Any kind of chicken! Boiled, chicken fried, chicken pot, pickin' chicken!

I really don't know how this piece happened, it just kind of did. What started out as a joke idea lead to sketches and then a final. However, the colonel is really, really fun to draw! Hope you dig :)

Pig Out!

With the rain coming to a halt this past weekend, I was able to actually get a large painting done! Here's a the piece I finished up on Sunday. Been kind of obsessing over the idea of parties lately. The kind of parties you have as a kid, complete with all the little details-decorations, games, colorful treats. I think a halloween party painting is in order next! Below are a few little sketches and color doodles made before diving into this larger gouache piece.

In other happenings:

I was lucky enough to be asked to answer a few questions for an interview with Forces of Geek! You can check it out here. Out tomorrow is a 1o page story written by Tom Peyer and illustrated by moi, for Spider-Man Family #8! Be sure to pick it up, I'm so excited to be part of the issue.

Rob and myself will be cruising over to the San Diego Comic Con next month, really looking forward to see all of our friends and artist family (and picking up a few new books ;)). In September, we head over to Spain! There will be an exhibition in Palma, Majorca showcasing my Grandfather's artwork. We're thrilled to be able to attend the opening and I will be posting more info about the exhibition soon.

Where there is a sea there are pirates!

In our apartment we have lots of books. I don't mean 40 or 50 books, more like 700+, big ol' art books. We're book junkies. Both old and new, in pristine condition and falling apart at the bindings. But there are those select books we have that we hold close our hearts, the ones we've had since we were kids. They're priceless to us.


For me, one of these includes the Giant Golden Book, "Pirates, Ships and Sailors", By Kathryn and Byron Jackson, Illustrated by Gustaf Teneggren (above is my personal copy ;) ). This book had such a huge impact on me as a kid-just looking through the pages makes me think of when and where I read those stories. I grew up within walking distance of the docks and beaches-which seemed to make the stories and pictures more "realistic" in a way. We even had a "Pirates Cove" in our town, and of course, there was a little story in this book with the same name. It sounds silly now, but back then it felt so personal and close.

This book had a home at my grandparents house and had been forgotten for years. When I started painting and started to establish a style, I immediately thought "Where the heck is that book with the whale on the cover?!". I asked my Grandma, but she didn't remember it or where it might be. I thought it was gone forever. Sure there were new reprints (with a different cover I might add!), but it wasn't the same. Years later when my Grandma was moving, she called me to tell me she'd found it. I was ecstatic.

Lately the feeling of nostalgia has been visiting quite often. I feel like I have to dig deeper for ideas in order to grow and really let them come from my heart-as opposed to just "banging out" images, pages and illustrations to keep myself afloat. Image making can be such a powerful tool, especially in picture books. Above is my little tribute to my precious Giant Golden book and all my favorite salty stories that continue to inspire me. I hope you enjoy! xo

"I never try anything. I just do it." -Tura Satana

Haven't blogged since March-what a bum! But in turn, I've been working like crazy, trying to pump out as much new work as possible. A few exciting things are in the go the past few months: Finished illustrating my second picture book, "Name that Dog", written by Peggy Archer! Really excited for the release of this book-it was an absolute blast to illustrate! Other fun projects completed include a couple of puzzles for Mudpuppy, some spots (yay, my first Highlights illustration job, loved that mag when I was a kid!) and a really fun lil' Spidey story for Marvel.

Now that I've had a chance to catch my breath, and with 3 more books in the go for the next year-I'm trying to pump out a bunch of new pieces for some art prints. These will be up for grabs on my website-which is bring updated and polished by my talented hubby, Rob. I'll be sure to post when it's all up and running this week. In the meantime, above is a new sample I worked up this past week (in honor of one of my favorite flicks of all time)-enjoy! xo

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls Night Out!

FINALLY got to finish this piece tonight! I started it last week and it was driving me crazy not being able to work on it. My love affair with cel-vinyl paints is growing...man, I love this stuff! Working with it on big pieces is so much quicker then gouache-and like I've said previously, it lays solid and smooth. This measures 9"x12", something I definitely wouldn't be able to do with gouache for the amount of background color used. And to fix a mistake with this stuff is cake- making a fix with gouache, for-get-it! Might add more ghosties in the background in the future...I'm still mulling it over. Ok, back to work!!