Puzzles For Sale!

Excited to find out a puzzle I designed a few months ago for Galison/Mudpuppy has hit the shelves! It's an honor to contribute to their line of puzzles and games, as their list of illustrators are many I grew up with and love dearly (Eric Carle, Maurice Sendak, etc.). It was a fun job and hope kids get a kick out of it. The puzzle can be purchased here.

Sue Storm and Her Fantastic Tree

Finally got a free day for the first time in a couple of weeks. Lots of really exciting things are starting to happen, from jumping aboard new comic projects to getting started on my fourth picture book. 2010 is going to be good, I can just feel it!... So of course, when I'm not painting for work...I'm painting for selfish reasons. Above is what I cooked up this afternoon. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday!

Fashion fades. Style is eternal.

Upon digging around for some reference and clothing patterns, I started to stumble upon lots of wonderful old fashion advertisements, photos and illustrations. Being a clothing and cosmetics junkie (especially the vintage sort), I wound up spending a little too much time on the internet on a mad treasure hunt. It really got me thinking about making some fashion illustration samples and playing around more with a loser gouache technique. Here's a few Ads/photos/illustrations that pulled me in, along with some drool/swoon worthy items I would kill to get my hands on! Above is a photo of French model/muse "Bettina", early 1950's (Dior).

Mid Century Dior ad, illustrated by the amazing Rene Gruau

1955 Dior

1954 Balenciaga gown (Gasp!)

1960's YSL (Le Gasp! The car and the dress, please. Thanks!)

1960's Chanel Ad

More gorgeous Rene Gruau, above and below

Caramel Apples...And Some Cute Owls!

Only THREE more days till Halloween!!

Aside from posting the 5 little owls painting above, I want to share the BEST caramel apple recipe I've ever come across. This past weekend, I decided to go a little insane (6 straight hours in the kitchen insane) and make a batch of cupcakes, cookies and these amazing treats:

What you'll need...

• 1 1-pound box dark brown sugar
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon robust-flavored (dark) molasses
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 12 candy apple sticks (you can find these at specialty food stores, candy making supply shops, etc...)
• 12 medium Granny Smith apples

Whipping cream

*PLUS Any kind of goodies you'd like to use to dress up your caramel apples! We used chopped walnuts, sprinkles, shredded coconut, cinnamon gummy bears and lots of crushed candies.

How to prepare...

Combine first 8 ingredients in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan (about 3 inches deep). Stir with wooden spatula or spoon over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves (no crystals are felt when caramel is rubbed between fingers), occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 15 minutes.

Attach clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium-high; cook caramel at rolling boil until thermometer registers 236°F, stirring constantly but slowly with clean wooden spatula and occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush, about 12 minutes. Pour caramel into metal bowl (do not scrape pan). Submerge thermometer bulb in caramel; cool, without stirring, to 200°F, about 20 minutes.

While caramel cools, line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil. Push 1 chopstick into stem end of each apple. Set up decorations and melted chocolates.

Holding chopstick, dip 1 apple into 200°F caramel, submerging all but very top of apple. Lift apple out, allowing excess caramel to drip back into bowl. Turn apple caramel side up and hold for several seconds to help set caramel around apple. Place coated apple on prepared foil. Repeat with remaining apples and caramel, spacing apples apart (caramel will pool on foil). If caramel becomes too thick to dip into, add 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream and briefly whisk caramel in bowl over low heat to thin.

Chill apples on sheets until caramel is partially set, about 15 minutes. Lift 1 apple from foil. Using hand, press pooled caramel around apple; return to foil. Repeat with remaining apples.

Firmly press decorations into caramel; return each apple to foil. Or dip caramel-coated apples into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off, then roll in nuts or candy. Or drizzle melted chocolate over caramel-coated apples and sprinkle with decorations.

Enjoy! xoxo

Attention Shoppers!!!

I'm excited to tell you that my online store is now open! Thanks to the very talented (and handsome) Rob, we are now in business. I've got some prints up there to start and will be posting lots more goodies in the coming weeks, including more prints, a few original comic book pages and some illustration originals both framed and unframed. I'll be sure to post more as the items go up there!

Recipe for Halloween

It's almost here! Just nine days away!!

To celebrate my favorite holiday, I'm painting up a set of Halloween illustrations. Above is the first of the lot. I've started to experiment with sea sponges for painting textures (as opposed to just straight up dry brush on everything)-it seems to take a bit longer, and LOTS of layering (esp. with cel-vinyl)-but the textures you can achieve are great. I'll have a few more posted up here in the next few days, mostly little doodles and mock up halloween cards inspired by the great vintage halloween decorations and cards I've seen over the years. Below are some old Halloween images I adore. Why don't greeting cards/decorations look like this anymore!? I say we bring them back!

October...already?!

I can't believe it's October, already! This is by far my favorite month-the weather change, autumn colors, baking autumn treats and of course, Halloween. Speaking of Halloween...I've got only a few more of the little monsters prints available (see blog post below), if you'd like em' just in time for Halloween-drop me an e-mail! Only 50 of each made, I think I've got about 5 or 6 sets left.

It's been awhile since I last blogged, it's been a crazy (but exciting) past couple of months. There's a few new projects I've got in the pipeline that will be blogged about in the near future, but for now...two new picture books up for pre order on Amazon: Maybe I'll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight: and Other Funny Bedtime Poems and Name That Dog!

I'm super excited for the release of these books and I hope you'll enjoy em'.

On the comic book front: October 14th be sure to head to your comic shop and pick up Web Of Spiderman #1! Sean McKeever and myself have a fun story in there entitled "Your New Partner, The Fabulous Frog-Man!". Hope you dig it!