My first school visit with "You, the Magician"

On Friday night, the authors of "You, the Magician," Jodi and Josh Carothers, came to my little village on the Hudson River to read to the families of our local elementary school. They did an outstanding job speaking with the audience, and I was truly touched by the enthusiasm and questions from the children and their parents.

After their reading, I offered a coloring/flip book activity for the participants, and it turned out pretty cool. Here's an animated version of that flip book...

 

It was my first big presentation, and although I'd do a few things differently next time, I'm hoping for another opportunity like this soon!

Illustration Friday, "Village"

This week's Illustration Friday topic was Village.

I decided to focus on the parts of a village, and the embodiment of a village within a person. Below is my illustration...

Another bird collage

I'm currently sketching ideas for an assignment with Mark Mitchell's critique group, and I've been researching the nightingale. In doing so, I ran across this beautiful bird, often called the Pekin Robin or Pekin Nightingale. So for yesterday's #artaday challenge, I created a collage of this wonderful little animal...

Illustration Friday, "Shelter"

Another week, another Illustration Friday challenge!

Below is my collage for this week's topic: Shelter.

Illustration Friday challenge, "Hat"

This week's Illustration Friday topic was "Hat."

I first sketched a bird with an actual hat. Then I thought of the Eurasian hoopoe that I recently drew for a client, and the cool crown/hat that it already has.

Using the scans of vintage drawings, I assembled this black and white bird with a hoopoe-style headdress. I also added a vignette effect to give it a slightly creepy, noir-esque tone.

The Crow and the Pitcher

This week's Illustration Friday challenge was "Smart." I think the intelligence of the crow is super cool, and I love fables and folklore, so I chose to illustrate Aesop's The Crow and the Pitcher.

Illustration Friday: "Orbit"

This week's Illustration Friday challenge topic was "Orbit."

Similar to the "Moon" collage from a couple weeks ago, I used photos of grungy and decaying textures to create a scene that was recognizable, but almost accidentally so.

After showing my 7 year old my initial abstract layout, he emphatically felt I needed to showcase the word "orbit" more, so I added more planets and some moons. This is what my son finally approved....