Too Cool!

"Literacy Day" 2009. Octavius Bloom goes to school. Too cool!

Back to Work!

A signed copy of Boo's Surprise to the first person who identifies our photo locale!

My family and I just returned from a 10-day summer trip and we're right back in the thick of things on this fine Thursday afternoon.

I just mailed off several framed Dog Diaries pics for a September/October show at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, in Eureka, CA. These images will be shown in conjunction with the Humbolt County Author Festival, and I couldn't be happier about this return trip to northern California.

To top it off, I just learned that David Diaz is going to be there! I met David briefly at last winters' SCBWI NYC Conference, but was a little too shy (as usual) to really make his acquaintance. I'm totally cool when it comes to meeting kids, teachers, librarians etc., but put me in a room full of incredible authors n' illustrators and I shrink: "The agony!" To wit, since so many other fine folks are attending the Humbolt shindig as well, I promise to get out of my shell and make the most of it.

Signing off, I'll leave you with a proof of the Spring 2010 Cat Diaries cover. I've shown the cat image before, but the design is really coming together...

The drawing table awaits!

Grandpa Tomato

This spring, for the first time ever, my wife, daughter and I planted a garden. For a while now, we have been sampling the fruits of our labor, but this last batch of carrots and tomatoes was particularly satisfying. Lots of lettuce too, and a bunch of swiss chard that I neglected to include in the photo.

I've also discovered an nostalgic association for the smell of a tomato plant. It reminds me of my grandfather!

At last!

Yesterday afternoon, I *posted the final page of my summer reading adventure with the North Central Regional Library system.

Just in case you've missed out thus far, library-by-library, kids and assorted other audience members helped me to build this story page-by-page. We'd read the story in-progress, brainstorm, edit, and ask the all important question "what happens next?" The end result is action-packed and lots of fun. It gets a little silly at the end, but the evil Dr. Dexter definitely lands in the right place... for now!

*For some reason I can't post a picture up here right now. Follow the link and you'll get some artwork to accompany this rambling prose.

Boo's Surprise!

Sunday August 9th, 2009 2:00pm

Join me at Trail's End Bookstore in Winthrop, WA
to celebrate the publication of Boo's Surprise.

This sequel to Boo's Dinosaur (2006) has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for its upbeat voice, convincing family relationships, child-centered dialog, and engaging double-page drawings.
Meet the illustrator (yours truly!) and get your photo taken with Boo and her brand new dinosaur. Plus, I'll bring treats and a "surprise" drawing project.

Please, please, please, please, please, stop on by!

Summer Reading No. 25 - Chelan, WA

With many thanks to a thoughtful audience member, here is a quick snap shot of the Madam Zorony story in progress in Chelan, WA. Yesterday was the final day of my Summer Reading visits AND the publication date for Boo's Surprise. More on both of these things soon. Tonight I am hosting a kids art booth at the Mazama Market. Still looking forward to a real summer vacation in another week or two. Tally ho!

Face Painting No. 2

Another quick pic of a (hopefully) satisfied customer at the July 4th Methow Arts Fest facepainting booth. We had a line 10-20 kids deep for about 4 solid hours. Too fun!

Madam Zorony page 18

The action is fast and furious over here in Summer Reading land -- evil polar bears, magic zebracorns, vice-like bubbles, and the occassional weak-kneed but well meaning arrow alligator! Pages 1-18 in the Super Princess Madam Zorony serial are posted and ready for your viewing pleasure :)

I'm trying to get the kids to reign things in a bit and resolve a few plot issues, but its definitely trending towards summer action movie status. All in good fun, and not bad for about 20 minutes of brainstorming and sketching per library stop (plus about 30-45 minutes spent on the "final" art images at home).

Stay tuned for 5 additional pages on July 22 and 23. Hope that your summers are equally adventurous!

Boo No. 2

Boo is VERY excited about her new book, Boo's Surprise. Now she just needs to find that purple striped dress that she was wearing for the new cover art...

Methow Arts Fest 2009!

The 4th of July here in the Methow Valley is awesome! We don't do hot dog eating contests or fireworks -- the later being banned completely because we just too hot and dry -- but we DO have a terrific parade and an incredible Arts Fest thanks the amazing efforts of Methow Arts and all of their business partners and volunteers from Pateros to Mazama.
I didn't take nearly enough pictures to do the Festival justice, but for 3 of the last 4 years I've been face-painting at the Festival and simply have a blast. Kids are running everywhere, there is music, food, arts & crafts booths: boat building, bug outfits, bubble wands etc.. Way too great. Come and visit in 2010!

Madam Zorony Coloring Pages

Mail Bag

Due to certain clerical errors from the left bank studios of Wolf Creek a wonderful batch of first grade school visit 'thank you' notes only just arrived late last week - they were postmarked May 11 :O

Somehow, I am hopefull that a delayed response on my part will evetually reach these now second graders from Clear Creek Elementary. Thank you all!

Max only wishes he looked this tough!

And I only wish I were this handsome :)

A wonderful Slow Days, Fast Friends drawing...

...and other super cool drawings too!

A Kirkus Suprise!

My lovely editor at Holt passed along this recent review of Boo's Surpise. It was a real treat to follow-up on Besty's/Boo's adventures from the first book, and I was especially pleased by the sentance or two regarding the illustrations :) Available on August 4th!

Byars, Betsy
Boo's Surprise
Illus. by Erik Brooks

Boo’s imagination continues full force in this gentle sequel to Boo’s Dinosaur (2006). Boo styles herself the “luckiest girl in the world” when she discovers a spotted egg hatching in her yard. She and her dinosaur develop a rich friendship, jumping rope, playing hopscotch and pretending to be cowboys together. Her upbeat voice depicts her supportive friendship with her playmate: “He has wings. He just doesn’t know how to use them yet.” With her magic cape held tight, Boo teaches him how to fly, and he soars away, leaving behind a memento for Boo and her older brother to share. Convincing family relationships enhance Boo’s experiences; child-centered dialogue abets the taut pacing. Engaging double-page drawings extend the text with humor and warmth. Brooks’s illustrations vary shading to depict the fully realized characters. The dinosaur’s dynamic expressions provide a warm immediacy to the engaging plot, and Boo’s bouncy pigtails convey her youthful exuberance. The successful balance between fantasy and realism creates a satisfying chapter-book selection. (Fantasy. 5-9)

Super Princess Madam Zorony!

My Summer Reading adventures are off and running. You can follow along, or print and color all of the pages here, but the first three days of our summer serial packed such a wallop that I'm posting them on this regular blog as well. Get the word out and keep up the great work kids!

MATTAWA PUBLIC LIBRARY, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Summer Reading 2009!

I'm done with my grades, and back to my first full-day in the studio in over a month! Yesterday was also the kick-off of Summer Reading here in North Central Washington state. Follow along with both the library visits AND the Summer Serial at: http://ncrlsummerreading.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading!

In the wake of a giant...

For the last week, I have been humbled and awed, saddened and inspired, by my return to teaching in a high school art room. Tragically, Sean McCabe, the beloved art teacher at Liberty Bell High School, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of thyroid cancer. It has been my sincere pleasure to fill in for him in this time of need.

He has spent a career giving of himself, and the inspiration - both artistically and personally - that he provides for so many is a force to be reckoned with. Rest easy Sean. Be well, and fight like the Giant that you are in so many other ways!

Cover Art!

Here's a sneak peak of the CAT DIARIES cover art. This was taken with a digital camera, so the color is a little different, but it's pretty close. I'll post additional snapshots of the work-in-progress and some of the various sketch ideas soon, but you get the "frosting" first. Enjoy!

Encounters

A wee bit different than most of the drawings that you'll find here... Tor and Del Ray, here I come!

Cat Walk

Happy Earth Day!

In the spirit of the day, here is a great link to a new children's book on the subject of recycling and reuse. Check out Anna Alter's new book, What Can you Do With an old Red Shoe?

Enjoy!

Sno-Isle Kids

Recently, I helped the Sno-Isle Library System (north of Seattle) to redesign their Kids page. For the most part, this meant creating a mascot of sorts, and then lots and lots of otter drawings :) Check it out and let me know what you think. I'll be making a few coloring pages for their summer reading enjoyment as well.

Zina in 3-D

My daughter and I did a little sculpting recently. She made flowers, and I made a penguin. Then she flew the coop... or waddled off to a excellent new home anyway :)

Verdant

Polar Polka Makes a Splash!

Chérie Stihler, the author behind Polar Polka, has been sending me lots of publicity updates. Good news all around!

First, it appears that the book is on a tentative list for the 2009-2010 Alaska Battle of the Books. Subject to certain "verifications of supply" kids k-2 all across the great Alaskan frontier will get a chance to count some bears and look for lemmings :)


Second, the BP World Ice Art Championships Multi-Block Classic in Fairbanks featured a very Polar Polkaesque saxaphone playing bear. The carving's official name was: "50th Celebration by the Sourdough Band". It took 4th place in Realistic and was the Artists Choice Award winner in the Realistic Category. Congrats to the carvers. Extra cool: this sculpting team was from China!

Apparently, there is a time-lapse video of the carving here. I haven't seen it because my internet connection is far from adequate. Enjoy at your own risk!

Signs of spring!

Cat Diaries Completion!

Well... I guess it still needs a cover. In any case, this week I put the finishing touches on 70+ interior images for Cat Diaries. Cat-aclysmic coolness!

Much like Dog Diaries, this new book was written by Betsy Byars and her daughters, Betsy Duffey and Laurie Myers. Even though I'm firmly in the "dog person" camp pet-wise, I think these stories are even better than those penned by the dogs. Sorry pups. All that sneaking around and feined affection must give cats an edge in the authoring biz.

I'll put more process info up here as we move along towards publication (Henry Holt, Spring 2010). Where it's at, cat.

Mad Hatter

My daughter's Montessori Pre-School is gearing up for their semi-annual fundraising auction. It's a terrific school, with incredibly caring staff and founding members, for which my wife and I are eternally thankful. Thusly, despite my chronically "behind" state of being, I couldn't say 'no' when they asked me to create some sort of image for their Mad Hatter's Tea Party themed event. I don't paint with acrylics very often, but the immediate brightness was hard to resist (especially for cranking something out), and it turned an already worthwhile project into a futher experiment with new mediums.

Recent Travels

I shouldn't write too much tonight, but I've been back n' fourth across the country twice in the last three weeks, and both trips were really great...and totally different.


First, I spent a week in NYC. Awesome! No way that I don't sound like a lovestruck kid from the mountains in Washington state, but The City is so cool :) I went four years ago with similar intent - to show my work around, and to make some face-to-face connections in publishing paradise. This time, the visits were with many people that I've worked with in recent years, and the time spent sharing art and simply visiting felt even more valuable. I also attended my first ever SCBWI Winter Conference, and had the distinct pleasure of hearing Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Jay Asher, Jack Gantos, and many others during the last three days of this whirlwind week. Extra cool was a casual but inspiring exchange with David Diaz as we both gawked at way too many people trying to get a brief seance with an agent on Saturday night. Alas, the conference did NOT answer the ongoing agent/continued no agent question for me, but I'm still giving it serious thought.


In any case, trip no. 2: Ely, MN. I agreed to do this almost a year ago. Despite my own snowy mountain locale, at times Ely seemed like it might be just a bit too far away and a bit too complicated to pull off. Not to worry! It turned out great. Hands down, one of my most enjoyable school visit experiences EVER, and I drove away last Friday afternoon renewed vigor for teaching about what I do, and a tired but satisfied smile turned upon my mouth. Just a few additional photos of the fantastic kids and a quick glimpse of our days at Washington Elementary School. Thanks VERY much everyone!


OK truth be told, I didn't get any photos of our classroom sessions. What follows, are pics from the TOTALLY INCREDIBLE pajama party that was planned for Tuesday night, cancelled due to potential ice storms, and then actually occurred on Wednesday night, after my first full day of classroom visits. Note to future school visit coordinators: exhausting as an extra 1.5 hour gathering was at the end of a full day, it was totally worth it! Easily 120+ people showed up, and I think they all had as much fun as I did... with much thanks to Betsy, Karin and others for the excellent door prizes, evening craft projects, and everything else.

The "best dressed bear" contestants...

...and then some!

Plus, a chance to draw on the walls.

Some great work by MANY aspiring illustrators - and even a pajama clad parent!

And lastly, I took the rare opportunity to visit Ely's International Wolf Center. I've been a member for almost 10 years, and the 4 mo. old pups that I witnessed will definitely get me back before another decade goes by. Quite a bit different than a stroll through Times Square, or Central Park, but memorable nonetheless. Thanks again to all involved for making both trips so worthwhile. And now I'm home :)

A Lot'a Otters

The Sno Isle Library website will debut a brand new children's area in February, with illustrations by moi!

Zina revisited

Another experimental painting for my next picturebook. This particular version is watercolor with a charcoal line... More sketches of Zina & co. to come in the next few weeks and months.

Snow Days

Finally, winter has arrived in earnest. The view from my window looked a lot like this for much of the day on December 31st. There's a Trip Shakespeare song, Snow Days, that always comes to mind, along with the irrepressible joy of my inner snow-fort builder :) Happy New Year!


Today, at just above 10 degrees, we had an incredible Blue Skies afternoon. Perfect classic skiing weather, if you know what I mean. Peace and best wishes for 2009.