Four years later....

What if you could step back and see the full value that challenge has added to your life? You would seek it out endlessly. ~Ralph Marston  greatday.com

Yesterday I realized that just 4 years ago I was getting ready to quit my job so I could attend school full time and finish my degree in graphic design. That time in my life feels like so long ago but then it doesn't seem like so long ago. Looking back I would never have guessed that I would be in the middle of illustrating 3 children's books four years later, but that's what I'm doing! 

I just finished the first one about four horses. The author was a pleasure to work with. My clients have been extraordinary. I really am so grateful.

Finished illustrations for The Tale of Josephine Rose: A Horse's Magical Neigh

Next on my plate involves a little bee and a disgruntled pig and then a precocious little girl who loves math. Both should be lots of fun. 

Proposed Copyright Legislation not favorable to artists

This is so important that I wanted to share it in case you aren't already aware of discussions concerning possible changes to artists' copyrights. It would be very unfavorable to artists if it were to pass. Will Terry interviewed Brad Holland, a well known editorial illustrator who has been very active in standing up for artists' rights regarding these legislation talks.

Please consider sending a letter to the copyright office, but it is due on July 23 - only two days away! There are lots of other links to more information including sample letters on Will Terry's YouTube page.

Submit your letter here!
http://copyright.gov/policy/visualwor...

Will Terry Interviews Brad Holland on possible change to artists' copyrights

Wishing you a safe and happy 4th of July

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!

This is my son and husband on a recent night fishing.

A peek at my latest illustration project

Here is a peek at my current project - three children's illustrations centered around a big black Newfoundland dog. 

May has been a fishy month

The prevailing theme of my May was fish, Fish and FISH.

It started the first week when my husband and I traveled to Kearney, NE to spend two days volunteering with the Nebraska Game and Parks at their Kearney Fishing Expo. We were assigned to the Fish Prints Tent where we helped groups of school kids make fish prints on newsprint. I was excited at the thought of using real fish to make prints on paper, but once I got there and started working with the kids, I realized that using the rubber fish we had was a good thing. Here I am below with my two prints which I brought home, scanned and played with in Photoshop. They made interesting images for Father's Day art.

Little Girl Fishing on Etsy

More fish came to play in my studio mid-May. I have been getting newsletters from Spoonflower, a fabric company in North Carolina, for some time and have been wanting to participate in their weekly pattern design contests. They sell quilt fabric and have prompts for designs every week and the designers can have their own shop and sell their designs as fabric, wrapping paper and wall paper. I started playing around last year with teaching myself via YouTube and Google how to make patterns in Photoshop and I really like it... so in mid-May Spoonflower had a mermaid design contest which was sponsored by a manufacturer looking for a mermaid design for little girls' pajamas. I didn't win but I had a lot of fun making this - my first fabric pattern. I got my fat quarter sample in the mail today and it's gorgeous. I have a little shop on Spoonflower now where it is for sale.

So now I've officially got the pattern making bug! I submitted another design yesterday and started working on a third.

My June so far is looking like it will be filled with a variety of summery things - more mermaids, children, dogs, hedgehogs and sandcastles. ;)

You can see my more art on my Facebook page.

And purchase art on my website or in my Etsy store.

Kearney Fishing Expo and Gyotaku Fish Prints

My husband and I are heading to Kearney, NE today to volunteer at the Fishing Expo. He will be helping kids to fish and I will be helping them to make fish prints. I believe we'll be making "gyotaku" which are Japanese fish prints where you actually use the fish to make the print. I was unfamiliar with this beautiful art form but thanks to good 'ol Google, I now have a better understanding and am really looking forward to helping make these. Below are some really beautiful gyotaku prints which I found online.

Sam Fenwick

Odessa Kelley 

Chesapeake Bay Fish Prints