Little Red Riding Hood

My entry for the Tomie dePaola Award.

The assignment is simply to illustrate a moment from the following passage from Philip Pullman’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood” from FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM (Viking, 2012). 

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was so sweet and kind that everyone loved her. Her grandmother, who loved her more than anyone, gave her a little cap made of red velvet, which suited her so well that she wanted to wear it all the time. Because of that everyone took to calling her Little Red Riding Hood.

One day her mother said to her: ‘Little Red Riding Hood, I’ve got a job for you. Your grandmother isn’t very well, and I want you to take her this cake and a bottle of wine. They’ll make her feel a lot better. You be polite when you go into her house, and give her a kiss from me. Be careful on the way there, and don’t step off the path or you might trip over and break the bottle and drop the cake, and then there’d be nothing for her. When you go into her parlour don’t forget to say, “Good morning, Granny,” and don’t go peering in all the corners.’

‘I’ll do everything right, don’t worry,’ said Little Red Riding Hood, and kissed her mother goodbye.

Her grandmother lived in the woods, about half an hour’s walk away. When Little Red Riding Hood had only been walking a few minutes, a wolf came up to her. She didn’t know what a wicked animal he was, so she wasn’t afraid of him.

Missouri SCBWI PAL Postcard Art Contest

Our regional SCBWI chapter is going to send out a postcard to schools to promote our local PAL children's authors and illustrators. It's meant to encourage school principals, teachers and librarians to invite book creators for school visits.

They had a illustration contest for the art side of the postcard and they just announced that I was the winner!! Not only will my art be featured on the card, but I also get a free portfolio critique at our upcoming conference! Here is my piece:

Congrats to the second and third place winners. You can see them here.

"Little Women" Illustration for SCBWI Tomie dePaola Award

Here is my entry to the annual Tomie dePaola Award.

He gave us all the challenge to produce an illustration in black & white – something I don't normally do. But I'm always up for a challenge!

We were to choose a passage, line or description from one of the following classic books to illustrate: “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, or “The Yearling” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I chose this passage from "Little Women":
As Christmas apporached, the usual mysteries began to hunt the house, and Jo frequently convulsed the family by proposing utterly impossible, or magnificently absurd ceremonies, in honor of this unusally merry Christmas. Laurie was equally impracticable, and would have had bonfires, sky-rockets, and triumphal arches, if he had had his own way. After many skirmishes and snubbings, the ambitious pair were considered effectually quenched, and went about with forlon faces, shich were rather belied by explosions of laughter when the two got together. Several days of unusually mild weather fitly ushered in a splendid Christmas-day. Hannah “felt in her bones that it was going to be an uncommonly plummy day,” and she proved herself a true prophetess, for everybody and everything seemed bound to produce a grand success. To begin with: Mr. March wote that he should soon be with them; then Beth felt uncommonly well that morning, and, being dressed in her mother’s gift, – a soft merino wrapper, – was bourne in triumph to the window, to behold the offering of Jo and Laurie. The Unquenchables had done their best to be worthy of the name, for, like elves, they had worked by night, and conjured up a comical surprise. Out in the garden steed a stately snow-maiden, crowned with holly, bearing a basket of fruit and flowers in one hand, a great roll of new music in the other, a perfect rainbow of an Afghan round her chilly shoulders, and a Christmas carol issuing from her lips, on a pink paper streamer: – 

“THE JANGFRAU TO BETH. 
“God bess you, dear Queen Bess! 
May nothing you dismay; 
But health, and peace, and happiness, 
Be yours, this Christmas-day. 

“Here’s fruit to feed our busy bee, 
And flowers for her nose; 
Here’s music for her pianee,–
 An Afghan for her toes. 

“A portrait of Joanna, see, 
By Raphael No. 2, 
Who labored with great industry, 
To make it fair and true. 

“Accept a ribbon red I beg, 
For Madam Purrer’s tail; 
And ice cream made by lovely Peg,– 
A Mont Blanc in a pail. 

Their dearest love my makers laid 
Within my breast of snow. 
Accept it, and the Alpine maid, 
From Laurie and from Jo.” 

How Beth laughed when she saw it! How Laurie ran up and down to bring in the gifts, and what ridiculous speeches Jo made as she presented them!

Illustration Friday – Flying

My entry for the ABC's Picture Book Competition which came in 3rd place. My apologies to my regular followers for the multiple postings of this piece, but it fits so perfectly with IF's word "flying," so I couldn't resist one more post!

VOTE NOW for "Pig on My Bed" in the ABC'S Picturebook Competition

Please vote for us!

UPDATE: Ignore my last post - now I find out the voting has already started today even though we were told tomorrow.
http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/5th_comp/PigOnMyBed.html

Vote for "Pig on My Bed" in the ABC'S Picturebook Competition

Please vote for us!

UPDATE: Voting starts MONDAY, Sept. 21th. I've been telling everybody to start voting on Sunday, because we were told the voting started Sept. 20th at midnight. But the woman running the competition thinks that Sept. 20th at midnight is the end of the day Sunday, but I disagree. It is 12:00 A.M. which in most people's world, is the beginning of the day (doesn't it stand for "at morning?"). Think about it - on New Year's Eve, we celebrate the new year at midnight because it's the start of a new day and year. Just a little mini-rant.

Anyway, it doesn't matter, she decided this, and she's in charge, so vote on Monday, not on Sunday. http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/5th_comp/PigOnMyBed.html

ABC's Children's Picturebook Competition

I have been chosen to illustrate one of the finalists stories for this year's contest. The story I illustrated is called "Pig on My Bed" by Sandy Grubb. Check out the contest and please vote (for us??). Voting begins September 20 and runs through October 4...be sure to vote daily!

Update on post below

Update: the voting is over, and thank God for that. I've never seen a bunch of more mean-spirited people in my life! Ok, they didn't like the font, the tree, the textures, too simple, too boring... I can take constructive criticism any day, but this wasn't constructive, this was just plain mean. What has happened to respect for other artists?

Contest entry - vote for me!

I entered this design in another contest - click below to vote so I can win some cool stuff!

2009 Soulard Mardi Gras Poster Contest Entry

I entered this in the Soulard Mardi Gras Poster Contest this year. There was 49 entries this year, and some of them were very stiff competition, one of them being this one. Still no announcement of the winner...

Update: the winner of the contest was this design by Corie Hammerstone. I put my design on my Zazzle site if you would like to purchase a shirt for the upcoming festivities.

Hug A Tree

My new design for the artevist t-shirt design contest. Please vote for me!

Update — TLAP Contest

I want to thank everyone for their votes and comments on my design for the Talk Like a Pirate Day contest over at zazzle.com. I didn't win, or even get an honorable mention, but I had fun creating this!

Talk Like a Pirate Day Contest

I've entered a contest for Talk Like a Pirate Day on zazzle.com. Arrrgh! Don't tell me you didn't know about this holiday every September 19?? Please vote for my design, or I'll make you walk the plank! Click on the design, it will bring up the shirt. Click on the stars to vote for it/rate it (hopefully 5 stars) in the upper right-hand corner and/or put a comment below(I think you have to create an account to comment). Thanks!