Beyond Books: Art in Action

Like anyone, I get asked to make donations to various causes around the country. The requests vary, as do the compelling reasons for participation. When Room One, a local non-profit focused on reducing domestic violence, and increasing parent/child health and well being approached me this summer, I jumped at the chance to help.

It's a soup bowl auction for goodness sakes! 200 hand-painted soup bowls by community members and local artisans. Soup bowls and autumn -- it's practically perfect!

True to tradition (this is the 4th annual event) most bowls are simply given away with the price of admission. The bowls that I painted, however, along with a matching book, will be part of the silent auction.

Take a look and see what you think:

Polar Opposites: Alex and Zina get their debut in both literary AND culinary style!

Practically Perfect Pajamas: Percy stands the test of time -- in dashing red with outer space details.

A closer look...

Slow Days, Fast Friends: Howard's grin will welcome you when the Cheerios are gone!

A closer look...

And finally, Harts Pass: Melanie is all smiles at the bottom of your bowl. Honestly, this drawing looks a little odd. If you want to see Melanie is better form, drop in on the high country action sometime :)

PS The images here are pre-fired glazes. I will post again once the pots have been fired!

PPS If anyone outside of Winthrop is interested in bidding, I am happy to take maximum bids. My wife and I will attend the auction and could place bids on your behalf.

Send an email at: brooks dot methownet dot com
or call me at: 509.996.4345

Gaaa! POLAR OPPOSITES is out yesterday!

OMG! Amidst a slough of other activity -- the first week of school, painting soup bowls for the Room One Auction, drawing comics, and putting the finishing touches on Who Has These Feet?, I totally forgot to mention my new book WHICH CAME OUT YESTERDAY!

Polar Opposites (Marshall Cavendish, 9.1.2010) is finally in the mix! Hoorah! Already some kind words from Kirkus Reviews, who call it a "refreshing change from traditional opposites books" but why take their word for it when you can have one of your very own :)

I'll celebrate the "one day late" announcement with this early sketch of Alex and Zina. They've changed a bit in the final art, but not too much. Enjoy!

woodfiredkids.com

For 10 years, my cousin Nate and his wife Hallie have been operating a woodfired pottery business from their home in north eastern Iowa. They make excellent pots, and its a great story of two people doing what they love.

Enter Noah! Two years ago they had a baby boy -- who I got to hang out with for several days earlier this summer. He's a fantastic kid with a wickedly powerful high five.

As these things go, he's also inspired Nate and Hallie to start a new branch of their pottery business: Woodfired Kids!

In a nutshell, these new pots are a handmade, non-toxic, thoughtfully designed alternative to the standard plastic kidswear. Smart stuff. Check it out!

Harts Pass Online!

After a nice vacation and busy summer days, I'm back to work on all fronts. Harts Pass is now online and will have a new comic strip posted every week. Cheers!

Polar Opposites: Coloring page no. 1

Polar Opposites: Outakes no. 1

"Alex is nervous. Zina is not."

Polar Opposites ships out in just a little under 1 month. Reserve your copy today! In the mean time, enjoy this "deleted scene" from the book.

Bon voyage!

Harts Pass!

It's official, I'm a cartoonist :)

You've seen a few experiments posted earlier in May, but the first OFFICAL issue of Harts Pass debuted on June 23rd! With kind consideration for the Methow Valley News -- my new patron saint of "sure, we're ready to go on this" -- I'm still debating when I should post the strip online. I definitely won't pre-empt or even compete with their mid-week release, but I'd like to get this out to a wider audience at some point relatively soon.

In any case, I'm thrilled. As stated in the News, "Harts Pass will chronicle life in the Methow Valley (my home range) from the perspective of two (mostly) fictional wolverines named Thor and Melanie."

Stay tuned!

The Methow Arts Fest 2010: Elevate Your Senses!

A small piece of art that I did 18 months ago was recently re-appropriated for the greater good. As if you needed any further reason to visit the Methow, our July 4th Arts Fest, as hosted by The Methow Arts Alliance, is far and away one my favorite celebrations in the valley. Fair warning -- there are no fireworks -- but I promise you won't miss 'em. Cheers!

Illustration Friday: Ripple No. 2

Hans Brinker 2010: Sadly, the folk hero for Deepwater Horizon has yet to arrive...

Purchase this image for a $10 donation by visiting ripple.

Illustration Friday: Ripple

Its not quite the whale that I should have drawn for the Gulf of Mexico, so I'll do an additional image or two on this theme later in the week...

Suzuki Violin: Book No. 1

Presenting: Polar Opposites!

Art Away No. 6

The Muse

Art Away No. 5

Heart's Pass No. 3

Heart's Pass No. 2

Heart's Pass

UPDATE: After several days of consideration, it felt like the icons in my first version (below) were a little confusing. What do you think? Does this read a little more clearly now? Melanie and Thor are grumpy, they see each other, say hello, and in passing their outlooks change.

We'll see where this goes, but I'd like to pitch a comic strip to our weekly paper, The Methow Valley News. Heart's Pass, starring a pair of local wolverines, will be a chance to observe and comment on both the local scene and the world at large. It will also be a deadline driven reason for me to "practice" telling stories in a comic strip format. How in the world do cartoonists keep up with those daily strips. Amazing!

Wild Woods

While not right in my backyard, this yawning black bear did spend most of it's Mother's Day weekend camped out near a friend's house in Mazama. We don't see the Ursus americanus of the Methow like this too often, but it is a great reminder of where we live and who we share the trails and tree wells with :)

Supermom!

Three cheers for the fearless super heroines of the world!

Happy Birthday Mr. Audubon!

My calendar tells me that today is John James Audubon's birthday. I'm certainly no genius naturalist, but I painted a few different birds recently and I have always been a fan of Audubon's amazing renderings. Melissa Sweet illustrated a great picture book biography about Audubon a few years ago. Enjoy!

Bookmark Doodles Too

Bookmark Doodles

I have a shoe box full of paper scraps. These odd-sized pieces get used for all sorts of things, and yesterday I started painting bookmarks. I'm hooked. Expect to see more!

Rain Delay

Mail Day!

The good folks at Henry Holt paired the good with the bad in this afternoon's UPS package. First, some work (not really that bad). I knew it was coming because I have to make a few minor corrections to the artwork on a recent project (see kangaroos and sticky notes in the background). But second, they included a printed and bound copy of the soon to-be-released Cat Diaries! Written by Betsy Byars and illustrated by yours truly :) 

MEOW! Always so cool to see a book come into complete and total being! Lots and lots of pictures in this one!If you'd like to take a closer look, I'll have a copy at this weekend's SCBWI conference in Seattle. Cheers! 

The Fall 2010 Catalog Cover!

Good news! I was honored (and very excited) to learn that Alex and Zina will be front and center on the Marshall Cavendish Fall 2010 catalog cover. There are tons of great titles on this list, so its pretty cool to see the artwork from POLAR OPPOSITES kick it all off in the right direction!

Publication (September 2010) is still a ways off, but the marketing department is 3-6 months right on schedule.

Art-Away No. 4

I'm getting caught up on Art-Away 2010. N0. 7 is ships out on April 9th, so mailing No. 3 & 4 this afternoon is definitely progress!

Art-Away No. 3

Top Secret Drawing Tips!

In the midst of a recent elementary school workshop, I decided that the kids needed a "guide" to all of my various thoughts and ramblings. The end result: Herbert the Cat's Top Secret Drawing Tips! Its far from perfect, but hopefully it captures one or two of the ideas in a way that will stick. Herbert, by the way, is a circus clown cat who just happens to save his fellow troupe mates from an alien invasion. All in a days work for 3rd and 4th grade genius kids :)

Click on the link above to download your very own copy of the "Tips."

I'd love to hear what you think!

Art-Away No. 2

Art-Away No. 1

It's been a busy start to the new year, but I'm finally ready to kick off my Art Exchange for 2010*. This version, somewhat different than  before, is officially christened THE ART-AWAY! No "exchange" required this year. 

Once every two weeks - thanks to these eco-friendly yellow birch postcards from Night Owl Paper Goods - I'll be mailing out a piece of art. Where will the paintings go? Nobody knows. Friends & family? Editors? Fellow authors & illustrators? YOU?

Anyone could fall victim to this dastardly plan! 

* After 2+ months of dragging tail, I'll be cranking things out just a little more quickly to get on schedule. Technically, Art-Away No. 6 should be mailed on March 26th. However, it might take another week or two to catch up.

Imagining Alligators...

A family that paints together...

Sunday afternoon. Winthrop, Washington: The weekend's Stegosaurus Science Project Sculpture turns into a family paint-a-thon! 

Jump for Joy!

Late last week I finished my final few paintings for Who Has These Feet? by Laura Hulbert. I think its a Spring 2011 book, and I know that its published by Henry Holt. Stay tuned for another sneak peak or two as the seasons slide.

Thank You!

There are several upsides to living 4 hours from Seattle. Perhaps the most tangible downside however (from the children's book makers perspective), is that I am so far from events and concentrated numbers of people. It cuts both ways. Thankfully, I don't mind driving. There is a certain bliss to cruising down the highway, taking in the mountain scenery and following the winding river valleys to and fro. I have plenty of time to "chill out" and process as I go.

In this case, reflection  is easy. I was pretty jazzed the whole way home :) Thanks VERY much to everyone who attended the SCBWI Western Washington monthly meeting last night. It was great fun for me to share my "10 years in the biz" and I was more than pleased that many of you stayed and that most seemed to enjoy the talk. Three cheers for another 10 years!

As tribute to said visit, here is Boo giving her introduction -- enjoy!

p.s. This is my first ever video post. Please forgive the learning curve if the size or quality seem somehow "off". Ciao.

Illustration Friday: Muddy

In line with my 10 year book author/illustrator anniversary, here is a freelance illustration from the archives.

10 Years in the Biz!

Tomorrow night I'm giving a short talk at SCWBI Western Washington's monthly meeting. 10 years I've been doing this -- and then some! Stop by for a few thoughts about the decade, plus a mini-session on Cultural Authenticity in Fiction with Margaret Nevinski.

6:45 registration, and the programs start at 7pm.

Its Official: The Polar Opposites Book Jacket!

Creating a book jacket is a combination of sketches, editorial input, marketing mojo, and designer execution. I'll start with thumbnail sketches like this:
Progress to this:
And it'll all come through the other side looking something like this:
Yahoo! Welcome to the world Alex and Zina!

Macmillan vs. Amazon: Round 1

Round 1 to Macmillan! A good synopsis (and leveling of opinions) at Fast Company.

Amazon.com Plays Hard Ball

Wow! In a severe (my opinion) reaction to Macmillan's negotiation for better e-book/digital rights and pricing controls, Amazon.com has pulled ALL of Macmillan's books from its vitual shelves. Not just the e-books - everything! Henry Holt, publisher of 5+ books that I have illustrated, is a Macmillan imprint. At present, you can't buy them from Amazon.com. They are there - available "from these sellers" - but not actually from Amazon. A bit alarming when the biggest player in the game stomps its foot down, but I stand firmly in support of Macmillan's attempts. Go Indibound and get local.

By the way, Macmillan has a new kids blog to trumpet as well.

Cheers!

On the Drawing Board: Almost there!

On the Drawing Board: Late January 2010

Feet. LOTS of feet!