I forgot...

check out this cute littl' Easter wind-up toy my mom got me.

Chevelle and children's books...

I don't know why but I find that listening to Chevelle while I paint helps me keep pace with things... if I paint sometimes I find myself sitting there spacing out.... heh...
Right now I am in the middle of trying to get through a couple pages that sort of look similar which will leave me with a couple more complicated pages... sometimes grouping these together helps me feel like I am closer to being done! HAHA... ah, I love to trick myself.
And then of course, once I am done, I think... "now what? I wanna do more!"

I think maybe there's a bit of a sicko in all of us, isn't there?

This band makes me think of .. weird imagery and gets the creative juices flowing though. I think that the anger and frustration and sense of urgency in the music makes me sort of dive into painting. Even though I prefer to paint happy images... :)

Sometimes I forget how much I love music... how much I love painting. It's weird... I had a long span of time where I could not stand listening to anything while I worked. I also had a long span of time where I would play a movie in the background on repeat... (my two favorites to play were the Burbs and Father of the Bride). I would still do that except that I am sharing space in my sister's room at the moment and can only access her computer once in a while and both of those movies are VHS... (hehe, that's right! good ol' VHS!!!)

Anyway, love Chevelle... miss the ol' punk days and all the crazy teen angsty feelings... aw... how cute.

Which reminds me of Keegan (like everything does)... as soon as he could walk he would make a little one-man/baby mosh pit in our living room while he listened to Cursive... now what is more cute than that? Did I tell you he can do nun chaku ("nunchucks") now?

Ok, enough procrastinating... must go paint.

So I have a plan in the works to get my fiance and my stuff down from Portland toward the end of April! that's exciting for me... I miss him a lot.

meanwhile... I of course, need to try and really kick some butt on these illustrations and finish up one of the books!! Yikes!

I listened to Beck's Seachange at work today and remembered one of the first dates that Josh and I went on... back when we lived in Long Beach... it was one of the times I remember that I knew he was the one for me... we were sharing his I-pod, sitting on the metro on our way up to LA to window shop. Well, that was the first time I heard Seachange. Funny, that an album based on someone's heartache made me feel totally at peace with the world... I felt like the person next to me and the music and the scenery passing by in the window were like those moments when everything feels pretty darn good. That was a good day :)

I drew this little sketch a while ago... but forgot to post it. I was watching the Mummy one of the days that I was still feeling pretty ill and trying to sort of get back into the swing of feeling normal and drawing... but I always liked the costume in that movie- as cheesey as it was and possibly, totally inaccurate??? I don't know??? I really love the Mummy movies. ;) Anyway, I also think about one of my favorite novels The Hero and the Crown
(or) The Blue Sword (both written by the ever-wonderful Robin McKinley)... but I imagine a little baby girl princess of ancient Damaar and sort of drew this with those stories in mind as well.

I know that there are people who are sort of ... drawn toward the desert and those that are drawn to the ocean... etc etc... I guess that's how I feel about Japan. I will have to see when I visit again if it is as strong of a feeling as I remember. Does that happen to everyone? I've often wondered...whether "home" is something that you find in another person or in a place or in yourself?? Or maybe it's all those things... I know that I feel at home in different ways with different people and different places. I suppose I'm lucky. I guess it might be for all the places and people I always feel so out-of-place.... :P

Anyone else jealous of all the rad children's clothing at Target right now? I sometimes peruse through there to get ideas for what to draw on my characters and also because I have nephews and nieces... My mom dragged out a box full of old dresses we wore when we were little girls- all hand sewn by my cousin!! She is SUPER talented and when I finally get a camera or am near a camera, I promise to photograph them all before she gives them to my nieces... these were ... the kind of thing you find and just oooh and aaaahhh over the detail and the pattern and the pleates and the buttons ... it's very, very, very hard to not want to keep them all so I can just pull them out and hug them every so often.... but they deserve to have them. :)

(to think I hated wearing dresses when I was a pre-teen/teenager... now all I want are boots and dresses... wish I had more).

Anyway!!!
enough about me...
hope you are all doing fantastic!

Penguin & Fish

I saw this the other day...
apparently I was featured on this blog!

:)

Click on the title of this post for the link!!

Thank you!!!

I just scanned and pieced together a PDF of some revised pages as well as some ideas for a book jacket... but I also managed to scan a very simple painting I did while waiting to use the computer... I hadn't painted anything of my own in so long I thought, what the hey?
Although I really don't have the time...

Here is my moment of guilt...


I will also post a couple of things that show I have been working a lot, too!

:)



Anyway, I am tired!!!! It feels like a good tired, though... like the kind you get after you work out.
And now... I will go to sleep!

Fascination

So today was "80s" themed day at ASW (http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/) and my twin and I decided to participate... she dressed as Robert Smith and I dressed as Siouxie. We will have to take a picture and post one later... unless they have one up on the ASW Facebook page (??? Mark our general manager did take one).

Meanwhile, I got a lot of stares from customers as almost NO ONE on the floor dressed up.... bummer. My old co-worker, Jason, in Oregon would have been sad, too... he was the only Office manager that would get into the Halloween costumes (well, him and Sasha :* ) Anyway, I eventually had to get out of the two belts, bracelet, and crazy eye make-up...

But I pulled a bunch of stuff from the top stock (backstock) which involves a ladder three times my size and heavy boxes heaved down by twiggy girl... needless to say my back hurts and now I am wondering how our bodies work!!

I was talking it over and all of us were pretty amazed at how our bodies function and are held together and the crazy design of it all... thus the title of this post: fascination... and maybe a little ode to the Cure's Fascination Street ;) for the 80s theme!

ok, look at this pug:

Feeling a bit prickly? Feeling a bit snuggly? Can't decide?

I am listening to the fan in the window pumping out hot air and sucking in cool air... and remembering a funny realization that I made when I came back to California.
The sky is different by the ocean. It may sound strange, but I never realized this until I came back after a year in beautiful Oregon and looked up... to see something so wide and wonderful in the sky I had been staring at since I was a baby. It is totally different... you can almost TELL that a few miles and boom! there has to be an ocean in that direction!

Anyway, the heat also reminded me how HOT it is here... yikes! I don't deal too well in heat. I also don't really like showing skin (??? maybe it's related to the shyness) so this makes it worse. HAHA. I used to walk around in white undershirt/tank-tops and "shants" (like pirate pants) when I was 17 and didn't care if a shoulder strap or two was hanging out... now... not at all. Why? I don't know.

So today was St. Patrick's Day! Keegan has tacked to the kitchen pantry door a 12" Leprechaun which he colored-- the head is held to the body by a tack so it can move... and he said:
"Mai, Mai, you know, today, when we were in uh, class, Mrs.T said... for us to uh, pick up our papers, and there under it was a gold coin!!"
"WOW! Can I see it?"
"Yea, it's right there. It's because it's St. Patrick Day. And I got pinched."
"Why? You were wearing green?"
"Yea but they had these other shirts so I changed to that and I got pinched."
Anyway, I saw The Gold Coin and it is very shiny. I'm very jealous... I wish my money was that shiny. Well, at least my ATM card is gold. Oooh fancy...
So I'm sure all the people up in the Northwest are enjoying their green beer!
Well, back to work. This coming weekend will be more painting and storyboard revisions!

a crazy post with lots of pictures!

Painting away on my book... I finally received notes back on the other manuscript and have some small re-working to do on the storyboards before I can start painting that one. Phew. It's a crazy world we live in!I am sure every illustrator is familiar with the crazy juggling act we must do with our personal life vs. our careers... Having a day job as well makes it hard too! But I won't complain too much about that...
I am wanting to post more of these paintings, but I also don't want to show too much yet!Here is a snippet of one of the pages... sketch-phase... just to give a little more to look at.... it's funny how different every character I have worked on has been so far... I wonder what it would be like if little did we know, but they were all in the same class!! Could they all be friends? Hmm, some are a little more out-going than others... some a little more girly than others ;) but for the most part, I think they could?
I keep trying to tell myself that all of this will pay off... I tend to trust the world to send me where I need to go, although I know you have to do your part to get there, too... Isn't life nerve-wracking and wonderful at the same time? Wouldn't it be nice if I made any sense and my thoughts actually connected?
Anyway, it's getting warmer and warmer! I also know that last night around 4 am there was an earthquake that woke up many of my co-workers last night. The odd thing is that I was awake and felt nothing? I keep waking up around this time (as I have tweeted) and can't seem to fall back sleep until around 5 am.... so these past few mornings, I have been a zombie!

I keep fantasizing about Japan... I should post a picture of Japan so we can all be jealous of my twin who was able to visit a few years ago with my bestest buddy, Christine...Here is a picture of my two cousins (my mom's sister's girls) and their children. In the middle with a hat and green shirt is my twin, Mei, next to her is my mom, next to her (the only caucasian) is my best friend Chris. (from the left: Kaori, Chieko, Satoka, Mei, Shinji, Mom/Keiko, Yuuki, Chris, Shintaro)This is a typical scene from the train in Shizuoka/Mieken (near my aunt's home)-- pretty rural but beautiful!! Rice fields- whoohoo!
Here is the street leading up to my aunt's house (the gray brick wall is just in front of her home on the right there).This would be the view leaving...

And this would be the view toward sundown...

Anyway I miss it quite a bit... it's very beautiful there.

Just felt like sharing those pics.
Meanwhile, this is what me, Mei, and Chris normally do to make up for not being there:

Up late

I just scanned and emailed a couple paintings to my publisher to be used in some meetings... but I thought I should post the painted version of the sketch I posted earlier.
Its been a crazy night.

We also started our Annual Arty Gras Sale at Art Supply Warehouse (Westminster, CA) so I am recovering from Friday's mayhem. You can click on the title of this post to see the website. I work here during the weekdays. Oh and one of my fellow CSULB graduates is doing a watercolor demo tomorrow (Sunday) too!! Click on his link: Sketchboy (or Chris Kawagiwa) which you can find down on the right side of my blog.
Anyway, I ran around like CRAZY during the sale on Friday and am very sore... I hardly ever nap and I passed out earlier this afternoon before painting and scanning a bunch of paintings. Tomorrow should be more of the same.

I think the computer stuff takes the longest and is the most aggravating for me...

Although I would love to write more and more and more interesting silly tidbits, I am TOO tired...

Hope you like it so far... not much and there is certainly more to show, but I think I will have to wait for another time.

For some reason tonight I think of the last line in Anne of Green Gables... which I think goes something like "God is in his Heaven. All is right with the world."

I am glad to be going to bed now! :)

This is Rad

Thank you Josh for this Video!!
(If it doesn't work, you can click on the title of this blog to view the music video).

Some Character Images

Well I got the ok to paint and also to post some work-in-progress images from my publisher, Downtown Bookworks, Inc. I decided to crop some scenes from the book that I recently did the storyboards for that show a bit of this little girl's personality-- she's the tomboyish looking girl.
I ended up doing a couple revisions for this story but I think that it should end up being something I can be proud of... I really like this little girl's character... I was a tomboy growing up and didn't feel really girly until I was much older-- and even now I don't think I'm super girly either.
I remember when I was younger wishing I had grown up as a boy or a cat. The cat because I knew that if I were a cat I wouldn't have to go to school. Well, I say I was a tomboy, but I wasn't really a "jock" either... more like a girl that dressed like a boy and read and drew a lot of comics... I think I was just a bit shy... although I haven't really grown out of that much. For example, my now best friend, told me when she first saw me/met me thought I was scary. It's hard to imagine when you're the person... but it took a while for the wall of defense to come down... I think the fact that my twin and I literally stayed indoors and drew for about 16 years straight (at least whenever we could we were drawing... we'd roll up from bed, draw, and then sleep) kind of didn't help the whole shyness factor... HAH. Although I shouldn't paint such a negative picture of myself... :P
Well, I guess I'll go back to work and listening to Paramore and maybe some more J-rock... (I'm seriously obsessed with Japanese J-rockers... I think it stems from being a huge The Cure fan and Robert Smith). I guess your interests in art don't dictate the type of music you like... I used to be afraid to post anything remotely personal on these blogs until I realized that illustrators- even those that do kids books- are adults and probably like things that aren't all G-rated.... funny, huh? So I figured why not let some of myself show?
:)

Well... I sure hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day!
Cheers!


PS:Anyway, I hope you like the drawings. I can't wait to show more-- especially paintings!

Coffee Talks To Me

I don't really have any images to post as of yet... but I finally sent my second storyboards to my publisher for review..... crossing fingers that she likes them!

If she does, I might have to cut and paste a small portion to post here as a sneak preview!

Anyway, I've been waking up with headaches.... which could account for the fact that I've been sleeping in a toddler's bed for a month now (there is no room here), have old glasses that were bent somehow (don't ask), and have a few cavaties (I have to wait until April for benefits to kick in again)... not to mention stress.... har har. And yet, I am not daunted! I still feel like kicking some a$$ and taking some names- as my Dad likes to tell me to do whenever he can.

Meanwhile, I miss Josh like mad... and hope to see him soon but have to wait for a flood of money that should really be going toward my insane amount of credit card debt. Is this post too personal? :D Well, just pretend it's the coffee talking.

I am excited everytime I have a moment to scroll through and look at all the blogs though... It's nice to see all the art and stories that people tell... loving the new look of The Cinnamon Rabbit (Julia Denos), Josh's t-shirt designs (Josh Kemble Illustrations), and Eric Orchard's drawings.... :) All linked here... and of course, there are plenty more interesting posts and blogs of the like. I really wish that Amy June Bates had a blog I could follow as well, for I am a huge fan and would love to see more of her "work in progress" stages of art... If they ever released an "art of Amy Bates" I would have to buy it.

I am currently at my day job wanting to keep writing and reading, but I must work!

:)

To all who read this, thank you and I will try to put something more productive up soon!

Cheers!

Preliminary Works and a Migraine from "You know where"

Here is snippet of some preliminary character sketches I have done for one of the books I am working on... I approached this story differently from ones I have done in the past... mainly that I have taken a bit more time on the sketches and the storyboards. I am pretty happy with it so far.
The other story is still not fleshed out enough for me to really show much...
I do have a cover image but I can't really show that yet....

However, I did want to post something since it's been so long.
I just haven't done much personal work to show since I have been busy.

Today was a strange day though. I woke up with a splitting headache that just never went away until about ten minutes ago (it is now 9:52 pm).... with the help of Excedrin Migraine medicine that my friend happened to have on her. So finally relief! Although I am so exhausted I may have to crash early. This weekend should be interesting working on storyboards for the second book and then maybe I can get some time in for new painting. I feel like I haven't painted in ages!

Josh has been posting t-shirt design after t-shirt design on his website and they are really interesting. I like his last one... click on the link to his website (it's under his NEWS section) if you like... :)

I feel like there is tons to write about but I'm just too tired to get into it all...
Waiting for a weekend... and my paycheck.

Tax time will be interesting...

But hey! Spring will be here soon... I read a good book called The Shadow Thieves (Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy) by Anne Ursu - it's the first of a series... but it was very charming.
OK, I'm starting to ramble now...
I do hope everyone else is doing well and I hope that this blog doesn't become totally boring with nothing to show!! Gotta keep it together! :)
Wish me luck!

On Hiatus...

I realize I haven't posted in quite a while... but I became extremely ill toward the end of November, beginning of December and actually am now in California with family recovering. However, during this time, I managed to get my storyboards fleshed out to send to Charlesbridge and also land another contract with Downtown Bookworks, Inc. for another picture book. Unfortunately, my budget is not quite yet at a point where I could give up my day job, so I had to turn down another possible project with Greenleaf Book Company... a real pity. I was pretty heartbroken... I hope that I am able to work with them in the future though. Word of advice: do not use credit cards if you can go without.... When I was younger I managed to rake up a LOT of debt and now struggle with bills. But enough of that! Who wants to know?
Anyway!
More interesting stuff... I am enjoying my new projects though and recovering... so that is good!
The holiday passed and now it's a New Year!! I wish you all the best... and thank you so very much for reading my blog.
I hope to post images soon but I am not sure yet how much I am allowed to show here... ;)

A Nice Weekend

Well, this weekend was fantastic!

After plotting out my painting, I went with Josh to spend a work-day with David Chelsea at his home. What a lovely time! David Chelsea has wonderful taste in music and a lovely home... :) His wife Eve is sweet, too! I managed to paint my painting there and also spend some time with some very talented people... it was a blast!

I also managed to get a lot done today (more personal things, like laundry and grocery shopping) but it's always nice when Monday comes along and you know you accomplished a lot over the weekend. I'm sure when I am able to take on freelancing or children's books more fulltime, there may not really be a "weekend" per say, but I still enjoy the feeling of it.

In any case, I hope you all like the painting... It's not perfect, but it was fun to do... and I like these two characters quite a bit. Maybe someday I can get something written for them... who knows! :)

A Painting in Progress...

Well, I was doodling along this night and couldn't shake how much I enjoyed sketching that bear from my previous post... so I made up this girl and recently read a little from Winnie-the-Pooh and missed that kind of relationship Pooh had with Christopher... from there I started thinking of Toot & Puddle... I wanted to draw something with a child/young adult who has a special friendship. I imagined this little girl, much like Eloise, with too much money, who be-friends this bear that maybe never went to Paris... and so Charlotte should take Rue there and go shopping... and maybe have some adventures?

Anyway, that's where I am so far...

I am posting the sketches that inspired me and then the drawing so far on the watercolor paper... there's a lot of work still to do!

But ... I am happy to do it!

A happy reminder...

I have been sketching over the past couple days some character roughs for a new manuscript... and also just sketches for fun...

I was going to post some life drawing sketches that I did one night when Josh and I went to Starbucks to draw people, but I think I may do that at a later date.

I have also been battling a major slump so I'm happy that I was able to get some fun sketches in that I really enjoyed drawing.

It's always so relieving when you find your "art hand" back in play and I just remember how there is nothing quite like drawing for fun. I am hoping to have a special spark fly so I can make some time to do a last personal painting before I get too busy with this book.

Speaking of the book I am working on, I so far have only just signed and returned the contract, as well as read and studied the manuscript... Ususally I'll have a pretty strong first impression and idea of how I want the illustrations to look, but this time, I feel open to a bit of experimentation and therefore, I don't have one set idea yet... but too many!

In any case, it will get reeled in until I feel something is right... :)

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the sketches... :)

Happy drawing!

Interesting!

Well, I read Chad Beckerman's interview he posted and am impressed... Nice view on how to approach your illustration career... it's true... maybe we need to drop the "dream" and make it a "job"!!! :P
Silly artists! ;)
No, but seriously, I think sometimes that's a big crutch for people- even those that hire illustrators that don't have experience dealing with artists. I think that's why Josh has to deal with so many clients not intentionally treating him like he ought to do his work for free because it involves art. If everyone adopted and accepted the fact that illustration is WORK then maybe we'd have less problems (ie spec work and the like).
Anyway, I just love when art directors share their views and thoughts... give a little insight to their responsibilities as well. It always helps! Even though there are the a lot of the same messages, there's ALWAYS a little bit of the person in there and it ALWAYS helps to hear what they think and feel... For instance, he talked a bit of how he feels illustrators trying to break into the field ought to really see doing this like an athlete-- you have to work out everyday (as in draw everyday)! Approach it like your life depends upon it.

Please click on the link to Mishaps and Adventures and read the interview if you are an aspiring illustrator, or someone that maybe needs a little motivation. :)
I was delighted to read it!
I should have sketches posted soon!

Moleskine®'s make good sketchbooks

Well, a number of years ago, I picked up a Moleskine® brand journal and ever since then, can't seem to get over how awesome these little things are... so needless to say, I have been happy to see them all over the place at Powell's Books. I have picked up a three pack of some blank journals to use as a sketchbook and keep track of my submissions.

Here are some sketches I did...

I am also happy that in my one month with the July Group, they have announced interest from Charlesbridge! I should be receiving my fourth contract in the mail sometime soon! The manuscript is lovely... very playful character and challenging! I haven't quite figured her out yet...I just know that I love her and can't wait to get to know her better!!

For those of you wondering what the heck I mean... well, I already posted about how I get attached to the little characters in my paintings... so... can't help but feel like somewhere they have little minds and even though the story closes on a part, they continue to live! Am I crazy? Probably. A cheeseball? Definitely!

Anyway, I am happy!!

I also sent those submissions and meanwhile, have a number of postcards that will be arriving soon as well... I'll send those out once I get them... thanks for all the advice on the images for the cards!! I truly appreciate feedback!

:)

Halloween is coming soon... I would like to be Eloise for Halloween... but I think no one would know who I am and her little school girl outfit might not ... well, it may not read the way I'd want it to... heh... so I think I'll have to think of something else... My twin loves costumes, and owns a couple of her own, as well as makes some, but alas, I have... I think one old Red Riding Hood get-up somewhere in my closet that I wore one year for Halloween??

Am I too old for this???

Don't answer that....

PS: I got an e-mail from the website childrenillustrators site and wondered for those of you that are on this site, do you feel it helps? I know that if you can afford it, why not? More chances for people to see your art... but if you are on a tight budget, it's not always such an easy decision to make.

Any opinions? :)

Submissions...

Geez, finally got my submission packets put together (for the most part) but I got distracted into trying to create a back image for promo postcards I've been thinking of ordering... I posted the image I wanted to use for the front already but here is what I painted today for the back...(keep in mind I left room for address, etc.)

I like it... but I am always nervous to spend any kind of money... even when it's for the right thing!!! :<

Anyway, I wish my twin, Mei, were on I-chat so I could ask her what she thinks, but she's helping my friend pack and move. Of course, this is in California, or I, being the crazy person that I am, would've driven all the way from HB to Irvine to show them the painting and ask them... WHAT SHOULD I DO???

(I know what I should do, by the way, I just need her to say it!)

I have progressively become more open about how neurotic I really am.... tee hee.

Darn CWIM, why did you have to have a blurb about promotional postcards? Right after I decided on how I wanted to organize a clean little submission packet??!

I don't want to be the person that plans and plans and never does!!

OK, I'll sleep on it. :)

Helpful Blogs

I wanted to post here that both Fox In Socks (Paige Keiser) and Kwan Kwest (Wilson Williams) have recently posted blogs with helpful tidbits on children's book publishing...
Don't forget Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, too!! Tons of interviews!
I have links to the right of my blog... very cool! :)
So check those out if you are interested.

And as always, the Big Illustration Party Time podcast has great insights into freelancing/cartooning... their newest interviewee was Asaf Hanuka!!! Big Time Illustrator... he's awesome. :) Click on the title of this post for a link to his website, and if you like what you see, go to I-Tunes and download the episode! (there's also a link to BIPT on the right side of my blog).

Cheers!

A Happy Find amid a Hellish Week

Well, this has been a hectic past week.

My twin flew in from CA on Saturday morning, which was great. We geeked out together and frequented the asian supermarket here in Beaverton, OR- Uwajimaya together, which was fun. I also showed her a couple nice parks, as well as downtown Portland- the Pearl District.

However, come Monday morning, I had four wisdom teeth extracted and was thereby totally incapacitated for about three days! I am kind of a weakling, I hate to admit, especially with pills or medication, and whatever they prescribed me for pain brought forth series of anxiety attacks mixed with complete stupidity... it was horrible. My poor sister ended up watching over me for two of the days that she was down... I was told by countless people how having your wisdom teeth isn't "that bad" and that "a day or so" and you'll be quite yourself. I should've realized that I am not like the average person and being as I said, a weakling, should've added two more days because of that fact. Needless to say, I was unable to function and therefore, have not much to report of show... :(

However, I DO want to show off a great find I made while we were at Uwajimaya- a Moomin decorated candy tin!! I will cherish this forever as I am a big fan of Moomin. :)

If you don't know what or who this little hippo adventurer is you should immediately find out!!!

Written and drawn by Tove Jansson, in the 1940s to 1950s, Drawn & Quarterly released a complete Moomin comics book that I bought a year ago at a convention... I have fallen in love with it... I wish I had known about it sooner!!

Anyway, so enjoy the cute little tin and the flowers that I received after surgery...

apparently I was blowing kisses to the nurses and lobby staff when I came out of surgery because I was so drugged up... so maybe I deserved the flowers...

(this is also why I do not drink any alcohol... ) :P

So, lastly, I am sorry for the lack of work! Hope to have something soon! ;)

Oh, and isn't it wonderful it's Fall now? My favorite season of all.... ;)

A Portrait/Painting

I finished the painting I was supposed to do a long time ago for a family member that requested a "portrait" of her two daughters as faeries...

This morning Josh was out front and saw a squirrel running up and down the tree in front of our apartment...which got me thinking!

I still have to get it framed and then ship it to her, but I do hope they like it.

On a totally different note, the first day of Fall is Tuesday of next week (if I am correct) which is exciting because it is my favorite season. After our first year here in Portland, Josh and I feel better prepared for the winter as well. We plan on stocking up more on wood so our heating/electric bill isn't so steep. It is nice to get the seasons though... :)

There are pumpkins at the grocery store, now, too!

:)

I now can focus on other things that I feel I need to improve in my portfolio as well as get my submissions packets all ready to go... the only problem is juggling all of this Dental work I am needing to have done. It's sad that for so many years I could not afford dental insurance and now with my day job, I finally have it, but even then... I STILL can't really properly afford it. Sigh.

I'm sure I'm not alone on that.

Well, in any case, hope every one is in high spirits!!

Big Illustration Party Time

I recently was interviewed by the hosts of BIPT (Big Illustration Party Time) podcast (Kevin Cross and Joshua Kemble- my fiance) for Children's Books... They talk about freelancing, cartooning, and other insightful info.

Feel free to download the episode #34 for free on I-Tunes (search in the "store" section) or there is also a quick-link at the right side of my blog.

Cheers!

Strange

For some reason, I saw someone else's Tweets on my Twitter preview on my blog, so I have temporarily removed this feature. Sorry 'bout that... but I still have a link on the right side of my blog so if anyone reading this would like to follow me on Twitter, please click on the link there.
:)

Thank you very much!

I just went to the Dentist this morning... It has been an embarassingly long time since I have had insurance to go, so I was told some dauting news... I need 4 wisdom teeth removed and then some other work done. The X-rays were easier to take, but still painful to a certain degree. This isn't going to be fun. Take care of your teeth, guys.... :(

What else? I was unable to sleep last night- I think I got about 2 hours or so- and tonight I plan on eating a large dinner and then crashing.... haven't done that in a while.

The July Group

My new rep, the July Group, has posted my artwork on their website.
Please feel free to take a peek! (You can click on the title of this post, or click on the link to the right).
:)

I am very excited and flattered... ;)

Music video...

So... of course, Chad Beckerman has once again posted an amazing little post... just a music video of mind-blowing proportions.

Please click on my link to the blog Mishaps and Adventures and see his post for Two Weeks-Grizzly Bear. :)

Cute photo...

I had to steal this picture of Kevin Morrison's little girl Holly holding up her papa's new book :)

Too cute.

I Can Speak Bully

Yay, I received my copies of I Can Speak Bully written by Kevin Morrison today!

They look awesome. I am so glad. I love the orange back and the type looks great! I re-read the text as well and think it turned out really, really well! Hopefully, other people will think so, too.

It's a really sweet story... :)

** you can click on this blog post title for a link to Powell's Books here in Portland to pre-order!

Anyway, I will post some pictures for those that want to take a little peak.

I may end up doing a little interview on Big Illustration Party Time this Sunday to promote it as well, but we will see. :)

I also have another painting I did for some promotional material that I will post as well.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my last post- I think that it's great to join arms with your fellow illustrators!! You are all bada$$es!! :)

'scuse the $'s...

;)

Lot's more to announce in the future!

Other people...

I started this blog a long time ago... and much to the lovely changes Blogger made to the site, I have been able to stay on top of a bunch of artist's websites and blogs... the rewards are great!!
I am excited to read all the stories and hear ideas and other people trying to make it in the illustration world... and I also realized how important it is to comment!
I know what it's like to write something or post something hoping for other's to notice... :) so I have decided to really not be shy (believe it or not, I am pretty shy) and just put my thoughts out there... to encourage other artists, too! I'm sure they feel the same way- it's nice to know people are listening! Anyway, that's my two-bits for now.
If anyone knows of any other sites or blogs that are inspirational, I am eager to find more!
:)

I will also be trying to get more art up on my own blog, too!!
:)

Check out It's a Whimsical Life link... daily creativity is in store! Lovely idea :>

Do You Know This Story?

I finished painting my "Peter Pan" themed piece for my sister's family and I am pretty happy with the results. Now I must mail it to her, along with another piece I promised to send to her (it features her two daughters riding safari animals across a desert).

What a productive weekend!! I love that! Cleaned up the whole apartment, got the laundry going, washed the dogs, painted, blogged, etc.!!

I have more exciting news, but I want to make sure it's set in stone before I write about it, so until next time...

I have been following Chad Beckerman's blog Mishaps and Adventures (there is a link on my blog spot)... he posts the most fascinating and endearing videos!! Please take a peek :)

The one he just posted was especially awesome- but in order to find out what I am writing about, I encourage you to click on the link and see for yourself!

I have ideas stewing in my head for designing some fancy submission packets, too... Maybe I can post images as those progress. They are still just in my head after all... and unless you are psychic there's no way of showing what the heck is going on in there, is there?

I know it's cliche to say, but doesn't time really fly??? I cannot believe that August is half-way done, and I know, before I know it, Fall will be approaching.... Fall is my favorite season. But it does also leave me with a tang of melancholy feelings because with it, is the end of yet another year. I am one of those people that thinks probably way too much about "the meaning of life..." so you can only imagine what goes on in my head during these times. I still can't believe I am in Portland, to be honest. Never in my life did I imagine I would have the guts to move so far away from my family and survive it!! I'm really falling in love with this city, though.

Alright, enough rambling! :)

PS: great movie I recently watched... Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much... now I have Que Sera Sera stuck in my head. This movie... for some reason... really, really, really got to me... something about the relationship was so real, and their pain so sincere, that I fell in love with Doris Day and James Stewart all over again. I have linked this title to a youtube video of Doris Day singing so her kidnapped son can hear her... very touching scene.

When Time Stands Still

I've noticed how much I miss times when I was young, very young, and could sit and read. My whole family actually are book/comic junkies... I find that I love books that have heros and heroines that are book junkies as well. What a lovely thing it is to delve straight into a story and come out as though you just returned from a wonderful adventure. And what a wonderful thing to be able to draw from your mind.

Sometimes it really dawns on me how truly lucky I am that I draw... being able to get out what is in my head down on paper- but not just in words- in pictures! Illustrations are so powerful... and I think about the children poring over pictures, putting their hands softly on the page as they greedily soak in all the details and then.... the best part: they imagine it for themselves!

Don't ever forget it. :)

On a lighter note, here is the drawing for my next painting... it's actually for my sister's family... Ethan (Peter Pan) is actually not even one years old yet, but I wanted each child to be in the painting. Wendy is Maya and Eva is Tinkerbell, although I purposefully made her larger. I had lots of fun drawing the roots and the leaves... I think this will be fun. Let's hope I don't get too eager and "over work" my painting... I had a horrible habit of doing that in college (I'm so sorry for my Special Studies professor- I simply wasn't patient! I learned the hard way, I know.)

I also made some changes to my blogger page- the fish thing was just something I thought was adorable... plus I like the idea of "koi" fish because well the Japanese aspect of it, but also because Josh and I graduated from CSULB (Cal State Long Beach). On campus is a Japanese Garden... which also hosts weddings. One day when we make enough money, we hope to have our wedding there... although time has been ticking away so I don't know if we'll ever get to, but at least we've both been there before.... and they have Koi. It is beautiful. :) If you click on the title of this blog, it will take you to their website...

Well, enjoy the warm night and hopefully, you have a lovely sunset, too! (the one we saw while walking the pugs was delightfully pink-orange against a blue). Josh said "Isn't it wonderful how nature has compliments everywhere? (referring to complimentary colors)." Too true. Look out for them and you'll see- the red rose with the green leaves...etc.

Grab a good book one day and just remember!!

a few more sketches...

It rained today. Totally beautiful. I think my favorite bridge in Portland is the Fremont, partly because I drive it almost everyday, but also because it is so high up you can see all around- the city, the river, the mountains... just breath-taking. Of course, being originally from So.Cal, this is totally awe-inspiring because where I grew up the only marvel was the ocean. Don't get me wrong, the ocean is beautiful...but there are much more pretty oceans than the view off Huntington Beach Pier.
I may be biased though... I definitely have a preference for a city scape with bridges and a sparkling lights.
In any case, even though I have the WORST night vision, I do think it's beautiful to drive at night.

Actually, funny story... when Josh proposed to me in San Diego, CA, it was at night. He kept trying to guide to what I saw as these dark, ominous alleys where there were no people (he insists there were tons of people around and that they weren't as freaky-dangerous as I thought or thought I saw). I almost ruined everything because I was arguing that I didn't want to get murdered!

Ok, enough of that...

I sketched some more... the scene I drew here of with the fireplace (yes, that's a fireplace) is on hot press watercolor paper.... I found it while rummaging around beneath Josh's art-desk. I remembered how much I adore hot press vs. cold press and had to draw something quick so I could try it out again. :)
If you've never painted on hot press, try it sometime. I love the way the color sits... and shines!

Anyway, happy sketching...
I have to get through some novels I've been addicted to so I can focus!!!

:P
I can't wait... for Friday!!!
Having a day job can be tedious... but well, such is life. Hopefully some day soon, I will have secured more freelance work and will be able to confidently work exclusively on illustration.
Well, cheers all!! :)

An update

I finally adjusted a few things on my website and uploaded some newer sketches as well (here is one of the pages I added).  I also added a downloadable coloring sheet of the cover of The Moon and the Nightsweeper in case someone would want to use it to run off copies for their class or child.  That can be fun- I've used them at book signings before and I think children really have fun coloring them.  If I can get my butt in gear, I can probably have more for the other books, too.

So it's exciting to know that I Can Speak Bully is now at the pre-ordering stage... I still haven't seen the official interiors, although I have seen a mock-up for the cover.  I feel much more capable now (I think that's only natural that if you practice, you're going to get better-duh) so I really hope to land another contract soon!  I've always wanted to illustrate a story with some magic to it- like a Christmas story.

By the way, it has finally cooled off here in Portland so I am going to be pulling out the watercolors again soon.  In the meanwhile, I'll need a bite to eat, and then sketch-time!

My twin has been staying over at our dad's apartment (he's leaving to China for 4 yrs. so she wants to spend as much time as she can with him before then) so I have been without my crit-buddy!!! You can only imagine how that feels...  and I am someone who (since birth) needs a companion to help me fight crime and lay down the law... let's hope I survive this!!

To the bat cave!

Who's the Bunny Boy???

Click on the title to find out... :>

So it's incredibly hot right now in Portland, OR- in the hundred degrees this entire week, in fact.  My poor pug dogs have been panting all day long...  so I've had to fill the bathtub with water and sit in there with them to help cool them off.  It helps though so that's good.  The weekend is supposed to at least go down to the 80's and 90's so I am happy.  Here is my art desk luckily sitting near two large windows in our dining/kitchen area.

I recently visited California to see my family so I spent much of the four days watching my nephews and nieces.  Try to imagine watching one 8 month old baby, two toddlers, age 4 and 5, and one 2 yr. old in scorching hot weather at Disneyland.  Yep.  Needless to say, I was exhausted when I returned home.  However, it was also super nice to see everyone again- I hadn't seen them all in a year, which is the most I've ever been away from my family.  I talk to my mom every day... and my twin and I are pretty close... not to mention the fact that I dote on my nephews and nieces quite a bit (Keegan is actually featured in The Moon and the Night Sweeper and I have in the background in one of the interior pages for I Can Speak Bully, their names on the cubbies in the classroom).. so it was about time I got to hang out again!

We took some official looking family portraits, and then some less-than official pictures on PhotoBooth...

I'm the attractive one in yellow.

If my computer continues to work I can finally scan some new sketches.  I think it's funny that I already am considering making some changes to my website... Updating and changing will continue to happen, I'm sure.  I'm liking the new features they have on Blogger as well.

I hope to have more art soon!  I can't wait to have my advance money come in so I can put it toward mailing out more art to publishers!

Summer Matsuri (Festival)

Hello all!  As promised, I finished piecing back together my scanned painting before I uploaded it here.  Today has been unbearably hot and the computer is not liking the heat at all.  I think Josh has become completely nocturnal for this reason alone.  Two computers in a small room can actually make it pretty warm even with two mini fans and one larger one on the floor.

Regarding the title, a "matsuri" is a street festival that usually happens in the summer in Japan.  I remember when I visited relatives as a pre-teen going to one of these and enjoying trying to catch goldfish with weak miniature nets, eating cotton candy, wearing a ukata (summer version of a kimono- a lot less work to put on), and sporting a uchiha/round hand-held fan.  I also remember festivals we would throw at our Japanese School in Long Beach, California, USA which involved many of the same games as well as a huge tower in the center of the playground with a large drum (taiko) at the top... this would be played while they blasted music from speakers.  Everyone would dance around this in a circle with their fans or just doing the hand jestures.  Sounds pretty bizarre I suppose, but these were some of my favorite memories growing up.  Granted getting up every morning on a Saturday while your American schoolmates got to sleep in sucked, but I now, of course, find it all worth while.  We had speech contests and Christmas plays, Boys and Girls Day, and other fun events to help keep our heritage alive way out in California.

Anyway, this scene isn't exactly authentic.... the thing the boy is carrying on his back is a smaller taiko drum wrapped around him, with the sticks held to his belly.  I'm not sure if people would do this... taiko drums are pretty darn heavy... so imagine this is a bit fantastical... aside from the children playing on rooftops!

So here's to summer!! :)

little update

I have my painting ready to post, but the scanner was not working today, so that will have to wait until I can get that fixed...  I think it turned out alright.  I have ideas for more paintings and the like stewing in my head.  I am thinking about trying to get more sketches posted on my website as well.

In the meanwhile, I updated a lot of links on here to include blogs that I like to follow.  All of these links I visit regularly and find tons of inspiration as well as first-hand accounts from illustrators out in the field.  It can sometimes seem like such a small, lonely little world unless you remind yourself that everyone has been where you are and everyone starts from somewhere.  In the midst of trying to survive some personal events not related to art, I have been trying to view my portfolio objectively and tap back into what I like to draw or paint... I feel like I go back and forth between wanting to perfect how I paint and work, to trying to remember what it is I like to draw, and then also, what is necessary to show I CAN draw or paint in order to get work.

I think that all you can do when you are stuck in a rut is just keep drawing... just keep painting.  I think life managed to creep up and hit me pretty hard these past weeks and had left me feeling a bit disillusioned...  but I think I'm back.  And a lot of that stuff has been resolved to some extent... so to change things to a positive note before I end this post, I hope to post that painting I finally finished and keep on posting... 

So, go check out some of these links!!! :)