Illustration Friday - "Homage"

Here's my homage to the great bluesman Buddy Guy. May he play on Forever!

Seeing Red!

It's amazing how great it feels to get the most mundane things done sometimes. In my case, it has been the process of collaging all of the backgrounds for a new children's book. But today really took a great leap. After having done all of the collage work, I was finally able to start adding the background color which is a cadmium red. I know it seems crazy to paint all of the groundwork that I just spent numerous hours creating, but it pays off big time by the time my final illustrations are done. The only problem now is to find space to leave all of these wet sheets. Good thing I am not currently using my ironing board! So, on to the next stage which is adding all of the detail work. I have 28 of these illustrations to finish in the next 5 weeks and am sure to have many a late nights. Within the next 2 weeks I should be able to start posting some of the actual images for you.



In other news, am working on getting a children's book illustration exhibit going here at the Elk River Arts Alliance gallery. I think it could really be a fun opportunity to display some of the illustrations I have done for various books and create a fun little work space in the gallery for the kids to create their own magical stories. Hopefully I will have a date for that in the next few days and will be sure to spread the word when I find out. Until then, have fun creating!

Working on some finals

After a little over a month of concepting and sketching for the new children's book I have been working on, I can say that I am working on some of the finals! It feels great to see the illustrations come to life and am excited to get them all to a final point. Soon I will be able to post some of the pictures to give you an idea of the book. The only problem now is the fact that the sun is staying out longer and it is more tempting to go out and enjoy the weather. Ohh well, even nicer days will soon be here! Since I can't show the illustrations yet, I have attached an image of a painting that I did a little while back of Costellos in St. Paul.

Illustration Friday - "Heavy part 2"

Being too plugged in can have some heavy consequences!

Illustration Friday - "Heavy"

The weight one must carry is often a tad heavy.

Illustration Friday - "Garden part 2"

Thought I would show the second one of this worm episode and get it done with! Hope you like! I promise that this will be the last one.

Decided to try NeoCounter

After seeing the Neocounter on a number of other websites and blogs, I have decided to take a test drive with it. The add-on is one that will allow you to see where some of my visitors are coming from in the world. I am going to try it with just the country listing for now and hope to see what kind of variety shows up. The only bad thing is that the previous 8000 visitors to the site won't be counted, but that's ok. I look forward to seeing where the current traffic is coming from and am anxious to see how many countries stop by for a visit. If you are curious yourself, the new Neocounter will be located just below my about me section of the blog.

Illustration Friday - "Garden"

Here's to all the worms in the garden!

Laying the groundwork

As I have eluded to in some previous posts, I have been busy working on the groundwork for a new children's book that will be out later this year. After a number of weeks in the studio working on the character designs, illustration layout and sketching for the entire interior, I have been working on the actual "ground" in which the illustrations will be painted on. The only problem, is using gel medium to randomly paste lots and lots of little ripped up pieces of magazines. Now I know, you may wonder what and why I do this. It is for the great texture that comes out in the end product. In the many times I have used gesso and just gel medium to produce texture, I just haven't been satisfied with the outcome as much as this process. For those of you who have seen the owl book of mine, you will know of the texture I am talking about. So, the good thing is the end product is a great illustration with wonderful texture. The bad is the fact that I have only 8 of these grounds complete and I have 18 more to go. Anyone want to come over and join in the fun?

A Planet Named Janet

"Muddy Waters" copyright Janet Nelson

The last few weeks I have been checking out the Gocco's that Janet over at A Planet Named Janet has been creating. They really have been fun to see the variety in entertainers that she has chosen. She even did one on Alan Greenspan. So, after seeing Johnny Cash and Dean Martin and the like come out, I send an email to see if she would consider doing any bluesman, and to my surprise and excitement, there was a Muddy Waters image a few days later. Needless to say, I had to get one and am anxious to have it arrive in the mail. You should check out her work and see the fun things that she has been working on over in PA.

March already? and an exhibit

I don't know if I am the only one that thinks this, but where did Feb. go? I just can't believe that it is March already and that we move our clocks ahead next week. Maybe it is because I have been stuck in my studio lately and the days just seem to melt together. The good news is that I was able to get out for a little bit today to drop off a painting that will be in the Elk River Arts Alliance 1st member show in their new gallery. The show runds from March 6th to April 12th. It is located at 716 Main Street in Elk River, MN and the Grand Opening for the new gallery and exhibit is Saturday March 8 from 5-7pm. I hope to see some of you there! The piece that will be in the show of mine is the "Mill City Museum" painting that I did last spring and is an oil on linen and measure 60" x 48".

Illustration Friday: Multiple

(CLICK IMAGE TO GET FULL VIEW)

Is there anything more multiple than cloning?

Working on new Blues Poster

It is hard to believe that is has been nearly a year since the last Blues Poster competition at the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival. But, it has and the new year has arrived to work on the next poster idea. I am thinking that I will be using the technique of acrylic over the collaged paper that most of you have come to see with illustrations like the Owl book and a few other pieces. It should give a great texture and feel to the piece as well as showcase the theme of the blues. For you viewing, I have attached last years submissions. They were both done digitally and were a lot of fun to work on.

Couple of great books for illustrators

As I am constantly looking for the newly updated books that are must haves for my art, I occasionally run into or am introduced to a new book that sparks my curiousity. One of those such books is titled "Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children about Their Art" and was introduced to it at the last CBIG meeting that I attended. It is a book that benefits The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and has some great artists that have contributed to the book including Maurice Sendak, Chris Van Allsburg, and Leo Lionni to name a few.



Another book that I just got is an update to the previous edition. It is the Graphic Artists Guild 12th edition of the Pricing and Ethical guidelines Handbook. This is a great book due to its in depth overview of the pricing in todays market of illustration. It helps with not only pricing but all the legal questions that usually arise within the market. This is truely a valuable book if you are an illustrator. I highly recommend it.

Arts in Harmony show

The cold is upon us once again here in Minnesota. Since it is an easy decision to stay inside where it is warm, I have been taking advantage of the time and working away in the studio on the new children's book project I have. Children's books I have found are a lot of fun to work on since you get to come up with the characters, the flow of how the book looks visually and also the final look and feel of the book when it is done. But the one thing that always presents itself in these ventures is the sheer amount of time that it takes to make sure that everything comes out just right. But when you find that path and the look that is to be done, it is so worth the time that it takes to see the outcome of all that work. Soon I will be able to start showing you that outcome as I get a little further in the development of the book itself.



In other news, I will be attending the opening reception and awards presentation tomorrow for the Elk River Arts Alliance Arts in Harmony show at the Sherburne County Goverment Center in Elk River. It is going to be a lot of fun to get out and see all of the amazing art that was juried into the show and to see the competition there is. Hopefully my painting "Richland County, ND" will do well. The reception is Sunday from 1-3:30pm. If you happen to be in the area, feel free to stop by and check out all of the great work.

Scanner on Roids!

As many artists know, capturing of ones artwork to the digital nature is one that is tricky, expensive and detrimental to the success of an artist. As an illustrator, it is a fact that can't be overlooked. If you have a great work of art that needs to be used for an article, a book cover, or a poster, your work must be as professionally captured as one can get. When you don't take the time to digitally capture your work properly, you can cause major issues such as fuzzy images, wrong colors, and overall unpleasant reproductions of what your art should actually look like. So, as I find myself working on more and more book projects with many illustrations for each one, I have decided to take the leap to the next step of controlling and capturing my artwork in the light in which it was made. Up until this point, I have relied on others at companies and copy shops to capture my work on large format scanners at prices that would make you cry. But with my new purchase this week , I will be able to make sure that the work and digital files that leave my studio will be of the highest quality and will represent my illustrations in a crystal clear view.


So with that, the scanner that I chose to work with from here on out is the Epson 10000xl Graphic Arts Scanner. The images above show the new scanner on the left side versus a normal sized scanner that you can find at stores like Office Depot and Best Buy on the right. As you can see, it is a monster flatbed scanner that can scan images 12.2" x 17.2" at a mindblowing 12800 dpi. I can't even imagine the need for a 12800 dpi scan, but having a scanner that has a scan surface as large as this will allow for a seamless reproduction of my illustrations and allow for myself to do the quality control and pace at which it is done. It will also allow for the color syncing of my scanner, monitor and large format printer all into likeminded profiles so that the surprise of a rogue color doesn't kill a piece. But as with any investment, it is not a scanner that is cheap. To think that I could have bought a macbook pro and still have some extra money, made this a decision that has been thought over for the last 6 months a tough one. But in the end, it was a decision that made more business sense than not getting it. To make an investment in ones career, is definitely one that I don't mind making, even if I have to figure out how to pay for it!

What to do with online portfolio sites

After a year of trying out some of the online portfolio sites that promise more visibility and clients, I have seen how much of a hit or miss they can be. As an illustrator, there are a number of options with listings online, in annuals, and also the traditional route of snail mail. The one thing in common though is to find a solution that works the best and on the best budget.

Now most of the online sites that offer portfolios or directory listings have a small fee for the most basic of information like website info, some images and the contact info, but you can quickly make that number skyrocket to close to a thousand or more for the advanced placement at the top of the listing and a limitless amount of images. Where do you draw the line though? Is it always best to pay to be at the top? or should you come back to your sense of marketing ability and pay for a medium sized portfolio and market the crap out of it to your possible clients. With that, I decided to try and start at the lower end of things and see where it was to go. For the best responses, I have found that being apart of an arts organization or group like the Childrens Book Illustrators Guild (CBIG),d Elk River Arts Alliance, and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators can really generate alot of traffic to your site and the fees are only the annual dues for each with can range from as little as $20 to $60 a year. If you are looking for strictly an online portfolio presence, places like Children's Illustrators, Minnesota Creative and the TheISpot can be a place to pay a nominal fee and have a fairly decent amount of traffic for your illustration portfolio. So with all the different options out there for getting your work in the hands of potential clients, I would recommend doing your homework, finding out what kind of budget you have for advertising as a whole, and try a new approach to the traditional snail mail. It is amazing what you can do when you combine the two!

Self Portrait with a 2B pencil

Click to look at full size image

After a flurry of activity in the studio that produced over 30 illustrations in the last 2 weeks, I have returned to the joys of sketching again. The main reason for the return is a brand new children's book project that the contract was signed earlier in the week. I am anxious to tell you all about it, but will wait a little while until I have something to show along with it. So with that, I have been busily scratching and pushing the pencil around the sketch pad the last few days and wanted to play around with only a 2B pencil. Normally I would compliment the sketch with a variety of soft and hard pencils, but thought I would keep it simple and pick just one. So hope you enjoy a little self portrait scratch!

Illustration Friday: Tales and Legends

This is an illustration I did from the children's book titled "Why the Owl has Big Ears". It is a native american tale of why the owl is such a peculiar little animal.

Keeping a sketch book

One of the things that I often lack on but try to do is keep a small sketchbook with me. I know that the key to developing your skills as an artist is by sketching and sketching and sketching some more. But, I find it hard to always bring it with and sometimes slack on that aspect. Hopefully with some renewed vigor in my illustration work and other art projects, it will bring it back into the light. The key I think is to have it be something that I automatically do rather than have to think about it. But that is easier said than done. In the spirit of the sketch, I have attached three random ones that I have done in the last few weeks and hope to continue creating these as I see them.

In other news, I am anxious to tell you all about some great things that are in the works and are close to being finalized with my illustrations. If all goes well, then I won't be complaining about having too much time on my hands and nothing to work on for quite a while. Stay tuned for updates.

Ode to Winter

I figured it was time to do another ode to Old man winter with the beautifully cold air that is upon us. Nothing like going outside and being welcomed with -30 below windchills. So, here is my rendition of what you might look like if you ventured out and had some fun! Maybe your cheeks would be more red? Guess I won't be finding out myself.

Squirrelly work!

Happy Sunday to you guys. Hope your weekend has been going good so far. Sorry for the absence of posts lately, but have been hunkered down working on the final illustrations for two different books. The good news is that I should be done with the one book project by the middle of this week and the other one by the weekend. Then maybe I can get back to a more structured posting schedule. As for the images and stuff, I will hopefully be able to post them in the near future, but have to wait till they get the final approval to show you guys. I hope you understand. In other art news, have been working on a illustration project that will be reviewed by the cartoon network in the next month or so as well, so there is a lot to think and wonder about there.

Speaking of thinking, one of the things that I have really found to be interesting over the course of my art career so far is the flow of my artwork between my fine art and my illustration. Just when I think it is time to push full force with my paintings, my illustration work takes off and vice versa. At this point last year, all i was really talking about was my fine art and here so far this year it has been nothing but illustration. I guess it is that way to make sure that I keep both of these areas going full force and not get too burnt out with one area. And when I think about it, I don't think I could do without either one of these. They both provide that excitement and challenges that keep me wanting to start the next thing right away. Well, I guess it is time to quite my thinking session and get back to the work. As a visual treat for you I have posted some character studies of a squirrel that I have been working on lately. These are two different versions of what he could be. Overall I have probably 50 different variations of this character, but thought that would leave to many people's heads spinning to look at them all. So here are two of them. Hope you enjoy.

Children's Book Illustrators Guild

One of the great things that has happened over the last year and a half is that I have been fortunate to have been introduced to the Childrens Book Illustrators Guild (CBIG) here in Minneapolis. I have met alot of great fellow artists and friends. One of the exciting things that we as a group have taken on over the last 6 months is to redevelop a website with illustration samplings from all of our members and also do promotional mailings to drum up more attention. Now I know that there are a few things to work out with the website and they will be fixed very soon, but was really happy to see the new postcard that we are sending out to all of the publishers. It will be interesting to see what they all think of the new look!

Illustration Friday - "100 %"

"100 % Full!"

Happy New Year and a great new read

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a great time last night and were able to be somewhat productive today. Hard to believe that 2007 is over all ready, but am anxious to see what 2008 brings. Hopefully it will see more production done in the studio and also more projects with the illustrations. I am also happy to have found a new and interesting book from Phaidon called "30,000 years of art" thanks to a gift from my Mentor Martin Skoro. Now I know you are probably thinking not another art history book, but the thing that really stuck out to me was the fact that it traces history as a whole to current date rather than jumping back and forth between cultures and timeframes. I know that doesn't lend itself to a complete history of a time period and all the cultures within it, but it really creates a nice new look at the history of art in general. Another cool thing about this book that makes it stand out against the others is the fact that it is nearly 1100 pages and weighs an astonishing 14 lbs. Such a huge book makes for one that you rest on the table to read rather than hoisting it onto your lap. Believe me when your legs start to go numb, time to put the book down! Anyways, just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and hope all of your resolutions are broken already!

Closing down another year and a nice way to end the week

Can you believe that we are down to the last three days of 2007? It is so hard to believe that the entire year is over and 2008 is ready to begin. What used to be 12 months until the show I am having at Homewood Studios, now has dwindled down to 6 months and a few days. Can someone say Help! But it is not all that bad. I have been working alot lately on a couple of great book projects and will be wrapping them both up in the month of January. That should give some more time to the painting side of things. With that note, I was also surprised this week with a great letter in the mail. It was from the Arts in Harmony 2008 show and they said that one of my paintings was accepted into the juried competition. It is the Richland County painting that recently took second place at the St. CLoud Art for Artists show. So it seems to have a following and will hopefully find a good home with this show. Plus there is almost $10,000 in prize money up for grabs!

I also wanted to mention that a fellow children's book illustrator and MNSCBWI member that I know by the name of Christina Rodriguez has recently started a blog of her own. If you get a chance, stop by and say hi(tell her I sent you) and congratulate her on a Minnesota Book Award Nomination for her new book "Storm Codes" that she illustrated! It is always fun to see people that you know get the recognition they deserve!

Illustration Friday - Horizon

Thought I would keep thinking of warm thoughts since coming back into the snow. Here is my summer themed Horizon.

Back from a great little trip

After much fun in Arizona, it was time to come back to the beautiful weather here in Minnesota. I know that is hard to believe that there could be beautiful weather here, but when you live here, you have to have the sunny outlook. Nonetheless, leaving the upper 60's to come back to the teens were a little hard. The reason for the trip was my family and I were on a mini vacation to Scottsdale to see my brother Cory graduate from the Mesa Police Academy. He is now a fully sworn officer for the Scottsdale Police Department! Overall, the four days we were there went extremely fast and we always seemed to find fun things to do. One of those things included climbing on Camelback Mountain which you can see by the pictures below was a little bit of a climb (especially coming from flat land)! But we made it quite far and got some beautiful shots of the landscape. You can also see the steepness of the climb in the last photo. Now for the near future it will be snow and cold, but am hoping to get back to AZ sometime in the springtime before it gets too hot down there!

Off to see the desert

Well the good thing about really cold weather is you can get alot done inside that normally would be hard to stay in and do. But with my upcoming trip to Arizona on Thursday, I have been busy getting all of my art projects up to speed and am hoping to not fall too far behind by the time I get back. Overall though, it will be a much needed break that will probably lead to more productive time from here until the beginning of the new year. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and will be back to the blog with a better post and some new photos from the trip early next week.

Illustration Friday: "Little Things"

Often in life we take the little things for granted. Where did you get your water from this morning?

Decided to sign up for Technorati

Well after a few months of hearing how beneficial it would be to have a Technorati Profile, I have decided to sign up it. What this will help do is bring more and more of you to my site and also create a profile for how much traffic and all is coming here. The thing that really pushed me to deciding to do this was when the Top 101 Artists' Blog list was released today. Having noticed a few people I know like Cynthia listed on it and then being suprised to see my name as the first one on the predictions area. So with that I am hoping to break into the top 101 artists list come the next time it is released. We will just have to see where it goes from here!

Need more wall space

So as you are probably aware of, this weekend there was a nice little storm that dumped lots and lots of snow here in Minnesota. Now, usually I love snow and all the fun that it brings, but not when there is a big art sale that requires people to show up to buy things. There were a few brave souls that made it and bought a few things, but it was pretty slow. So with more things(framed at that) coming back to the studio than I had imagined, I am need of a lot more wall space. But the bright side is I get to look at all of the framed pieces that usually disappear shortly after being framed.

Upcoming Art sale this weekend

One of the great things about this time of the year is the fact that there are a number of special "holiday" activities to take part in. My favorite types of course are the art events that come around. This year I will be taking part in an event in my new neighborhood. It is the Holiday Art Sale at Union Church in Elk River. I hear it is quite the event with lots of artists that will be there and will even be featured on Kare 11 news in Minneapolis this friday. SO, with that, I have been busy getting some things ready for the sale and will be going to pick up a number of pieces being framed on Thursday. The pictures above are a little bit of a funny thing since the one that looks the largest(the drawing) is only 10" wide versus the painting at the bottom which is a little over 2 feet. That's the joys of cropping I guess. If any of you are in the area on Saturday from 10-4, you will have to stop by Elk River and come check it out. As for the address, I will be getting that in the next post tomorrow or Thursday. Have a great rest of the evening and hope all is well for everyone.

Illustration Friday: "The Zoo"

Who is really the "zoo"?

Illustration Friday - "Superstition"

A "Sunny" project

Well, as you can tell I have been quite busy the last few weeks and haven't had a lot of time to post to the blog. I have been working on three projects that came in including two book projects. The image above is a children's young reader that I am working on that will be available sometime in early 2008 and is a story written by Leketha Marie Johnson. I will have more details available when I am able to. Other than that, I am also starting to realize that the June show at Homewood Studios is going to be coming around the corner before I know it and have been prepping some of the canvas's that I will be using. It will be alot of fun to get working in the oils soon. Hope everyone has a great start to their weekend and check back later this weekend for the the new illustration Friday image. I wonder what this weeks topic is going to be?

Illustration Friday- "Scale"

Kinji

As an artist, I often find mentors and others to look up to for not only inspiration but insight into a very challenging career path. In my time that I have been associated with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have come to see the impact that a professor by the name of Kinji Akagawa has had on not only my fellow classmates and I, but students and artists from the last 30+ years. Kinji is a person who not only welcomes you into a class, but as a fellow artist outside of it. It is with his love of the arts and teaching that won over so many people over the years. And with that, it was fantastic to see Kinji win the 2007 McKnight Distinguished Artist award a few months ago and to recieve a copy of the book about him today in the mail. To know him is a gift and to see him honored for his dedication solidify's his passion in the arts. His artist's statement reads:

"I am not a philosopher and I am not a politician. I work as an artist, craftsperson, teacher, learner, and researcher in this community, respecting those who are living and exchanging energies in the landscape of art and the ecology of life."

Kinji Akagawa