Just So Stories

I'm working on a series of illustrations for Rudyard Kipling's many animal tales.  My favorite so far is Rikki Tikki Tavi, the bold snake killing mongoose, "who was completely eaten up by curiosity." I will post some sketches soon.

This is an illustration for a book series I'm working on, which involves five kids, some time travel, a magic camel and a monkey or two.

Goodbye, Gabriel

So sad to hear of the passing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of my favorite authors. Some of my earliest illustration attempts were  of trying to make representational pictures of his elusive images.  I imagine him now inhabiting that in-between world of Not-Quite-Here-or-There.

Under the Lilies

Here is an older piece that makes me think of summer on the first day of Spring.  Working on some things that I can't post right now, so hope you enjoy the Frog Prince.

Wolf Scout

Here is the first attempt my Traveler series. I've been playing around with painting on road maps, mainly because I love maps, and the texture and color of the old road maps are really great to work on top of.   It's acrylic & pastel on a map mounted on a board.

ABFFE Auction starts today!

For Banned Book Week, the American Booksellers Fund for Freedom of Expression is holding an online auction of children's book art.  I've donated this print from "Moon Child", which they are featuring on their banner ads! Bid early and often!

Here's more info.

Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree

My latest book has just arrived from Random House, and it looks great.
Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree is a Step-Into-Reading book, written by Jane Kohuth.
Based on Anne Frank's diary and it "explores Anne's strong belief in the healing power of nature..."
Available  from Amazon in hardcover and also in paperback (but the hardcover is really pretty.)

One Ton of Fun

Hot off the press, "The NeoIntegrity Omnibus," is the 712-page catalog documenting the 2010 exhibition at The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art: "NeoIntegrity: Comics Edition," curated by Keith Mayerson.   

The exhibit was magnificent, overwhelming, amazing and joyous.  The walls of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC. were plastered floor to ceiling with original artwork by Maurice Sendak, Charles Addams, R. Crumb, Dr. Seuss, Winsor McCay, Roz Chast and over 200 more artists, including me and many of my colleagues at the School of Visual Arts.  

Keith and the NeoIntegrity team pulled off a herculean job of putting this exhibit together– and fitting it into the space.  Artwork hung floor to ceiling, edge to edge, wrapped around corners and down the sides of tables.  And now it has all been stuffed into this book.  These are three (of the four) of my pieces included in the book. It is a treasure trove. Check out NeoIntegrity  HERE.

Books you can walk into.

Lately I've been designing exhibits, which is a little like
making a life size picture  book that you can WALK INTO!
Here are 2 of my latest exhibits:

The Ghost Army (When you send Artists to war, they bring back Art)
Edward Hopper House Art Center
82 North Broadway, Nyack, NY 10960
Now thru June 9
more info

And Greetings from Summer Camp
at the Historical Society of Rockland County
20 Zukor Rd. New City, NY
May 18 – Sept 15

more info

I recently finished the illustrations (all 30 of them) for "Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree," a Step-into-Reading book for Random House. Although she is one of my heroes, it was a hard book to work on emotionally.  It will be published this fall.

Among the Stars in Los Angeles

I'm excited that this piece has received honorable mention in the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles' 51st Annual Illustration West Competition

It will be on view at Gallery Nucleus in LA , March 8 - 12, 2013.

This is one of the last spreads, and jacket art, for my latest book: How Does Sleep Come?

It was published this fall by Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky. Here are more pictures from the book. 

Another Peek

Thanks for all the amazing feedback on the last post! Here are two more peeks at my latest book, "How Does Sleep Come?" arriving at bookstores this September.  See more pictures HERE.

Book Expo America

 






















This is a very big display at Book Expo, featuring my new book! The photo was taken by a friend, but I will be at Book Expo tomorrow.  Looking forward to seeing it in person.

Backwards into Outside, Over There

The last time I heard Maurice Sendak speak, was on NPR  several months ago.  He was not well, and he missed some of his dear friends who had recently passed.  But HE was still here. The stars were overhead and the earth was still in balance.  And now?  I often tell my students that no other picture book needed to be made after Where the Wild Things Are.  It's perfect.  It is the essence of childhood:  To be "naughty", to run away, to want to control the unknown scaries, and in the end to come home to a warm supper because, despite everything, you are safe and loved.

I grew up with the Little Bear books and they (along with the Garth Williams/EB White books) are part of my DNA.  In the Night Kitchen had a huge influence on me as did Wild Things.  And, whenever I am stuck for inspiration, I pull out my copy of Outside, Over There, a book in which he manages to stuff his love for the Grimm Brothers, El Greco and Mozart... not an easy task for a picture book. Sadly I never got to see any of the stage versions of his stories, but I have all the clippings.

Thank you, Maurice Sendak, for never forgetting what it's like to be a child, for your fabulous creations, your imagination, perserverence and for the Wild Rumpus.

Read more in NY Times
Listen to interviews on Fresh Air/National Public Radio
Tell them Anything, But tell them if it's True
Terrible Yellow Eyes

Illustration © Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

The Best of Times

 



Today is the 203rd birthday of Charles Darwin and a reminder that life turns on the little things.

Darwin's epic voyage to the Galapagos aboard the HMS Beagle, nearly didn't happen at all.  Apparently the Captain of the Beagle didn't much care for Charles Darwin's nose and didn't want him to come along.  Luckily he relented and the theory of Natural Selection and Evolution was born, to the dismay of those who believe that the world was formed in six days.  Historian Rick Beyer explains it all here: The Lesson of Charles Darwin's Nose   


And, last week was Charles Dickens two hundredth birthday, and a reminder that stories happen when everything goes wrong.  
I've now sunk comfortably into the squalid world of orphans, prison ships, and all manner of unsavory yet unforgettable characters while re-reading Great Expectations and I'm having a hard time trading the cold, drizzly marshes of the midlands for my warm, dusty studio and its unrelenting deadlines...


Happy Birthday Charles & Charles!

Clever Maids & Grimm Brothers

I just finished reading Clever Maids, The Secret History of the Grimm Fairy Tales," by Valerie Paradiz.  It is the story of the iconic brothers who lived during the 18th C, a chaotic time filled with uprisings and revolutions.  Germany was occupied by Napoleon, and war was constant. It was also a terrible time for women who had absolutely no rights and could own nothing.  So when Father Grimm dies, according to the law, Mother Grimm loses everything.  The Grimm family tumbles into poverty and Jacob is packed off to law school to make something of himself and save the family.  Instead he discovers literature and resolves to uncover the folk/fairy tale legacy of his war-ravaged homeland.


Everywhere they go, Jacob and Wilhelm search for tales, and they gather most of them from women they meet along the way, although none of these women are credited in the final collection.  They also befriend other soon-to-be famous authors, like Goethe, who is also interested in folk tales and eventually writes "Faust" incorporating the same theme as most of the fairy tales:  women should be submissive, passive, pure or else very bad things will happen if they stray from the righteous path.


Before  reading this I had only the Terry Gilliam film about the Brothers Grimm to go on, which is a lot of fun, but has nothing to do with reality since Jacob & Wilhelm did not make the stories up, they only copied them down.


Grimm's Fairy Tales, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Grimm Fairy Tales 

In With the Old

This is a new piece for a book series I'm working on.  This picture, called "In the Stranger's Palace," takes place in Persia in the 11th Century. It needs a bit more work, but I'm on a short deadline with another book, so I have to put it away for now. Thought I would post it anyway.

I've been reading a few interesting non-fiction books lately.  One is  "The History of the World in 100 Objects."  It's written incredibly well by the head of the British Museum, who (as the title suggests) tells the history of civilization with 100 carefully chosen objects.  One of the objects, a tiny gold cart with tiny gold horses and riders, let's us see how sophisticated Persia was 2500 years ago. In so many ways, we humans have not changed much, only our technology makes us think we have.

Happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one.

The Way We Were

I've just been reading some books by the painter, Eric Sloane.  He was even better with pen and ink.  He illustrated and wrote a series of books about life in the 18th and19th C. that are full of beautiful diagrams of tools, machinery and trees. In "A Reverence for Wood" he explains the proper way to dismantle a barn... (don't just knock it down with a tractor !) He also writes about how back in the day, people knew how to get along with the environment so much better than we do now (even though we think we are so smart).  They are great little books:
Once Upon a Time: The Way America Was
A Reverence for Wood
A Celebration of Bells
I just unearthed this painting I did a while ago, which also takes place in late early 1900s (and it involved a barn.) I like the way the colors came out.