Out of print & new on Kindle

front & back cover

Today as I looked over a few things on Amazon I read this

 "Out of Print".

Not what you want to read but it is part of the business;

I remember when I was looking over the text I was getting confused to who was who. I sent an email to the publisher saying that I think the characters are mixed up in the book. 

I was told that the giraffe had stripes and his friend the zebra had sploshes. 

 

 My response to that was "Oh Funny!"

& then I wrote  so is the Giraffe black & white?  

A: Yes

Me: Ok 

(this was the third book I illustrated; I did not think I had a real say on certain things like what color they should be, my thought was let them stay there true colors so kids will not be confused. I started to speak up and make suggestions more so after this book was done)        

It was a cute picture book idea

Overview:

Lollipop is different, and his friend Sprinkles is different, too. Lollipop is a giraffe with stripes. Sprinkles is a zebra with sploshes. Lollipop wonders if his "normal" family would love him no matter what.

 

inside artwork
 

inside artwork



Also Just noticed

 

"The Art of Science" 

as of May of 2013 is now on Kindle,

my name no longer graces the cover the chapter artwork has been removed.

  But that cover is still my artwork

(I wonder how that works out in royalties)

Illustration Friday "Freeze"

Illustration Friday word challenge

"Freeze"

My illustration selection for this week is not something new.

This is a page from a picture book I illustrated called

"Colors"

written by Dana Warren

illustrated by Stephen Macquignon

published by 4RV Publishing

Review by Sally Pink:



"Colors" will engage toddlers and preschoolers with a vivid array of colors and schemes that will stimulate their imagination. Thanks to Ms. Warren's script, the words flow as effortlessly as Macquignon's illustrations.

Picturebookdad Unofficial review

You will not find this review on Picturebookdad but Ken was nice enough to allow me to print what he had to say about Why Am I Me?

Stephen,
I appreciate you interest in Picturebookdad.com.
I enjoyed Why Am I Me? I found it to be thoughtfully written and nicely drawn.
However, I feel it doesn't have quite enough dad-appeal to reach my target audience of reluctant-reader dads.
I hope you understand.
Best wishes,
Ken

I do/did understand I took shot, this book is the closest that I illustrated to what he looks for in picture books for his audience. But if you don't try you will never know.
It is a great site and I would suggest to go visit it often.

Wayne Harris-Wyrick's "Why Am I Me?" in OKC newspaper

Wayne Harris-Wyrick's "Why Am I Me?" in OKC newspaper posted
Originally posted by Vivian Zabel in 4RV Reading, Writing, & Art News
   In today's Oklahoman, the main paper in the Oklahoma City area, is a short review of
 "Why Am I Me?" by 4RV author and editor Wayne Harris-Wyrick.
I've copied and pasted the article below.  (And I Stephen Macquignon has recopied the article)
Congratulations, Wayne.

YOUR LIFE Family, friends stand out

Charlotte Lankard CLankard@opubco.com  

  Being an only child, I never had a brother or sister looking out for me and cheering me on, so I particularly like it when readers give me a glimpse of what that is like . A few weeks ago I wrote about three Oklahomans who authored books published in Oklahoma and sold at one of our Oklahoma independent bookstores. The next day I received an email from Randy Wyrick of Leander, Texas, who asked me why I didn’t mention his brother’s book. So I went right out and bought a copy.

His brother is Wayne Harris-Wyrick, director of the Kirkpatrick Planetarium and author of a children’s book, “Why Am I Me?” Dedicated to his son Ethan, Harris-Wyrick’s book explains the importance of things like dogs and cats, mountains and water, sunrises and sunsets, butterflies and flowers, rabbits and even skunks. About trees he writes, “Trees make fruit to eat and oxygen to breathe, give shade on a hot summer day and a place to climb and study the world from up high, with the birds.” Then he answers the child’s question, “What is special about me?” It is a good book for any adult to share with a child. Since Harris-Wyrick, who writes a column for The Oklahoman, is an Oklahoman and easy to find at the planetarium, have him sign a book for that special child in your life.

And to purchase the book, try another one of Oklahoma’s independent bookstores — Best of Books in Edmond’s Kickingbird Square. Julie Hovis will take good care of you.

While I don’t have a brother like Randy Wyrick, I do have great friends, and because of this column I have met people all across the state. One of those folks is Jacquelyn Duncan, a retired Custer County associate district judge.

  Jackie has invited me to her part of the state and we have visited here when she is in town. After reading the column I wrote about my friend Arlene Johnson and her love of animals, I received the following email from Jackie and her own animal companions: “Booray the Bichon Frise dog, Sookie the Maltese mix dog, Diva the calico cat and Red Beard the tiger stripe cat all join me in wishing you a 2012 filled with love, peace, health and happiness.” I wish the same for each of you.

Charlotte Lankard is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice.
 Contact her at clankard@opubco.com.

SM: It was a fun book to illustrate and I am happy it has received some attention from the outside world. Wayne seems to be an interesting person from what I have read on line maybe one day I'll meet him.

Eastern Oklahoma Author Fest 2011

Over the weekend was the East Oklahoma Author Fest 2011.

  I have to be honest I have no idea how successful it was but it is always great to see the books you illustrate on display. It takes time and energy to make sure you complete the work in a timely fashion but in the end when I see them on displayed it brings a smile to my face.
 I do not clock hours when I work I just do not want to know how many hours it takes to illustrate one picture book. Except on a few occasions that I was paying attention to the time like with “Libby the Odd Squirrel” were I spent four hours inking fur on one illustration and “The Giving Meadow” I spent at least four hours on inking the snake scales for just one snake, that was not including the rest of the scene. In addition, I have no idea at all the hours I spent drawing feathers on birds and fluffy stuff that came off the cattails in “Ferdinand Frog’s Flight”. However, you do it. And I will keep doing it repeatedly as long as people enjoy what I do.

What a great display!

In this photo is “The Marshmallow Man”, “Libby the Odd Squirrel”, “The Giving Meadow”, and also “A New Job  for Dilly” I did not illustrate this one but it sits on my shelf proudly it was written By Rena Jones  who wrote
 “The Marshmallow Man”.

On this display you can see “Why Am I Me?” and "Ferdinand Frog’s Flight” the latest books I finished in 2011.

 I count five in total, some I have already mentioned. But I also see “Colors” this was the second book I did for 4RV Publishing back in 2008 still one of my top favorites and “Would a Kangaraffe Make You Laffe?”, and “I Fish Could Drive”.  When I look at this body of work, I see how I improved with every story. It is important to keep pushing yourself to be better.

I can also see a book that my friend Diana who illustrated “Priscilla Holmes, Ace Detective” she is an amazing talent and I am grateful for her friendship.

.

This is Vivian Zable, President and owner of 4RV Publishing, she also write well and is a stickler for proper grammar.  Thankfully, someone cares.  This picture of her is one of the best I have ever seen. It is also funny that in the three and a half years that I worked for them we never spoke by phone I have only heard her voice once on a blog radio interview so that is kind of funny.

New books that came in the mail

In the last couple of weeks I received two out of the three books I was hoping to receive in the mail.

The first book is “Photoshop CS5 in easy steps” this book just made my life a little bit easier, I used the CS2 version to help me understand how that program worked; so it was a no brainer when I realized that this newer version changed enough that it took me an (1) hour to find how to cut paste and resize a head from one body to a new body then I couldn’t remember how I did it. Frustrating!

The other book that just came in the mail is “The Great Song Book” illustrated by Tomi Ungerer I was introduced to Mr. Ungerer artwork through Michael Sporn’s blog post the book is out of print but I was able to buy a copy from a used book dealer.

Sides note: I bought both books from Amazon web site; I have read and was told in the past how some people have had problems with their customer service to this date I have not. On the books I have illustrated sometimes thing are wrong like my name misspelled or no book cover artwork both I don’t understand how that happens but it does. I was told that “Amazon will fix it when they feel like it” well not really true you contact them tell them what is wrong and they fix it within three days. I have sent them the book cover artwork or the correct spelling of my name and it is taken care of simple! I have also had questions on orders I placed and have had nothing but good response from the people I have spoken to.

Illustration from Ferdinand Frog's Flight

The third book I am still waiting for is “Ferdinand Frog’s Flight” this is the last book I illustrated with 4RV Publishing and I am still waiting to see what the finished project looks like. If I can swing the cash there are a couple of contest I would like to summit it too but I’m not going to spend money on purchasing copies of the book if I don’t know what the end product looks like.  

The illustrations in this post are from the “The Great Song Book”  I have taken them from Michael Sporn’s Blog or “Splog” post (click me to link)

2011

Well 2011 is on its way and there are things I am looking forward to at the end of this month I will attend my first SCBWI Winter Conference two day of lectures keynote speakers and so on that will help me in my career as a illustrator. I also submitted an illustration in there "Showcase" (cross fingers) it was not easy to pick one piece of artwork that I felt that represented me completely but it is close. 

 (sorry do not have finished front cover with text yet)

Also coming out very soon is "Libby the Odd Squirrel" written by Lea Schizas

published by 4RV Publishing. 

I've seen the proofs and I may say I did a very good job with the artwork. Libby was a challenge that kept me on my toes but it was worth all the hard work to tell this story if your child loves to read this book is for them.

I was also told by Vivian Zabel President/CEO of 4RVPublishing  that I'm getting a royalty check sent to me some time this month, that is always something to look forward to I'm keeping an eye on my mailbox.

I have also finished illustrating "Why Am I Me" written by Wayne Harris-Wyrick also being published by 4RV Publishing, It should be out in March or April of this year but more to come on this book latter this month.

   I am getting ready to start work on a new project for 4RV called "Ferdinand Frog's First Flight" written by Marvin S. Mayer, I assure you the out come of this story was nothing like what happened to that little turtle that wanted to fly.