Treasure

I was at my old haunt, Rodney's bookstore in Central Square, sneaking around worn wooden bookshelves when I happened upon this little treasure! The Campfire Girls was a series for girls (and boys!) published during the early 1900's. I snapped it up and hugged it and bought it and scanned it (CAREFULLY!) This particular installment, At Work, was written by "Helen Hart" (pen name of Samuel Lowe ?!) and illustrated by the classical Violet Moore Higgins.

Stories starring girls always feel special to me, having enjoyed girls series so much while growing up with sisters, and now having created art for The Sleepover Squad series. (Check out Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy and Tib). Higgins' work is ornate and her girls hint a bit at their flapper underpinnings. It's fascinating to see an antique version of our standard chapter book format with black and white interiors reaching all the way back from 1920 to my hands in 2009. It felt very magical to be at the end of that tradition. Look! The waving hankie and all!

The extra treat in used books is the inscription, library cards, or owners' names written in wobbly crayon. I love that this teacher is awarding Myron for second prize... and look at that penmanship!

One last little beauty accompanied by the caption, "We have to think of a way to make Sonia understand!" Just look at those cheeky bobbed haircuts.♥

ECO 2

Bonjour to you!

Since I've been working up the fashion portfolio in between projects, I thought I'd give you the sneakiest-peek before this one even hit my web portfolio. It's going up this week. Her concept is pretty obvious, but I wanted to approach it with enough whimsy to make it young and fresh. I think that now, more than ever, we are in a time of rapid awakening, especially regarding the consumer's conscience when it comes to environmental and social responsiblity, and fashion will need to follow in this functional and meaningful spirit. With the idea of fashion as lifestyle/character design, I created ECO 2. You can click on her to enlarge. I've got some exciting leads in the client area that I'd LOVE to reveal soon, but all remain hush hush for now....oh boo. Happy Monday! <3

ECO's soundtrack song =The Most Serene Republic's Compliance.

Birdcage Veils & Fearless Brides

The brilliant boudoir and wedding photographer Rachel Hadiashar behind Merge Weddings recently launched her Fearless Bridals project featuring the juxtaposition of her elegant bridal portraiture against daring backdrops. Subjects of her post-wedding day shoots step in to the dress one more time, as they "explore the world in a wedding dress".

I had a blissful time designing the dainty-yet-fearless bride for her header...(Also gave me an excuse to indulge in my secret obsession with birdcage veils)...read more about Rachel's concept behind the project!

Illustration World!

The bloggie's linked in "features" today on IllustrationMundo. Here's a little sketch from the portfolio update.

New Year Portfolio Makeover

Don't know about where you are, but it's a slushy wonderland outside in my neck of the woods. So if you are staying in tonight and flitting about on the internet, check out my updated portfolio if you'd like, with new work from this past year. Much of it is sample work for books to come this year! Many thank yous to the wonderful webmaster at Shannon Associates ;)

Gloria

Hope everyone had a beautiful little holiday. Best wishes for the New Year 2009!

Snowy Snake Secrets

Have you seen your first snowfall of the year yet? Ours was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and it is snowing lightly right now. First snows always feel special, don't they? Even for me, a "seasoned" New Englander. It always makes things a tiny bit enchanting (won't be saying that in March!)

I'm busy on projects over here, so I thought I'd post a sneak of the character concept painting I did of the slithery hero and spunky heroine from my new early-reader title for Scholastic (click on her to enlarge) It's top secret for now...hope you are warm and cozy and enjoying the season where you are <3

Bridal Series, Shasta

Meet Serif!

I don't think I've ever properly introduced my new coworker...


He's a 6 month old satin–black kitten with a small white star on his chest, and a keen eye for art. He crits my sketches, purrs nonstop and drinks my watercolor water when I'm not looking. He also keeps me on task. When I am honestly working, he sleeps like a baby; when I am fiddling around on the internet, he glares and meows. How DOES he know I'm on Facebook?

I named him Serif, Seri for short. He has a slightly too-long tail for the rest of him which is always curled upright, like the tiny thing on the end of a letter. I guess a "serif", in the typography sense, serves the purpose of readability –allowing letters to flow into words as you read them. I just thought they made them fancy. Serif has made my little life a lot more fancy. And he only drinks water out of glasses, not a bowl, which is much fancier.


Seri came from a local shelter, runt of the litter, but full of heart and gumption. He was the last to be taken home of his brothers and sisters (sad truth behind Emily's sad black-cat story?) Now I can't remember what this little world was like without him!



Today he was using my book dummy pages as a slip-and-slide using it as a landing strip on his crazed flight from the front door into the bedroom, screeching like a little owl. We make a good team. Most of the time he wants to cuddle and play, two things that are excellent for producing a painting. Together we are making some good art. Some sketches:









<3

Holden

I've been chasing this fashion/costume thing since I was a little girl...it is such an integral part of character designing for me. So while I work on books, in the after-hours, these "character girls" show up and I run with them. It is a treat to work this aspect into my books, when I 'm able to. I'd like to move in this direction independently and simultaneously someday soon. I'm making character sketches really while I let them dictate the tone, the costume, the era. I named her Holden. Something in her reminded me of an angsty female Holden Caulfield lost in a time of netted feather hairpieces and sailor bibs and bobs.