The Pineapple Diary

NESCBWI 2013 Conference Recap

You've just returned from a 3 day Children's Writers and Illustrators conference. Which character do you most relate to in the above sketch? Greedy fat cat? Astonished and hungry little sister? One of many mice in a box, clawing your way to be seen?

Maybe you're behind the pencil, like me. The artist in a workshop, doodling while absorbing. That's my favorite headspace. I might appear to be 'not paying attention' - but trust me, I'm in the zone.

I put it all out there for this year's NESCBWI Spring Conference and I think it paid off. I signed up for a critique of my latest dummy (it went really well!), tossed my hat in the ring for the poster contest (I placed 3rd for published!), put a book into the portfolio showcase (no one spilled wine on it!), and entered an 'anonymous image' for the First Look panel (positive but weird and helpful feedback?!). 

My favorite workshops were:

Sudipta Barhan-Quallen's Rhythm, Rhyme, and Repetition: A Picture Book Writer's 3 Rs

Carlyn Beccia's The Posthumous Adventures of a Digital Painting

Gaia Cornwall's 7 Animation Concepts Every Illustrator Should Steal

Lynda Mulally Hunt's Find-a-Fit: Researching Agents in Order to Find the Right Match for You

My favorite moments were:

Having the same table, waiter, meal and dining companion at Adolfo's as last year.

Uncontrollable junior-high laugh-fest with new and old friends at the end of the portfolio showcase. I'd share it, but it's TOTALLY inappropriate. Which is why it was so funny, right?

Winning the raffle in Lynda Mulally Hunt's workshop: a critique of a work by an agent at a top agency. I was so excited I did a Price-is-Right run for the podium before Lynda stopped me!!!

All the little moments with new illustrator friends, or people I only talk with online - in person! It's a really smart, funny, friendly group.

The three or more times I started tearing up at a keynote speaker or panelist.

And to be honest, I loved feeding and caring for just myself for a few days, but coming back to my happy little kids (and relieved husband!) at the front door on a sunny spring day was the perfect finale. 

NESCBWI 2013 Spring Conference: Elephant Poster

I'm so happy to announce that my poster for the NESCBWI Spring Conference Poster contest won 3rd place (Published Category)! (click image for a larger version)

Many thanks go to all the amazing conference organizers, volunteers, and judges. I have been attending for many years, and I never walk away without profound moments, new friends, and reason to celebrate and come back again for more. I will post a full recap (as always!) later this week.

The poem by Jane Yolen for this year's contest instantly sparked a picture in my head. Big elephant thanks go to the brilliant author above all. I truly enjoyed every moment of making this poster and am proud of how it all came together.

Congratulations to all the other winners - it was a sea of beautiful work this weekend!

 

About Me

It's always a good day when you get new postcards in the mail, right? I think I'm extra-excited about these. The girl and scene are from my latest picture book dummy. I started writing the story in a waiting room a few years ago. It started out about ME, about being small. It is called, simply enough: I Am Small. More on this later...

Right before I picked these up off the front porch I updated a bit of my website. I rewrote my biography to reflect ME a bit more. I even included a favorite picture of myself - not the posed picture I used in a recent interview - something more ME. I updated the splash page to reflect art that is more ME lately - a newer style that combines sketchiness and controlled gouache painting.

What I'm Working On: Elephants!

I love how I keep this box of so many tubes of gouache, yet I find myself using the same 5 or 6 colors from project to project. I can't think of the last time I reached for permanent green deep...

I'm at the final steps in my painting for the NESCBWI Spring Conference poster contest. I'll be adding the finishing touches with pencil on a seperate layer, much like I did in my last blog post. These elephants really need that extra detail. I'll share another sneak peek of the final art - I was really inspired right off the bat with this year's 'theme'. I haven't entered a poster contest in probably 5 years - so that says it all. Happy Elephant painting to all my fellow poster entrants, too!

Playing with Color (Media & Style)

Here we go again. Following up on my last post, playing with black & white, I'm experimenting with style! Nothing major. I'm starting with gouache, then adding a soft pencil layer on top in photoshop. I was playing around with all the different ways to 'add' a pencil layer and it brought me right back to my days as a compositor for animation. It's way more fun to play with effects on my own work. I've been painting for so long, I nearly forgot all my digital roots!

Here's a super close-up. I'm pretty excited about how this is coming together, especially for this picture book dummy project. It needs a more playful feel, and I think this might just be the look I was going for!

Playing with B&W: Fairy

Rather than accept that my B&W work will look just like my gouache work, I'm playing with a textural look using sketches and photoshop. It's fun so far, we'll see how it all plays out!

Elephants and Toddlers at the beach

A few weeks ago there was a bizarre beach day in New Hampshire. We should've been in snowsuits, but were quite warm in just raincoats. It was one of the nicest (and easiest!) mornings I had with my kids in a long time. When I went back to paint a new promo on a much colder day, I remembered the picture above.

It's clearly a bit warmer on little elephant's beach day, but I loved having the photo reference and memory of my little one playing to inspire my illustration.