wonderful news

Got back from vacation to the news that The Wonder Book got in to the Society of Illustrators 2010 Original Art show, "... an exhibit celebrating the fine art of children's book illustration". 


An illustration from the book will be on display in New York from October 20th to November 24.


I feel very honored by this, and want to extend my gratitude to the author of The Wonder Book, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, and my fantastic editor at Harper, Maria Modugno for handing me such an amazing project and the creative freedom to go with it.


A very special thanks to Dana Fritts at Harper for entering the book into the show!

that makes sense

I am a logical person.

As such, I love the logic of kids. Years ago, after a neighbor’s sweet, huge yellow lab wandered into our house and snatched a sandwich right out of my young daughter’s hand, my incensed little sophist declared she wished the world were flat so all the dogs would fall off.

When I am working on a story, one of my hopes is to pay homage to the logic of children. I admire the straightforward, creative ways they attempt to solve their problems.

doodlin'

Feeling these days more like a factory than an artist, I'm obliging myself to doodle aimlessly for 20 minutes every morning. Well, almost every morning.

seeking nothing in particular

Sometimes it is better to remain still in order to see what scurries by. Why is that so difficult?

idle thoughts

I am nearly done with the art for my 2nd self-authored book Hugs From Pearl. It is always a frantic rush towards the finish line, making endless last-minute changes and adjustments.

As hard as it is to let go of the art, (I could tweak things for another 6 months,) I will be glad to send the last one off and take a bit of a breather before I dive into the final art for my next book, Petunia Goes Wild.

I find the best opportunity for creative thinking is when I am not focused on being productive. When my brain is idle ideas tend to pop up. Generally a thing rushes in to fill the nothing.

It makes sense that I should incorporate some brain-meandering time in my daily schedule. Sort of a mental flaneur period.

Yet even though I know it is usually wonderfully productive, who could put "2:00 - 3:30: Nothing." on their calendar?

Seems un-American somehow.

Mole had been working

The thing about E. H. Shepard is. 

Not that he wields exquisite compositions like Heath Robinson. He does not stun us with genius color like Zwerger or knock us dead with impossible technique like Spirin. No hypnotic hatchings like Gorey, no oddly irresistible charm like Delphine Durand.

No. What Shepard’s drawings have are Character. Honest, believable character. Not Hilary Knight’s winning excesses, not Mo Willem’s hilarious theatrics. The real thing. Characters with emotions every child and adult can relate to. 

The drawings Shepard did for Wind In The Willows and the Pooh books are timeless. No, that’s not exactly right. They are TIMELESS. 

Why? Because the emotions that Shepard drew are timeless. His pen deftly portrays the things that unite all of us. Our humanity. That means everyone: innocent children, cynical adults, extremist nuts, numb taoists, crazy-busy illustrators. We all have the same things in common: Vanity. Curiosity. Pride. Arrogance. Innocence. Courage. Wonder. Generosity. Friendship. Doubt.

And then there is his lovely linework.

to fly or not to fly?

We (myself included), spend so much time looking for answers, when it is the questions we should be embracing.

Answers are confines. Questions are wings.