This little guy has been around quite awhile and I still cannot get his eyeglass lenses right.  Every St. Patrick's Day I tweak him.  He will probably show up again next year, maybe sporting RayBans, or better yet, contacts.

Wishing you the luck of the Irish on this St. Patrick's Day.

The snow has returned.  Wishing all a Happy Valentine's Day.

 

"Winter, a lingering season,

is a time to gather golden moments,

embark upon a sentimental journey, 

and enjoy every idle moment." 

This quote by J. Boswell was the sentiment on my holiday card this past season.  Yes, this was the year--one of the mildest on record--that I chose to celebrate Winter.  It was easy this past December to wax poetic about the enveloping isolation of a snowfall.  Little did I know we would be enjoying temperatures near 70 degrees in January.   But I'll take it.
The cat in the saddlebag above would most certainly approve also.

Are there as many numbers as there are trees?  Are there as many numbers as there are leaves?  These are just a few of the questions four year old Jack asked his math educator mom that inspired a book.  Mommy, How Many Numbers Are There?  is the new book by Becky Schantz that I had the privilege to illustrate. Self-published, Mommy, How Many Numbers Are There? is available through Jack's Back Books.  Check out Becky's blog, JacksBackBooks.blogspot.com, for book excerpts, reading events, and ordering information.

So, how many numbers are there?  Read our book and find out!

Budding Computer Artist Trapped in a Finger Painting World

Today I met a budding computer artist trapped in a finger painting world.  It was my first presentation in front of a kindergarten class.  A local teacher wrote a children's book for which I did the illustrations.  After reading the book to the class she asked me to explain how the drawings were done.  With help from a visual aid I explained the steps from sketch to pencil drawing to scanned drawing to digital color.  One enthusiastic student wanted to know when he could start drawing on the computer.  His teacher said "Middle School."  I hope he doesn't have to wait that long.

There are no motorcycles in the new book but there is a dog.  I could not help myself.  More about the book in an upcoming post.

Dogs & Motorcycles

An editor once told me to please limit the number of illustrations that featured dogs in our book project to two.  Can you have too many dogs in anything?  Well, yes, you can.  Editors have a knack for being right about these things.   But this is my blog, so here is another motorcycle and dog illo.  This is a sketch done for a friend's birthday card.  The recipient rode her own trike despite battling MS.  This one's for Judy.

Four out of the six images pictured on this blog feature dogs on motorcycles.  All  feature a motorcycle.  Can I draw something besides motorcycles?  Well, yes, I can.  Stay tuned.

Holiday Recipe

It was appripos that my holiday recipe submission to They Draw & Cook was posted on Christmas Day.   The layout features Santa on two wheels, of course.  The recipe is a supercharged version of the simple peanut butter cookie.  The addition of chipotle powder, bourbon and turbinado sugar elevates this treat from street worthy to racetrack ready.  The recipe layout did double duty when I featured it in this year's holiday card.  Certainly there is nothing wrong with leftovers in this busy season.

The image above is a mock up of our 2010 holiday card showing the front/back and inside.  For a look at the TDAC recipe submission, click here.