If Susanna Leonard Hill says she is going to send you something, believe her. My cover design for The "Princess" and the Pete came in fifth in her First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest. (See previous post.) As the title suggests, this was a fun event that introduced me to the supportive group of children's book writers, illustrators and fans that follow her blog.  Contest results were posted Monday; Susanna gave me the choice of one of five books as my prize, and my book arrived on Friday.  Not bad.

Without hesitation I chose Writing with Pictures by Uri Shulevitz.  In 2010, I had the privilege of meeting him at a local book signing.  He was kind and very supportive of my efforts in publishing. You can check out his many books here. The photo above shows my new book and Mr. Shulevitz's signature from our meeting years ago.

Children's book author Susanna Leonard Hill is sponsoring a contest for illustrators on her blog and I decided to submit an entry.  Participants were asked to chose a story from a list of the winners of her recent fairy tale writing contest and create a cover illustration.  I chose the story The "Princess" and the Pete by Jennifer Caritas which offers a modern twist on the The Princess and the Pea.  You can find Jennifer's story here.

This was a fun project and I thank Susanna for the opportunity.  I look forward to getting some feedback because I am always looking for ways to improve.  You can check out all the artists' entries on Susanna's blog.

Happy Earth Day!

This happy fellow is Jack and he asks "Mommy, are there as many numbers as there are people in the whole world?" in a book I illustrated in 2011.  That book, "Mommy How Many Number Are There?" by Becky Schantz is scheduled to come out in hardback later this year.  In the mean time, he seemed a perfect ambassador for today.

Violets are a symbol of awakening, or renewal, for they bloom in 

early Spring as nature wakes from the Winter sleep.

Adding digital color reinvents the drawing from the previous post.

Happy Spring.

Today is the day to honor all that is Irish and today I found a violet blooming in the garden.  Violets remind me of my mother, the woman  who gave me my Irish heritage.  This sketch is in memory of her.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Let's celebrate!  How to Grow a Hippo! has been printed and is on its way to author Becky Schantz.  She will be signing and mailing out the books that had been pre-ordered.  If you did not pre-order but would like a book, it is available for on-line purchase on the Mascot Books website.  Click here for a direct link.

The hippo celebrating in the illustration above started out as a hippo
study in preparation for the book back in 2012.  He soon morphed into a birthday hippo for my hippo-loving niece and later was reincarnated as a scientist for the book.  He gets around. 

All good things must come to an end.  We have had the good fortune to spend the holidays in the American Southwest, but December has passed and the decorations are coming down.  Upon arrival, I purchased a two foot table tree and a strand of garland at the local Humane Society thrift shop for the grand total of five dollars.  Additional decorations consisted of pine cones, dried chili peppers and raffia.  You can have a lot of fun with a little imagination and Elmer's glue.  Add a little nog, and you create masterpieces.  Or, so you think.

Now that 2014 is upon us, all the lights are coming down.   Yet, just yesterday, I stumbled across a tumbleweed "snowman" still on duty as sentry.  He has seen better days, but heck, we are all a bit worn out from the fun of our annual winter party.