14th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference 2013

My Mentor Patti Stren has always said: “It’s a Bunny eat Bunny world”.

And this Friday February 1st I am going right into the bunny den that’s right it’s the 2013 14th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference.

Three days of meeting others like me, who are trying to break into the business or become more successful at it; on Friday part of the program is having your portfolio reviewed by editors, publishers, agents … I spent most of 2012 with help from Patti finding a new voice and I’m hoping it will attracted new interest in my artwork, I also recruited help from a friend of mine Simone who is a very talented artist. We sat down together one Friday evening a couple of months back in the New York Public Library and put together my new portfolio it was an experience letting someone else take control and see things through their eyes .
    
But thanks to Simone I also put together a dummy picture book for them to see it was her encouragement that put the fire under my … to complete the book.

So I am now armed with my new portfolio, new postcards, I even have a new website. It’s all exciting and I am looking forward to giving the lowdown after it is all done.

Illustration Friday "Wings"

 

What if?

 Dragons did not go extinct?

What if they evolved; tired of being hunted their habitats ruined by man. No longer needing size to defeat there pray, some who were not as stubborn used time and magic to blend into the new surroundings.
 

    

Illustration Friday "Myth"

Sleeping?

So once again I am dusting off a illustration I did back sometime ago, to participate in Illustration Friday word challenge

"MYTH"



I am still working on my other project so I can include it in my portfolio for the

 SCBWI 2013 Winter Conference

 

 

"Sleeping?"

11X14 pen and ink/ watercolor

   "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien was the source of the inspiration


 added on 1/26/2013

You keep trying and trying and…well

 

Have you ever posted a comment to someone else’s blog? Most of us have.

Have you ever posted the same comment a half of dozen times because it is a new blog site and you did not realize that the post may be waiting to be approved by the blog host?

So you keep trying to post it over and over again; and yet you do not see that it may have worked but because there is no green light that says “SUCCESS!”

 

You keep trying and trying and…well

I did that today (1/15/2013) I could blame it on the odd hour of the morning (5:30AM) or that I did not finish my first cup coffee (on my 2nd now), or is that I forgot rule #3 ”Wait and see”.

  I’m going with I forgot rule#3. So the question I always have is do I email the person? And say “sorry for not taken a minute to look more closely at your site”.
Or hope they understand that you have no idea what you are doing and truly have no right to be allowed on the World Wide Web.

  I am going with hoping they understand that I am human and make mistakes or in this case it may not of been a mistake because I don’t know if the comments to the post worked or not.

So if you are reading this I am sorry you may have gotten a handful of the same comment telling you I think you are truly an inspiration to me.

I don’t think it would bother me as much if I did not admire this person’s passion and love of picture books.

Illustration Friday "Ocean"

"Ocean"

The original is 11X14 pen and ink with water color done in 2003

 

I am very happy to be participating in this week word challenge

 by

Illustration Friday

 even if it is only blowing off the dust of an earlier piece of artwork

 

   

All the Turkish Delight was eaten

  



Well I finished the last of the Turkish Delight so the Holidays must be over. I hope everyone had a nice holiday; I have to say mine went well this year very little stress and a lot of activities visiting family, dinner, plays, seeing the Rockets, shopping, even the opera.

I spent many days after New Year’s playing a video game called “Assassin Creed 3” the graphics are just beautiful. The time and people power it must have taken to create this world is just amazing and I’m looking forward to spending more time playing the adventure.  

But that is all done for the moment and I am back to the drawing board, for the last couple of days I spent updating some of the sites I belong to, I also created a new website “Picture Book Artist”; it came out well and I really enjoy how the “Gallery” is set up it really shows off my artwork.

 

I am also spending time working on finishing a storyboard “Emma B. Lavender goes on a trip” it is an idea I had sitting around and a friend of mine has encouraged me to finish it so I’ll be working on that for the next few weeks and unfortunately will not have time to create artwork for “Illustration Friday” weekly word challenges till I am done.

Also! my good friend Lisa Zilker is doing a Kickstater campaign “Postcard Book” she plans to self-publish postcards she painted from her travels and seeking space to rent for an exhibit it should be a fun book and show. (See links below for details)
 

please help if you can. 

 

Lisa's Postcards