Chicken Licken Illustration for SCBWI Tomie dePaola Contest

I created this piece for the SCBWI Tomie dePaola contest. He selects an excerpt from a classic picture book to illustrate and the winner gets a free trip to New York for the winter conference. He wants to see something different, so I thought I would give all those birds alternative means of transport. I've never drawn so much poultry in my life!

He chose this excerpt from "Chicken Licken" for us to illustrate:

So they went along and went along until they met Turkey Lurkey
“Good morning, Goosey Loosey, Ducky Daddles, Cocky Locky, Henny Penny,
and Chicken Licken,” said Turkey Lurkey, “where are you going?”
“Oh, Turkey Lurkey, the sky is falling and we are going to tell the King!”
“How do you know the sky is falling?” asked Turkey Lurkey.
“Ducky Daddles told me,” said Goosey Loosey.
“Cocky Locky told me,” said Ducky Daddles.
“Henny Penny told me,” said Cocky Locky.
“Chicken Licken told me,” said Henny Penny
“I saw it with my own eyes, I heard it with my own ears,
and a piece of it fell on my tail!” said Chicken Licken.
“Then I will go with you,” said Turkey Lurkey, “and we will tell the King!”

Illustration Friday - Round

From the sketchbook. I love drawing extra round animals and kids and especially cats – I think it makes them way cuter!

The Perfect Holiday Gift Idea

One of my favorite websites is theydrawandcook.com where artists create and post illustrated recipes. I've posted 2 recipes on it so far:
Balsamic Strawberry Salsa and Chocolate Eclair Cake. They published a book with some of the hundreds of awesomely illustrated recipes – I've drooled over it at the book store – it's gorgeous! Food and art at its best! Buy one for everyone on your list!

November is Picture Book Month

November is a busy month! To go along with PiBoIdMo, November is also Picture Book Month. Here's a little history: with an unprecedented amount of picture books being converted to the digital format, Dianne de Las Casas decided it was time to celebrate picture books in their printed format so she created an initiative to designate November as “Picture Book Month.” Katie Davis, Elizabeth Dulemba, Tara Lazar, and Wendy Martin came on board to champion the cause and spread the word.

Each day in November, a new essay about picture books will be posted on the website from such notable contributors as Suzanne Bloom, Denise Fleming, Leslie Helakoski, Eric A. Kimmel, Tammi Sauer, Dan Yaccarino, and Jane Yolen. It will also feature links to picture book resources, authors, illustrators, and kidlit book bloggers.
Join the celebration!