custom print of my "Crime Pays" Rose Casson sketch for her daughter "Q": apparently, Q is a completely real-life Rose Casson! (I completely agree after visiting her blog) They are an enchanting pair of mother daughter creatives, check out Maia's work here & here. How sweet are Q's little pink dresses???

Big hugs and keep up the drawing, Q!! Thanks a billion ♥

Sketchlady

2011-08-10T11:09:00.011-04:00

I wish I could share some of what I'm working on now, but it's mostly under wraps! So here's a heavy-lidded lady, (named Helen), who sketched herself out in a few minutes in between jobs. I've also added her to the shop here. Wonder what her story is...

New + Old

2011-08-07T17:34:00.014-04:00

This weekend was full of NEW + OLD, with a backdrop of coastal Quincy rain (the light tapping kind) and a visit from my parents up from Connecticut. We cooked our first brunch for guests in our new house, on new china, on a new table. Thankfully, our conversation topics spanned the comfy old Denos favorites though: technology, Star Trek, poetry, recipes, family history and ghosts (the usual) and I even got a piece of my past from way down south, a copied picture (thanks, Aunt RB!):

This is my great-grandma, Pocca's mother: "Mama Roe"
(Ruth Bailey Munroe)

When I was little, I used to stare at this photo in amazement, imagining she was a movie star from the old-fashioned days. The rusty stains that happened decades ago resulted in starry confetti falling around her. It adds unintentional dreaminess that I've always loved. Her face still inspires me...

Giveaway Winner

2011-08-03T09:10:00.024-04:00

Holy cannoli! Thank you friends for the support and sweet comments! Since my old fashioned hat went missing, I picked from a colander (because it could be a hat!) at the stroke of 12:

and the winner is: Amanda Williams

(This illustrator/vintage shop lady runs her own crafty blog here) Congratulations and thank you!

And if you'd still like some little dresses, the 15% discount remains through the end of this birthday week on everything in my SHOP, with the discount code: DRESS

Much love!!

SNIP SNIP SEW SEW...

(Interior from I Had A Favorite Dress, by Boni Ashburn, published by Abrams)
(My favorite green shoes via the Artifaktori shop)

Book Birthday Giveaway+ New Print!

2011-07-30T11:11:00.043-04:00

Today is the release of I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn!

First! Let's have some cake:

Book Birthday Giveaway!

Win a copy of I Had a Favorite Dress and a print of "Little Dresses" You can enter to win by simply commenting on this blog post or on the Facebook blog post. Winner will be picked Tuesday out of a very old fashioned hat at the stroke of midnight.

NEW PRINT in The Shop:
"Little Dresses"

Available here

"Little Dresses" is a lovely archival print on velvety Arches Velin museum rag. It's an 8.5 x 11 page filled with the prettiest and tiniest dresses (and a pair of cowboy boots) from my sketchbook and the pages of I Had a Favorite Dress. Many can be spotted in the book, and of course, the favoritest dress is included too.

Birthday SALE At The Shop!
For book birthday week there is a 15% discount on all my art prints and products with the discount code: DRESS. Click here to shop.

Thank you friends for all the kind words, support and ♥!

(The book is available wherever books are sold, don't forget your indie bookstore !)

Behind the Scenes: I Had a Favorite Dress

2011-07-28T11:59:00.039-04:00

I Had a Favorite Dress hits shelves this Monday, so I thought I'd show you some studio shots and process work:

Boni Ashburn wrote a lovely story with a very fun cadence to it. Right from the get-go it made me feeling like dancing, I wanted the text to dance, and I wanted the art to dance...(I'm not gonna lie, I had a sweet summer soundtrack consisting of Animal Collective /jazz blasting, so I did a lot of dancing around). Boni's words, "SNIP SNIP, SEW SEW" helped me feel playful enough to want to cut up, collage, get messy. I thought: wouldn't it be fun to stitch the title page by hand? So I did:

It ended up a little bloody (see capital "D!") since I'm not a seamstress of any sort, but I handed it in anyhow (thanks, Photoshop). I spent my weeks in a blissful world of little dresses, buttons, city scapes, and thread...

Cover sketch on the light box:

Fall leaves to be cut out for the school scene:

Snowflakes for the winter scene:

Tree tops in the fall:

Tracing days of the week by night light:

All the little dress components, ready to be scanned:

A very SERIOUS struggle to find the right pink:

EEEE! Tiny dresses! I love my job!

Chad helped turn these thumbnails into something that made sense:

There is always that initial image you see after shutting your eyes and you've let a manuscript whisper through your mind. For this book, it was a little window on the first floor of a brownstone, with a blossoming tree nearby. As I looked in the window from the sidewalk, I watched a little girl prance to her mother in her FAVORITEST dress for an embrace. I tried my best to stay true to that glimpse for the duration of the work, and expand the world from that little window...

The characters and urban settings came right along with the story for me, right from the moment I read it. The city itself is an amalgamation of New York and Boston. My go-to painting soundtracks (supplemented by Animal Collective, and Jonsi) on this book were jazz guitar/piano albums by:

Django Reinhardt / Marian McPartland

Admiring thank yous to author Boni Ashburn, and to the excellent people at Abrams, especially Laura Mihalick in marketing, editor Maggie Lehrman, creative director+designer Chad Beckerman (for working through so many fixes and edits that our final art file came to be called "FOR CHAD_DRESS_FINAL_INFINITY")

See you again Monday for a BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Next week:

2011-07-27T12:23:00.017-04:00

Chalk aliens...

"Easy breezy" tank tops...

...and hopscotch!

I Had a Favorite Dress, by Boni Ashburn, hits stores this coming Monday, August 1 2011!

Thank you, Kirkus, for your lovely review.

A Painted CSA

2011-07-22T15:57:00.006-04:00

Friday is CSA day here at the farmer's market in Quincy, Mass. Since I'm a city girl (still have Connecticut country in my heart) it's a thrill to cart home our share of fruit and veggies, roots and greens, dirt, stowaway bugs and all. I love how the car smells like earth the whole way home! The Stillman's Farm family and friends who make it possible are heroes, bringing us nature from the heart of Massachusetts. You can subscribe to a local CSA too, find your nearest one here.

Quincy Farmer's Market

Our Stillman's shares all stacked up!

The CSA also provides endless COLOR for cooking and eating (make sure you eat your colors!) I decided to paint before I ate. Here's what my studio looked like last week...pretty messy as usual, (save a stray potato):

BLUEBS!

Radishes look like they should always be near paint palette.

Happy weekend!

Nobody Knows a Rabbit's Nose

2011-07-17T22:06:00.009-04:00

To kick off National Rabbit Week, I thought I'd introduce you to someone:

This is Cinnamon (yes, the Cinnamon Rabbit!). He was a special bunny with an old soul (if a rabbit runs through the garden to you when you call his name, it's a magical thing). He was as New England as bunnies come, straight from a farm hutch in Connecticut. We talked through a lot, nose to nose, on our tummies in the grass. A rabbit can be a refuge. And so, his namesake lives on.

This poem, worn page scanned in by my dad, read aloud best by my mom, is from The Sleepy Book written by Margaret Wise Brown, and will always sound like bed time:

Thunderstorm's Dinner Party

2011-07-13T17:05:00.010-04:00

Rumble in like a jolly friend
Yellowed and worn grey suit
In the late afternoon

Gossiping to the trees with their open-eared leaves:

" listenlistenlistenlistenlisten "

Sometimes the trees clap "bravo!" for an extra juicy piece of gossip.
Others feign offense and fling their branches back in astonishment:
"Goodness!" (But they're really having fun too).

And the lightening laughs with you, sometimes before the punchline, but you're still friends.

You've always been.
Pals.
And you both roll on.
As you move past dinner time

Into the next county
Taking your party and banter and roaring fun into the night.
Leaving yawns of rain behind gathering their things to go home.

Dress Day #3: Evening With E.B.White

2011-07-12T13:44:00.021-04:00

" Kitchen Table"

I hope you are enjoying some longggg and languid summer days. Today, I'm remembering the great literary voice, E.B. White. It was his birthday yesterday, which is funny timing for me after randomly reading Trumpet of the Swan last week after 18 years and now having begun my quest to read all things White.

"Secretary"

I recently told my friend, Emily, about how I wish I could take vacations IN his books and she directed me to his grown-up works, like this quiet essay... Anyway, aren't we overdue for a dress day? These might be good ones to wear, if you were to head over to the Boston Common to catch Louis the Trumpeter Swan at his gig, crooning for a crowd on a summery birthday evening...

"Blue Ikat"

These dresses and the rest of the book pubs next MONTH! Check out previews of I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn. Available for preorder on Indiebound.

2011-06-30T11:17:00.003-04:00

2011-06-29T19:58:00.000-04:00

Summer Reading

2011-06-27T09:45:00.015-04:00

This past Saturday was "Save Bookstores" Day, so I adventured to the distant land of Brookline and finally visited the cozy "Children's Bookshop" to find some breezy summertime treasure:

(Woah pink gingham!)

Holly Hobbie's paintings in Everything but the Horse were exactly how she described them, "an illustrated memory"...so lush and cool, like a sip of something in the shade. I hadn't read E. B. White's Trumpet of the Swan since 3rd grade. I'm rationing the delectable chapters out for summer nights and T trips. And I'm just meeting Katy Carr in What Katy Did.

When I was a kid, there was nothing so magical or hallowed as the library grounds in summer. Yum. My little wish is that someday the book covers I'm working on finally end up as summer reading: hauled on vacation, fingerprinted with jelly, sandy spine up in the grass under a tree somewhere...

Happy summer reading!

♥In memoriam: The beloved Curious George of Harvard Square; please don't forget your local bookshops this summer ♥

Summer With Alice

2011-06-20T09:09:00.006-04:00

I'm thinking it's possibly the first day of summer vacation for some lucky kids out there today! I'll have to write an ode to summer vacation (ahhh summer reading...long car trips...sun dappled FREEDOM!) but for now I'm happily spending this summery day with Alice Kathleen McKinley while I repackage her series by the prolific Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. If I had met Alice in the 80's I think we would have been friends. Do you have any extra-special summer plans?

Grand Opening!

2011-06-14T09:19:00.025-04:00

Hi friends, I'm so happy to announce The SHOP is open for business!

Click here to visit and find...

...the first greeting card set I've created for the Greeting Card Collection, "Audrey & Famous" (tied up with a bow!)

Also look for the first archival Limited Edition Print series of picture book spreads from Just Being Audrey, and Dotty, as well as the first small Open Edition Print featuring lady Audrey...

Closest to my heart is the previously unreleased and unpublished spread, "Audrey & the Children" as a Limited Edition Print with 50% of the proceeds going to The Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. This spread was not included in the book. More on "Audrey & the Children" to follow...

OH, so many new prints, character collections and greeting card sets on the way, stay tuned! ♥

After many months of hard work in the off hours, I have to thank my husband, Matt, for his untiring patience, and unending encouragement as this was definitely a team effort getting this little dream off the ground. Also thankful hugs to my artist/shopkeeper friends Anne, Sarah Jane, J.Hill and Abigail LaBranche for the support!

Paris Snapshots

2011-06-09T19:55:00.024-04:00

Window ladies, Champs-Elysées

We arrived via Aer Lingus, our lift off time dangerously close to the 6pm "Rapture"...but we made it. (Click any images to view larger)

First things first...Voilà! Des livres pour enfants...j'adore, j'adore...

I visited Les Minots, a children's bookstore in the 14th, and also stumbled on another nearby called Librairie Tropiques, where I spied my new favorite fille : JACOTTE, with her crazy carrot hair! (Illustrations by Estelle Billon-Spagnol). Also pictured above are Marie de Paris illustrated by Princesse Cam Cam and a lovely rendition of Cendrillon by Alexandra Huard.) Go lose yourself in their art blogs!

En métro! (The Boston T could learn a few tricks.)

Then we said Bonjour to Notre Dame, L'Arc, Charlemagne, Place de Concorde and every arrondissement we could manage to meet!

Matt shows off his stash of sweet french comics on his blog here.

Some drawing (and fuzzy bird spying) in the Tuileries...

Lots of "fraise" and "framboise"... My favorites french words because they taste just like they sound, listen...

A trip out to gorgeous Giverny.

Monet's water lilies.

Picnic with sweet Parisian friends Abby LaBranche (of Gloaming Designs –a blog you must visit!!) and her beau, Romain, at the Chateau Vaux Le Vicomte out in Maincy, France...buried our toes in "bouton d'or" (literally buttons of gold!) /buttercups...introduced to new species of fromage.

...and stayed till midnight to see the Chateau at night:
Paris is a new city by night. It has a glow along the Seine that is hard to capture in words or camera. You'll have to go yourself one day to see!

Merci, Merci ♥

Hot off the presses (and plane!)

2011-06-01T15:02:00.023-04:00

Issue No. 3 Trailer from Anthology Magazine on Vimeo.

Et voilà! Woosh! We're back from Paris! Moments after my jet-lagged self walked in the front door, I found this little package waiting for me: The Anthology Spring Issue is here!

I wish I had a better word besides "dreamy" to describe how it felt to illustrate a little party scene, but that's exactly how it felt! It was an extraordinary bit of luck to get to work with magazine creators Meg Mateo Ilasco and Anh-Minh Le too. And wouldn't you know, I happened to meet two of the macarons from the painting in Paris...hmmm...

(Crunch)

Issue #3 is especially SATURATED with color, gorgeous photography, insightful artist interviews, soirée ideas, and is just about bursting its spine with creative and visual inspiration for daily life. As a reader, I always get loads of new ideas from flipping through the pages. Now available at Anthropologie too! (in stores+site) :

...and pictures from Paris to come...!

À bientôt!

2011-05-21T01:10:00.009-04:00

Well, we are off to Paris.

When we land it will also be our 1 year anniversary (provided the world hasn't ended yet!) I bring with me a trusty sketchbook, french lessons on the ipod, a long long list of things to see/eat/find, and too many pairs of shoes. I hope to return bursting with new ideas, stories and pictures. Many thanks for alllllll of your glorious well-wishes, travel hints and tips. You are lovelies! I leave you with a song you will never EVER be able to get out of your head... Much love ♥

Inspiration: The Family Tree (Take 2)

2011-05-09T10:49:00.032-04:00

Norman Rockwell's Family Tree (stared at endlessly by Denos siblings)

I mentioned that language acts like "caffeine" for my creativity, so I wanted to share another source I draw from: family trees. They've always been inspiration to me...not quite sure why. Perhaps it was because growing up, we didn't have a lot television–we had grandmas with good stories. I think I'm mostly fond of family trees because I love CHARACTERS and the elements, historical/genealogical/magical, that join to create them. I love to think about lineage when I'm creating a character...

Plus, family trees are chock full of my favorite things, like...

STORIES!

I love that each of us is a perfectly particular culmination of stories that stretch way back in time. In researching my own tree last week, I found out that my husband Matt's distant relative came over on a ship from England called the "Truelove" (really!) and most folks from his mother's side were pilgrims, some settled Plymouth. We just discovered Matt's also a direct descendant of John Proctor of the Salem Witch Trials! Remember Arthur Miller's The Crucible?

As for me, my Scottish side descends from the Clan Munroe which still keeps its Foulis Castle in Scotland (dating back to the 11th century!) What was it like to live there then? What did my ancestors dream about within these walls? Can't wait to go and see one day...lots of stories here.

Foulis Castle today

AND NAMES!

I love the names in family trees too...how a name is borrowed for a time to brand our "looks" and faces, but they duck and weave in and out of family trees, sometimes into obscurity, sometimes enduring for centuries in records. We say things like "Those eyes are Anna's! That expression is so Denos, those EARS! They belong to the Smith side." I love how character BECOMES a name. Names are like little threads you can pull on to unravel time...

So , when I should be preparing for Paris, I've been using any free time to find the elusive Italian/French ancestor who gave Matt his last name (and my married name) : Cesare Perlot. He lived way up in the hills of Fai Della Paganella, in northern Trento, Italy. We cannot trace his origins or how his french name came populate northern Italy! The legend goes: two Parisian Perlot brothers in Napolean's army ventured over the Alps and winter-camped in Fai...(and I'm guessing they met some lovely Italian ladies and settled down due to the concentration of Perlots there today!) I love a mystery but I've exhausted sources, any Perlots out there with a lead? Maybe a hint waits in Paris...

Matt's grandma, Anna.

As for my name: Denos. My (also elusive) great grandfather, Andrew Denos, came over from Greece, and wouldn't tell a soul who/what/ where/when/why. All we are left with is his last name and 3 seconds his slow-motion wink to the panning cameraman in a flickering 1950's wedding reception reel ...as if he's saying, "You have a lonnnnng search ahead of you kid!" Another mystery.

CHARACTER DESIGN!

The physical inheritance passed through a family tree is maybe the neatest part to me, though these things like that are less documented in family trees than names and dates. Yet, the eyes you use, the nose you wear, maybe even the stubbornness you possess traveled across oceans, through stories and bloodlines to become you. The idea of "ancestors" makes me imagine too: they're with us in our features in a way...we are what's survived of them as we move ahead into our own personal legends. We carry this legacy in our bones every day. Isn't that kind of magic?

The way I imagine family trees: generations behind us stretching out like flickering tails (tales) of two-by-two trailing backward into the distance. Kind of like this:

LOVE!

Maybe it's the progressive, loving perspective I receive from family trees that gets me. It makes the whole planet feel smaller. Our stories have crossed oceans by ship, settled into houses, making countries and foreign languages feel like home; it makes peace feel more possible somehow. We extend our branches out, weave our stories into eachother's, light up different parts of the globe for a while, making those places loved. Family trees hint at something eternal and magic for me, something alive and progressing...they just capture my imagination. Maybe someday I'll know what to make of it, what to DO with it. A book? A painting? A crazy mural? Hm.

So where did you come from? I want to hear about your family tree! Does your name have a story?

(*Thanks to all the readers who've shared their amazing family stories with me when I initially posted this last week! Sadly, Blogger's system crashed for 5 days and the blog post, your comments and our conversation was deleted so here is Take 2–I wish there was a way to contact each of you, thank you folks!)

While I listen...

2011-05-02T15:55:00.014-04:00

...I doodle! Chances are, if we've had a phone conversation, it ended up pink and/or squiggly. Try it next time you're on the phone, or listening to the radio or talking to someone (be a discreet doodler). Watch what comes out! Then report back, because I love spying on people's doodles too (look at expert pattern doodler Amanda)...here are some of mine lately:

Mopey ladies in the shade of orange lipstick I coveted (and finally found–Barry M LP#54–yes!):

Little sentences in the pauses of noise:

Realizations:

(and c-r-a-z-y!) Earl Grey has my vote...

Dress Day #2

2011-04-28T11:32:00.008-04:00

We are indeed overdue for Dress Day #2, ladies and gents!
A little afternoon dress for a lazy day out:

"Picnic"

With accompanying tune All the Wine by some of my favorite Brooklyn-based musicians, Clare and the Reasons.

Grandma's Gold!

2011-04-25T09:41:00.009-04:00

Congratulations to Cecil Castellucci, author and just-announced gold medal winner of the 80th Annual California Book Awards in the juvenile category for Grandma's Gloves! It was a pleasure working on her heart-filled story and then finally meeting Cecil for a book signing last August. Favorite Cecil memory: her first exclamation from across the room, "OH! YAY! You're small TOO!" We had a tiny lady moment (both hovering around 5 feet) and it is funny to think about how we all imagine each other from across the internet, isn't it? Cecil is a petite whirlwind of energy, ideas and talent (she is also a playwright, vocalist, graphic novelist...)
...and check out Cecil's new Literary Diaspora project too, a little game of art and words being snail-mailed from authors, illustrators and left in the pages of unsuspecting books in book stores around the US/Canada! Maybe you will find one?

Cecil's words from Grandma's:

"She speaks to me in French, because that's what she spoke when she was little, before she grew up and met Grandpa and came to this country.

'She's forgotten it all,' Mum says sadly.

I tell Mum and the nurse that Grandma hasn't forgotten to water the plants in her room. They are big and green, and the violets are blooming..."

♥

The Shop

2011-04-20T14:37:00.003-04:00

is preparing for a spring opening! We've been busy bees (butterflies) over here. Limited and open edition giclée prints, and my first line of greeting cards will be available soon...Stay tuned!

A Dress For Spring

2011-04-07T10:35:00.006-04:00

Is it really REALLY TRULY Spring? Here in the Northeast, it's hard to let your heart be convinced lest it be quickly broken (by April snow), but I'm believing in Spring today. It's gorgeous and sunny and the perfect time to wear your favorite dress. Speaking of dresses...I heard from a bird (named Chad Beckerman) that the advances of my next book are IN:

I Had A Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn! (Fall 2011)

Deciding what THE dress of dresses would be for the little girl in this book was a dizzying task, and you can imagine how many tiny dress drawings were made (a tiny closet full). So I'm going to open up the closet for random Dress Days throughout the months leading up to the release of the book. Some dresses you will be able to spy throughout the book! I had to name them all to keep them straight so on Dress Day #1 we have:

"Lemonade Gala"

with accompanying tune: Glenn Miller's String of Pearls
More soon!

The Countdown...

2011-04-03T16:34:00.010-04:00

to PARIS next month begins! Any suggestions for children's book stores I shouldn't miss while I'm there? I'm on the hunt for french picture books. My friend Abby (over in Paris) just sent this photo in WHSmith:

Looks like Audrey beat me there! ♥

Anthology Magazine: Issue 3

2011-03-27T16:52:00.023-04:00

What have I been working on? Secrets and things...like paintings of gentlemen in tweed and ladies in high-waisted skirts for the upcoming issue of Anthology Magazine!

Cover peek above and teaser for their latest issue below:

Already an admiring subscriber, I was thrilled to have a chance to work with Anthology's founders, Editor in Chief Anh-Minh Le, and Creative Director (and author-illustrator-designer) Meg Mateo Ilasco to create the cover and interior work for Issue 3, May 2011. Their stockists include Anthropologie stores or you can subscribe via old-fashioned snail mail (my favorite).

Ah, what a good stretttchhhh for the art muscles to work in the style realm. Oxfords and heels, oh my!

Art soon...

The Making of Just Being Audrey

2011-03-18T09:31:00.006-04:00

Author Margaret Cardillo and I chatted about the making of Just Being Audrey with children's author Jama Rattigan at her cozy blog, The Alphabet Soup. Click here if you'd like to read the interview. Many thanks, hugs, and bowls of chocolate soup, Jama!

Sláinte!

2011-03-17T09:53:00.033-04:00

Since it's Saint Patrick's Day this movie will indubitably be watched tonight (per Denos family tradition, we're a proud half Scotch-Irish lot). The Quiet Man has it all: antiquated silliness, witty script, dreamy landscape, perfectly ridiculous fight scene, most dramatic embrace EVER:

Sigh...one day I'll get to Ireland. True fact: back in the olden days I used to Irish step dance–yes indeed. May have a "reel" or two left in me yet! (Then it's on to find the zeppole per Mediterranean Denos family tradition, saints preserve us)... Sláinte!

2011-03-10T10:04:00.003-05:00

J'aime la langue

2011-03-04T11:53:00.017-05:00

Bonjour, mes amis! As I've mentioned, I'm currently learning french. Class is in a creaky old house shared by a bread bakery on my favorite corner in Harvard Square (Brattle). It's been lovely.

Learning, in general, has always acted as caffeine for my art inspiration. French class is serving this purpose like a large Burdick's dark hot chocolate would (Cambridge folks, you know the powers of this beverage!) When my mind is told to stretch, art making always follows. I've been dreaming in french too–waking up with little bits like "pas du tout" "deux par deux" floating around in my head. Though I'm not any good yet (see below), I want to soak in every bit! It is decoding code, listening for jewels in sentences and stringing them together, trying to make that french "R". It is like learning to dance; falling down over and over until you muddle through on tiptoes and find your balance just one sentence long...

Mes devoirs français (starring Claude + Gerard):

Lady!

2011-02-22T13:50:00.002-05:00

Les couleurs d'une fête

2011-02-17T11:07:00.020-05:00

This time of year can sometimes be bleakest part of winter...the bitter end, the last haul ...just too grey!

Since my birthday is next week (yay, Pisces!) and we've just left the cheeriness of Valentine's, this time span has always felt a little dreamy to me. A little oasis of color. Memories of paper valentines, snail mail, crayons, pale pastel conversation hearts mingling with birthday party anticipation always follow me this time of year. In class we've been using the french word for festival/party too and I love it: "fête". Doesn't the word sound exactly like a little party hat?

So...I woke up this morning with these things bright in my mind and made:

Crayon buntings

Mmmmm...

And party dresses

Wishing you some winter color to tide you over!
*Merci beaucoup to my french teacher, Nicole, and friend Abby for checking grammar.

Voilà!

2011-02-07T20:01:00.044-05:00

...the studio!

(bird's-eye from the kitchen)

Baseboard molding and outlet plates are all that's left to do. Matt designed the walls and windows. I arranged things to keep my eyes awake and my heart warm. I can't wait to have visitors! So come in...

This sandy colored ikat print makes me feel like I'm on a safari:

A live jungle cat:

Found Brian Wildsmith's ABC's on the side of the road in Central Square:

Deadlines and starfish:

1950's French globe-turned-lamp from Bliss Farm Antiques, Rehoboth MA (thank you to lovely owner, Jackie) Also from Bliss, La Civilité (Puérile et Honnête) an antique picture book of manners for children, illustrated by M.B. De Monvel...she found these things on her yearly trips to the Paris flea markets! Lucky treasure and Christmas presents from Matt :

One of its interiors I would like to live in:

Out the window:

Things that are keeping my eyes awake:

Oops! There are some secret things hanging up...

Side ponytails, a mermaid:

Been surrounding myself in these colors the past few weeks...learning so much from their interaction, dreaming in them, playing with them: unlikely pinks, reds, crisp cherry, corals, golds, bright carrot. My mind's eye is working at full speed. Seeing new work ahead while I paint projects...Oh and this book about Maira is packed full of inspiration-cartwheels and wonder:

I'm so happy to have a place where my imagination can simmer and streeetttchhhhhhhhh out! Thanks for peeking!

Gwen

2011-01-27T18:58:00.018-05:00

Another unfortunate but typical doodle situation: Gwen decided to show up centimeters away from the drawing pad rings. Her glasses are actually drawn in "Wild Watermelon" Crayola crayon, which the scanner gets fussy about and won't reproduce. So imagine hot pink rims. I wonder what she's up to...

And...Il neige! We are getting our third monstrous mid-week snow storm here in Boston...the amount of snow is unreal and silly (still love it though). Little funny things save my sanity when I'm stuck in too long, like one of my guilty pleasures : cheesy travel DVD's (Next stop: Basque Country!)

What do you like to do when you're stuck in?

Just Being Audrey: Book Birthday Contest!

2011-01-25T08:17:00.018-05:00

"If I'm honest I have to tell you that I still read fairy tales–
and I like them best of all."
Audrey Hepburn

Today is Just Being Audrey's official book birthday, and to celebrate, we are giving away a promotional print and a copy of the book. To enter, skip over to the facebook page, and the winner will be drawn at random on Friday!

Thank you, friends, readers and bloggers, for your kind and supportive comments about Just Being Audrey along the way. It's been so neat to hear from you from all around the globe. Audrey's life has certainly touched a multitude of lives, as well as ours. Let's celebrate Audrey's life today!

Audrey, 1934, Belgium, via AudreyHepburn.com

Daffodil Delivery!

2011-01-18T14:30:00.012-05:00

Just a quick note to say my portfolio's been updated (click here) on my agent's website, if you want to procrastinate just a little longer before getting back to work. There are some new faces hiding out in the first 5 pages, so have a little look if you'd like.

Much love!

Gracie Z: Dude! My outfit is totally cute!

2011-01-10T14:26:00.015-05:00

I think my heart's about to burst! Dotty got a super review from the ever-gracious, ever-astute, ever-creative Zenz children: Gracie (age 10), Isaac (12) Elijah (5) and Lily (7). They review books with their dad, the talented illustrator, Aaron Zenz, on a blog called: Bookie Woogie. Read their review here. Then feast your eyes on a cast of their own imaginary friends:

"My biggest one is Manker. He is an imaginary friend with wheels. He's the biggest imaginary friend I have."-Elijah

The many happy residents of Lilyland.

Ensenta, Gracie's imaginary friend who USED to be a girl from Mexico who helped her drink her milk, but is now a pocket-sized fuzzball...

And just look at Isaac's sweet Dotty:

Dear Gracie: You and your imaginary friend have excellent fashion sense. Ensenta coordinates with your outfit!

Dear Isaac: You are SPOT on (sorry, no pun intended!) I did use water buffalo research for Dotty. Good detective work. I usually refer to her species now as "Bovinae-leo-dottus" if you are wondering.

Dear Elijah: Manker is very awesome fellow, how many stories tall is he? I bet he'd be good friends with Gert, maybe Hanker can be too.

Dear Lily: You are a magnificent artist! It must have been hard to get all those imaginary friends to sit still for a group portrait. If I had to pick one to hang out with for a day, it would totally be Blast (the rocket puppy).

Thank you for the artwork and kind words, Z-Kids! So happy you enjoyed Dotty! BIG hugs from Boston ♥

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T13:51:00.020-05:00

What is just as magical as the holiday season? That delicious, snow-scented, post-holiday feeling of newness, travel, possibility, creative energy bursting out in all directions. Are you feeling it?

2011 is going to be stupendous. I can feel it in my bones! In 21 days Just Being Audrey arrives on shelves...I'm putting the final touches on my new book by Boni Ashburn, I Had A Favorite Dress due out in 2011 (interior art above : Maggie Jean, The Fashion Queen) ...repackaging covers for the Alice series by Phyllis Naylor and The Casson series by Hilary KcKay for 2011...and we are working on opening my very first online boutique including collectible limited-run prints, stationery, and more!

Au revoir for now, my friends, and a creative + joyful 2011 to you ♥

Worker Bees

2010-12-30T11:26:00.009-05:00

Back from Christmas in Connecticut, on the heels of a blizzard, and right to work on the new studio. It's day three and it's really coming together! I am trying to contain my spastic glee, can't wait to make art in this new little space! Here's a peek inside:

Having a handyman helps...

And a handycat...

Joyeux Noël!

2010-12-20T21:48:00.012-05:00

Happy holidays, my friends! Fall term of French class ended last week to resume again as part deux in January. On our way out our professeur taught us to say "Joyeux Noël!"

I just want to thank you for all the little kindnesses this year: your notes, words of encouragement, emails, inspiring ideas...they mean a lot when you are making art and writing things and hitting Enter and sending it all out into the "void" (à la Kathleen Kelly) I've really enjoyed visiting with you here at The Cinnamon Rabbit. Hope you have time to relax, be with loved ones and be filled with new inspiration. See you again in 2011!

Much love+gratitude ♥

Just Being Audrey

2010-12-08T09:14:00.004-05:00

One day last week there was a knock on my door. I peeked out, grabbed the bundle waiting there and ripped it open (and danced around)...Audrey had arrived! First advanced copy:

I wake up in the mornings now with nervous excitement for the release of this title (January 25th is almost here!) I am nervous because I know my representation won't ever do justice to the life. On the other hand, I am so excited because just cannot wait to share Audrey's story, told by Margaret Cardillo. To study a life like Audrey's was life-changing. She was an inspiring soul I grew to know, respect and hold dear over months of research; a beautiful muse and almost a maternal presence while I worked. I always tell Matt that Audrey feels like my fairy-grandmother! I really miss her now that the book is done...

Photo by Philippe Halsman, 1955

Audrey told me in a dream recently that "giving is what makes the work worth it" as she wrote checks out to empty waiting hands, giddily smiling from ear to ear (dressed, of course, in a well-cut yellow pants suit and matching broad brimmed hat!) I've been trying my best to carry the feeling and message of that dream with me through the holidays, especially. Apart from her "look", Audrey's intense need to GIVE and the joy she experienced doing so was one of her most stunning characteristics. I'm looking forward to seeing her again on shelves and in hands and hopefully inspiring a new generation.

Oh! AND! we've created a Just Being Audrey book page, so come join us here:

ACHOO!

2010-11-30T20:53:00.007-05:00

Please excuse the saw dust sneezes–we are under construction. My new studio is on the way...!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T14:17:00.020-05:00

Maybe the best part of a holiday is in the preparing for it. Therein lies the COZY factor. I love to imagine floods of people right now getting ready across the country, and all at the same time, bundling up, packing cars, baking pies, burning pies, maybe getting stuck at airports, but all still somehow ending up somewhere, hopefully in a warm little place together, sharing food and stories and laughing about it all.

This how I'm preparing in Quincy, Massachusetts, just towns away from where the first ever Thanksgiving feast occurred at Plimouth in 1621!!!

Click here if you can't read my squirrely recipe card & try them out at your feast. Recipe's foolproof (I've changed it by using whole wheat flour, adding 1/4 tsp of salt to the dough, and herbs like thyme and rosemary-you can get creative) Makes 12-15 terribly tempting little biscuits.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, whatever you are doing and wherever you may be!

Meet the husband!

2010-11-20T19:20:00.020-05:00

I am really thrilled to announce the new blog, "AKAperly" by lead character artist, and my husband, Matt Perlot (known to many as Perly). I am not a video game guru, so this is how I describe what Matt does: he invents people. Have you seen this commercial?

This is Harmonix's brand new dance-based music game, "Dance Central." Matt designed and created the characters for this game, from sketch to what you see in-game: visual appearance, names, attitudes, "social hangups" as he puts it, and personal storyline. It is absolutely magical for me to see his invented people all over the place now, inviting people to play! Oblio "commences with the dance":

Matt's always been an amazing artist, with a signature style full of sharp angles and edge. What's really interesting for me as a fellow artist, is to watch him take his characters from concept sketch, to hyper-stylized/urban/iconographically flat art, to a fully rendered 3d person alive on the screen and standing (or dancing) in space, while maintaining the character's vibe and personality. I am continually inspired by his work, and its fun to share our love for character while I work on books and he works on games. We are always helping each other to push our own visual styles further too. Matt's got a good eye and you better believe I get a full crit on my art when I ask him for one or he'll brainstorm page design with me if I'm stumped. He's a good guy to have around :)

He kicks off his new blog here:
http://akaperly.blogspot.com/

Playing Pretend

2010-11-17T11:22:00.006-05:00

I realized today I reference my own childhood playtime constantly in my art...specific games and characters or feelings I'd made up with my sisters (semi-annual mud-day above!) I hold them (both pretend things and real sisters) very dear to me and consult them regularly. Can you remember those hilarious settings and characters you dreamed up? The way certain colors or sounds jumped out at you when you read a picture book, the utterly cozy way it felt to make a world of your own? While we twirled in crazy dress up, "moved out" into our own tiny houses in the corners of the living room, recorded radio shows, and played some serious Barbie games until late in the night, we were not only learning but developing a muscle that many people stop using as they grow up for various reasons.
It's a muscle I guess I'm childishly still using, and have been through adulthood with no intention of stopping. Now I make a living doing it too. It's helped me survive some dark times, encouraged me to stay enchanted, and help me focus on possibilities. I don't think I'd even be able to MAKE ART without still allowing myself to let go and "PLAY PRETEND". Imagining what could be. I'm doing it all day. Picture books are for children, ages 0-200.

There is also something transformative about how we are when we are pretending, isn't there? It levels every heart to that same ageless, joyful, simple and accepting state. Imagine the world, our relationships with more playtime. We really need to keep doing that in one mode or another, as grown ups, so we can remember how to imagine. Imagining lets us realize that we CAN shape our lives in any fashion we'd like; allows us to tackle the impossible, befriend the intangible, tap into a level of old magic that exists in the every day and push us forward. Children do it best only because they practice daily, grown ups can do it too! It's as essential as exercise.

I think there are few things more important for the human spirit at any age, than playing. So, let's! ♥

Facebook+Dresses

2010-11-09T11:29:00.010-05:00

Hello on this grey little day. So I just wanted to let everyone know about my Facebook page, because I don't think I've ever made a real post about it. I'll be using it a bit more frequently than the blog, for the day-to-day wonders and news, so if you are a Facebooker, you can join me

by clicking here!

Life continues at a fast clip. See you very soon with art from the new book coming in 2011, I Had a Favorite Dress by Boni Ashburn! Do you want to take a quick peek inside the closet of the little girl who lives in the book?...

DOTTY Giveaway!

2010-11-05T10:14:00.009-04:00

Good morning, it is wonderful, magical Friday already! And wonderful, magical Sarah Jane of Sarah Jane Studios is graciously hosting a Dotty book giveaway today!

Check out the DOTTY giveaway here. There are stickers involved :

While you are there, become inspired by her cheery blog, check out her shop, and especially her darling new line of "travel" art, called Children Around the World (see below for her latest installment). She's also working on a textile line and picture books, so keep your eye on this talented lady. Thank you for having Dotty over to visit, Sarah!

Au revoir!

2010-10-11T19:53:00.018-04:00

So I've gathered necessities (paper, chocolate, etc.) around me to hibernate and finish art for a number of book deadlines. We will be constructing (with the help of a contractor) my in-house studio at the same time too! It's gonna get wild!

There are some exciting outside-world events to pepper the worky weeks ahead. One: The Society of Illustrator's Original Art reception next week! It's a magical night bursting with original art from picture books of 2010/wine/cheese/publishing industry stuffed into two small rooms on East 63rd street. Come and see! Here's their FB event page. Grandma's Gloves made it in this year, thank you to the wonderful folks at Candlewick and the jury at the Society ;) Sidenote: my #1 NYC goal: find Madeline in Bemelman's mural at Bemelman's Bar.

Au revoir for now! I apologize in advance to the family, friends, grocers, pedestrians I come across in the meantime...I'll probably resemble a small hurricane.

Enjoy the rest of fall, soak it in!

Meet Rose Casson

2010-09-25T19:06:00.027-04:00

I'm repackaging a series with Simon and Schuster by Hilary McKay, and I'm in love. It's a brilliant jewel of a series about a quirky British family with children named after colors (Permanent Rose, Indigo, Caddy–for Cadmium–etc.) In a list of adjectives because I am at a loss for words, McKay's writing is sweet, complex, witty, poignant, and hilarious. I feel as though I've always lived in that chaotic Casson house, and I am especially blue (moved to tears!) that I've reached the end of the last book. I'm comforted to have the series of covers ahead to continue living among the Cassons for a bit.

The first cover I finished was for Forever Rose (below). The lovely title type work was done by Michael McCartney at Simon and Schuster. Michael's been one of those art director/designer combos an illustrator hopes for: stellar typographer, carefully committed to accuracy (he's definitely read his Casson!), in tune with mood of the series, and inspirational in fashioning the characters and cover compositions in a fresh way, while leaving me a lot of room to dream them up. Forever Rose's painting soundtrack was Let Your Love Grow Tall by Passion Pit. Next up: Indigo's Star!

Wild (and Permanent) Rose Casson wormed her way right into my heart. She is the youngest of the Casson children: fierce and vulnerable, passionate and real (sort of reminds me of the rose in the Little Prince, if the rose were a little girl, of course!) She has her own blog. She is also a blossoming artist, creating murals on the kitchen walls, tagging along to her artist mother's "young offenders" art class for misguided youths (where she steals her infamous "Crime Pays" tee) She holds grudges, will not wear her glasses since she prefers to see the world slightly blurred, eats paint to taste color. Rose Casson is fab. Here's a sketch I did of her on my own time (click to enlarge):

And, as if she needed to do more to win me over, she exhibits flawless taste in picture books on page 277 in "Forever Rose" (it's Lauren Child's I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato) . Here Rose describes drawing with charcoal in such a lovely way:

"My charcoal is made of willow sticks. It is a dark and silvery gray color. The sticks are so light that you cannot feel the weight of them in your hand, but they are solid too...The sound of it drawing on paper is like a rustle. Like an echo of leaves. If you look carefully at a stick of charcoal you can see where the leaves once hung; they have patterns like grains of sand, as if a minute bubble burst there and left its shell behind. It is lovely stuff to draw with. You can layer it into darkness or brush it away like a dream. You feel like you are drawing with shadows."

I urge you, reader of any age, to PLEASE go and meet the Casson family straight away! You will fall in love too.

Fall Is Here

2010-09-23T09:03:00.006-04:00

Yes! It is officially FALL! Here is a painting on wrinkly computer paper because I had to capture the feeling without any good paper around...one of those absolutely cozied-out moments, I think McPartland's cover of "A Ship Without a Sail" was on, smell of possibility was in the air, bright colors floated in my mind, left over back to school jitters shivered. I tried to capture it via a lime-yellow park, school bus, Mary Janes and composition notebook. Ohhhh there is nothing like Fall in the city!

Happy new season to you. Enjoy it where you are ♥

Put on your jacket and take a walk.
The first day of fall is here...
You can hide in a pile of leaves.
But not for long.
Someone is sure to find you!
-The Provensens

Thank You!

2010-09-22T14:44:00.008-04:00

Just a quick note to say thank you for all who bid and participated in the Eyewitness Reports auctions for 826LA. Over $5,500 was raised for the kiddies! It will be put to good use on expanding writing skills and creativity...I love this 826 Time Travel Mart video. Many thanks again!

ROUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE...

2010-09-17T18:30:00.009-04:00

Twee-dle-dee-dee

2010-09-13T22:03:00.005-04:00

The (mostly British) word "twee" has been following me around. I think I could use it in place of "cute"– yes? no? Hm. I scanned these little shoes in for the book I'm working on. I daresay things are getting rather twee over here.

Breakfast at the 7-Imp Diner

2010-09-07T07:58:00.008-04:00

The magical Jules Danielson interviewed me at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Click here if you want to read. I am so honored to be sharing the breakfast table with her! A million thanks, Jules. Surprise treat: also joining us are lovely authors, Cecil Castellucci and Erica Perl!

P.S. Breakfast regret: I have since acquired a grown-up coffee addiction so I'm bummed I ordered mint tea and didn't get to drink out of that imaginary little coffee cup (above) she always puts on each interview. Darn. I bet she makes a good brew too!

P.P.S. ULTRA SECRET: Jules revealed to me her own breakfast of choice, which I'd always wondered about. It's a "toad-in-the-hole"!

YUM!

Art Auction TODAY-September 3rd

2010-08-30T15:22:00.010-04:00

Auction Part 2 of the Eyewitness Reports project is on TODAY!

"Winning bidders receive the winning art piece along with an official police report filled out by the artist, a copy of OH NO! signed by Mac Barnett and Dan Santat, and an exclusive limited edition print." Proceeds go to fund 826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring center for children, an amazing place that fosters creativity.
So, why mayhem/destruction/robots? check out my blog post about the theme here. My painting features Dan's heroine from OH NO!, atop a taxi in a bumbly traffic jam with her cut-out homemade sign, urging her giant (unseen) frog to DESTROY said robot.

Click here to check out the auction and bid!

For Our Grandmas

2010-08-10T13:24:00.023-04:00

Ok, get ready for some goosebumps and watch this movie Cecil Castellucci made in honor of her Grandmother for today-the release of Grandma's Gloves! I love this little movie so much:

I think I should take a moment for my own grandmas too. When I got the manuscript, both of them had just recently passed, and both were very close to me. It was difficult at first, but cathartic to paint through it. I had brilliant models for my Grandma's Gloves grandma: Pocca and Nana.

Pocca:

Pocca was Scottish, an accordian player/mother of 5/saint who spoke in the softest southern accent, hugged with the strongest arms, and had a love of endless puns, JOTTO, and children. She let me name her anything I wanted which was "Mocha Pocha" for no apparent reason, so she became Pocca (pronounced "polka") to us all. She always put playtime, imagining and her strong faith before anything "real" and would defend these things fiercely. We lived downstairs for a while, and she and Pop Pop lived upstairs. She had painted toenails. She was one of those high-cheekboned southern beauties in the reel-to-reels, and her family traces their roots back to the Scottish Munroe clan with a castle. She was adept at drawing children's faces and painting cats. One of the last memories I have of her is saving a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. Above: Pocca, Pop Pop, sisters and I on our front porch.

Nana:

Gloria Denos was my red-haired grandma; an Italian, sauce-making, trend-spotting, feisty little lady with a sarcastic sharp wit and a generous and vulnerable heart. She made us a giant Christmas tree out of presents every year, and called jeans "dungarees". She loved CSI, late night TV, and was more private with her spirit and thoughts, but we later found her journals full of dreams about angels. One of eleven children. She was always our honored guest at Thanksgiving and she saved every single tiny card or drawing from every child, we found them all organized in albums after she died. She would do anything to protect what she loved. She teased, demanded kisses on the cheek, and wore slippers when she came to visit us (and it was the coziest thing ever if Nana came to visit). Her teasing nickname for me was "Shirley". Her handing writing always slanted to the left. Above: Nana and I on the back porch circa 1983.

These ladies loved me in a way that formed me and my art-making.

When I sat down with the manuscript many times, I would just watch flickers of them. I cried a lot too. Due to this emotional struggle and the invigorating stylistic challenge (you can see my growth in the concept art all the way back to 2006 below) this book was the most pivotal work for me of any assignment thus far. I remember beginning and drawing grandma after grandma on loose pieces of paper. I struggled with achieving the "perfect grandma". Concept work 2006-2008, click to enlarge:

The line I loved most of Cecil's in her description of Grandma, was "I run to her and she folds me in her fleshy arms for a big kiss." I decided to make my starting point those soft arms because I knew them well (they were Pocca's). The long string that attaches her glasses belongs to Pocca too. Grandma's spunk and short haircut is Nana's and she is most present in that kitchen scene with her chin in her hand, taking a gossipy story in.
I think a lot of the gardener element and funky clothes, especially in the sunflower scene, are my own mother. Because of her, no matter where we lived, or what our situation was, we were spoiled by her spilling wildflower gardens. She is a passionate gardener and mother. She is not a grandma yet, but she is part of that maternal love that follows you around into stories when you are illustrating things like hugs, and children. The book is dedicated to her for that reason.

I gave this book to Pop Pop (Pocca's husband and my grandfather) for his surprise 80th last weekend. I told him he'd be able to spot Pocca and the "old days" in there. So grateful to have him.

So this a post for the GRANDMAS! For Nana and Pocca and Cecil's grandmother who gave her rich stories in a toaster, and of course for all of the grandmas with us or gone ahead. And Grandmas: your grandchildren will always remember you at your best times, the time you made for us, what your hugs smell like, and how you never forgot to water your violets ♥

---"She's forgotten it all," Mama says sadly.
I tell Mama and the nurse that Grandma didn't forget to water the plants in her room.
They are big and green, and the violets are blooming---
August 10, 2010

OH NO! 826 L.A. Project/Gallery Nucleus

2010-08-02T10:47:00.013-04:00

Mind-controlled dogs+city-destroying robot+science fair gone wrong= the premise behind Dan Santat and Mac Barnett's new picture book, "Oh NO"! (Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World). The guys invited illustrators to draw their own visions of that fateful day on supplied materials and even fill out OFFICIAL police reports for a fun way to help raise funds for a great cause.

Original art and police reports will be auctioned in two phases to benefit 826 LA (an amazing non-profit writing and tutoring center) and will also be featured in a show @ Gallery Nucleus in L.A. next week. More information on the project and auction schedule here!

Check out the movie above to see previews of some of the great illustrator submissions. Here's my eyewitness report: desperate knee-socked heroine on the hood of my taxi during ROBOT MAYHEM! Auction details to come.

Congrats to Dan and Mac! The book is so much fun and the monster-flick art is glorious. Click here for some of Dan's juicy concept and interior art here at 7-Imp & watch his movie trailers at the bottom!

At work:

2010-07-27T09:04:00.006-04:00

Shh! You spied Alice McKinley on my desk! We've been hanging out a lot since I've started working on a series of covers for this classic series . It's made for some sweet summer reading–I recommend. I ♥ Alice M.

Event! Grandma's Gloves Launch Party

2010-07-15T08:58:00.005-04:00

I'm so happy to announce a book launch party celebrating the release of Grandma's Gloves! It will be on Saturday, August 14th, noon, at that close-to-my-heart indie bookstore in Harvard Square, Curious George! Grandma's Gloves author and acclaimed YA novelist, Cecil Castellucci will be here on a special visit from the west coast so be sure to come by and meet this fantastic lady (I can't wait to myself!) Please come join us for a garden-filled afternoon. We'd love to see you. There will be books to buy and read and sign, paper blossom-making and refreshment. Wear your best garden wellies, sundresses, and old lockets.

RSVP HERE!

...so if you are in the Boston area and not on a sailboat or family vacation on Saturday, August 14th, hop on the Red Line, jump on a bus, hitch a ride to Curious George! You could also steer your sailboat to the store too:

Curious George Books and Toys
1 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617.498.0062)

*If you'd like to follow my illustration updates page on Facebook, and "attend" the event and future events, feel free to click here. The event is open to the public in the "events" tab...and shhh... In my "photos" section you can spy a few sneak peek thumbs of Grandma's Gloves art...more to come very soon! Hope you're enjoying the summer.

Many many thank yous to Candlewick Press and Curious George for coordinating this event ♥

Stretch 2: Color fever!

2010-07-10T01:33:00.020-04:00

Too much has been happening on the visual front for the past month to put most of into words quite yet... Learning at high speeds from the intense relationship between color, shape, and pattern. My whole life, when I've been stuck on an art problem, sometimes I'd wake up with the visual "answer" materialized vividly for me in the last seconds of a dream before waking up. I realized I'd finally hit a little art peak after weeks of chasing pattern, when I woke up with the clear view of this (below) one morning last week:

You have to see how absolutely thrilling/frightening this is for a lifelong drawer: running to my drawing table to lay in chunks of color? sitting at my desk trying to get pattern ideas out? letting the line go? For the first time in my life I feel that visceral "need to get it out" art feeling, drawing aside. Now all I want to do is place colors together and watch them vibrate and be. I'm sure it will be informing my color palettes in my client work soon. I also think Hawaii blew my color mind a little. It's even got me contemplating going back to school for some textile design courses...?

Anyway, here are some odds and ends. I feel like I'm equally losing it as well as FINALLY finally getting to the meat of something, who knows:

P.S. I've just bought Jonsi's (from Sigur Ros) new album, Go. Painting to it is incredible!

Happy Summertime to you!

2010-06-21T10:52:00.002-04:00

Ta-da! Summer's here again! Time for thunderstorms, sandals, and peaches. Time for soaking life in through the roots.

Maui: Ana's Art

2010-06-15T14:24:00.012-04:00

On our last day of Maui, we met Ana Faiva, an artist in downtown Lahaina. She had a breezy roadside tent set up to sell her work. We almost walked right by, but she welcomed us in warmly (despite our wary Bostonian ways) and told us stories of her art. I was entranced : she uses kukui nuts to make the dye on her tapa (bark cloth), and red dirt for the middle value, the way the women in her family had done for generations.
After talking to her about our honeymoon, she turned around and began to make an original tapa for us right there! She even paused as if thinking over her work for a second, until she said "Aren't you going to take my picture!?" Of course!
She found out I was an artist and gave me a big hug. She was very careful to date and sign everything and tell us the value of each piece...It was beautiful work. Ana was one of those souls you'll always remember, very full of stories, warm and in love with life. After her hugs and little gifts she'd given us and the tapas we bought from her, we smiled all the way back to the car. She wanted us to take this picture to remember:
I can't get the "leis" as she called them, the vertical vine motif, out of my mind. So here is a painting I made : a girl, reading with a (cinnamon) rabbit on her head, in the middle of a little tapas jungle. "Leer" means "to read" in Spanish.

Mahalo, Ana ♥

Stretch 1: Lady Line

2010-06-11T17:23:00.019-04:00

Sometimes, RIGHT in the middle of drawing a piece of art for a job, and I'm plugged into some good music, I see something completely different and unrelated that I need to draw before it disappears. That's when art making is so so crazy. You feel vulnerable and like a "channel". Ideas are freely flowing through you without much input from your brain. It's the best place to be, and it's the place where I learn my lessons, which eventually make their way to client work.
I want to try to start a series of blog posts called "Stretches". It's a little nerve-wracking to expose something unfinished that I am still learning from, but I think it will be a good exercise. Yikes!

It feels like a good stretch to make personal work ... stretching for something visually, and teetering on the edge of something and reaching far out. Making a new wrinkle in my art brain. Completely letting go, unhinging my mind for a second and speaking in color line and texture impulses. Letting things get weird. It's like a wild little race for a few minutes, chasing after the flash. Sometimes what you end up with is ugly but exciting. I think this gloved lady is about what line can do on its own when it is not told what it should be doing!
I want to hear from you, artists and writers and musicians...what is it like for you when you "stretch"?

Flash Flash Flash

2010-06-08T16:58:00.017-04:00

We're back! We flew home last week from the Big Island and Maui and settling back in after the most whirlwind 3 weeks ever! Matt's back to work and it's catch-up-week for me as Mrs. Perlot (woah). Catching up with art directors, the inbox, getting terribly re-acquainted with FB again, reading blogs, and letting the loads of inspiration I unpacked with our clothes and flipflops SIMMER. Mind and heart are as full as they could be! I am in the "flashbulb" stage of things, watching it all.

Flash: a "dinosaur chicken" from the Garden of Eden on the Road to Hana, Maui:

Art and pictures to come! Love from our new ohana to you! ♥

Song of Songs

2010-05-19T07:56:00.011-04:00

Matt and I are heading back to our families and childhood hometown to be married. Days are blurring into something bright and without time. Here we go!!!

Be well & See you in June!
(Photo: Rachel Hadiashar)

Set me as a seal on your heart,
As a seal on your arm;
For as stern as death is love,
relentless as the netherworld its devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away."
(Song of Songs)

Baroness

2010-04-29T14:18:00.014-04:00

Here's a quick little color vision I had to paint out before getting back to work! She came out of my chasing yellow all day and this song performed by the String Orchestra of New York City. She's named for Eleanor Parker: her well-known villainess role, her platinum blonde hair and austere little brows. The Baroness is gliding around in "Yellow Orange-15" Prismacolor taffeta, charcoal lashes, and a little peacock-ish crown. And now to stop playing and return to my assignments...! Today is so rich in color and inspiration–wishing you the same.

Chat with Chad

2010-04-21T20:37:00.004-04:00

If you'd like a little behind-the-scenes for Dotty, here's a link to my interview with Chad Beckerman, art director and designer for Dotty. It's part of his Interview Adventure Series with the artists and authors he's worked with, be sure to check them out. (Also make sure you watch the video of Werner Herzog reading Madeline! Sooooo silly)...Many thanks, CW! Happy weekend.

Dotty's here too!

2010-04-21T12:42:00.013-04:00

An advanced copy of Dotty trotted over to my mailbox yesterday morning, courtesy of the wonderful team at Abrams. Thank you to Erica Perl for such a stellar story about imaginary friendships. These two books are very different in nature and voice, and I approached them from two different visual perspectives as well. It's so freeing to work in multiple styles and realms. Dotty's cover also sports a fancy shimmer with spot glitter on the jacket. Yes, glitter! It hits stores this August!

Grandma's Gloves is here!

2010-04-05T09:35:00.018-04:00

Before we left for Easter in Connecticut, something was delivered to our door. It wasn't an Easter basket. It was a picture book! My first advance copy of Grandma's Gloves :

It will be out in stores this August. Let's have a party in a flower garden then!
Much gratitude to the excellent folks at Candlewick and to Ms. Cecil Castellucci for her beautiful story. ♥ Interior sneak peeks soon.

Time of Wonder

2010-03-25T09:01:00.007-04:00

Spring is too big to write about!

If I could capture a little moment from this past warm weekend (wasn't it a tease!?): windows yawning way open and birds fiercely declaring the season with tiny lungs, while we work in the loft and slowly turn our place into a home. The air is changing, the light is changing and my name is changing too (in a few weeks!) There is so much possibility and blooming ahead. Hearts and crocuses are opening up. I hope you are enjoying the thrill of it too.

"A little bit sad about the place you are leaving,
a little bit glad
about the place you are going.
It is a time of quiet wonder–"

-Robert McCloskey

Dresses

2010-02-25T12:33:00.005-05:00

Right now, I'm working on visual concepts for a new book, I Had A Favorite Dress, by Boni Ashburn. To get in the mood, I've been doodling dressy things on hangers...Hope you are having a swell Thursday (it's so foggy here I can't even see the little hills out my window!)