The Pineapple Diary

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

One of very few straight watercolor paintings I've done that I still like. It's based on a photo from my first trip to Ireland at age 16 - my first time on a plane even. I believe this is around the Conor pass area - you must have nerves of steel to drive that road but the views are worth it.

From Scribble to Finish: Illustrating Picture Books

Get out and see something wild! I'm part of a 3 artist exhibit at the Children's Museum of NH in Dover that opens on April 1st. Come check out the fabulous work of Laura Rankin, Nathan Walker and myself. The show is called "From Scribble to Finish: Illustrating Picture Books" because you'll see not only the final art, but the sketches, scribbles, edits, and inspiration for various works. How fun!

Read about the exhibit here. Get information on visiting here.

I'll be going to the opening the evening of April 1st and I'm looking forward to seeing the show and hopefully a few readers there! It will be my first BIG night out since having baby Miles in February - my wonderfully cute excuse for why my blog has not been updated in a month.

NESCBWI Many Voices Conference

If you haven't heard already, registration is open for this spring's SCBWI New England Annual Conference. I love that it was so easy to register online, and the postcard came early and is beautifully adorned with Nicole Tadgell's artwork. The theme this year is "Many Voices" and the offerings for illustrators is much stronger than in previous years, hooray!

I signed up knowing that this will be a big outing for me, leaving an infant at home for a very long day with my husband (thanks Kristian!) - I only wish I could take advantage of every day - particularly Sunday's Illustrator's Intensive on Graphic Novels. Gareth Hinds is part of this event (and a demo on Friday) and having seen him speak recently I know it's going to be a valuable experience for illustrators! Don't be thrown off if you're not a 'comic book' fan - the world of graphic novels is so varied and RELEVANT to our work as children's illustrators in today's market. I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to go!!!

I'm very excited for all the great workshops on Saturday and will be plotting my submission for this year's Poster Showcase. Thank you to everyone who works so hard to put the conference together - I know it's a yearlong endeavor. Having gone to the NY Winter conference last year, I have a renewed respect for how fantastic my local conference really is.

Brattleboro, VT

I'm so far behind on all sorts of blogging and sharing of news, but I'm starting with a trip I made out to visit a friend a few weeks ago in Brattleboro, VT.

I was lucky enough to visit during Gallery Walk, which occurs on the first friday of each month. I was amazed to see how many people, including tons of young families, were walking around town enjoying the experience. The galleries are far different than what I'm used to in the Portsmouth area, with a definite lean towards contemporary, humanistic, and nature based work. There were musicians in almost every gallery and several out on the streets - it's a really unique town and definitely a great place to visit, shop, eat, relax.

Another surprise for me was at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center. The building is a renovated train station and has a lot of charming spaces. After seeing a number of great works by new and emerging artists we stopped into what looked like perhaps the old train ticket booth for a beautiful exhibit by Chris Van Allsburg. I've always appreciated his books but seeing the art in person was really amazing. The scale was quite a bit larger than you seen in print and I hadn't realized the variety of techniques he used (charcoal, pastel and colored pencil, scratchboard, etc). The show runs until August 3rd, check it out if you are anywhere near the area or out traveling this summer.

Oh, and of course I can't recommend a visit without a plug for my friend's place of employment - New England Center for Circus Arts. They offer classes, workshops, and professional track programs in circus arts. They also perform locally and regionally and their shows are quite amazing to see. For pictures of my friend Suzanne (in black/red then green) performing at her graduation from the professional track program last year, click here. She is now a teacher at the school.

Vita goes to Surtex!

My good friend and talented illustrator, Vita Mechachonis is heading off to Surtex in a few days and I wanted to wish her a big public good luck cheer! You can find Vita's artwork at her agent Kolea's booth #2408 (1st floor, hall 1E). Be sure and stop by if you're attending! Below are a few of Vita's illustrations and pattern designs (all work is copyright of Vita Mechachonis):


I just love this bunny - he's round but still working it!

What a dilemma, no more milk?!?! Vita has more artwork than anyone I know - I'm looking forward to seeing what new stuff she cooked up for this year's Surtex. You can also visit her and see more artwork at her blog. Good luck Vita!!!! And good luck to all the other artists showing too!!!

I wish I were going as well - Surtex and the simultaneous National Stationery Show are so exciting and inspiring. If you want a better description of the shows, read about my trip last year here.

I've been illin' and chillin' fighting off some sort of strange cold. Computing hasn't agreed with me so I'm drawing on the couch for today. I'll be sure and share some 21 Day Exercises soon! Also, my apologies if your name got cut from my link list, typepad is going some strange stuff - I'll look into fixing it tomorrow!

Kennedy Studios, Opening Reception

Thank you to everyone who made it to the opening on Friday! I thought the event was a great success. It seemed busy and active the whole time. The show will be up until at least  early June so come visit if you find yourself in Portsmouth. Kids welcome of course!

I kept telling Robert that I am notorious for blinking in photos, but ironically he is blinking in the picture I grabbed from my Dad - sorry Robert, it was the only group shot he had. (You'll post a better pic on your blog I just know it!)

Me, Robert, Tess, and Teri. You can see Teri's lovely watercolor spread above my shoulder, David McPhail's work behind us at eye level and Robert's work just below. My work and Tess' is just out of sight here. Other illustrator friends who paid a visit were Vita, Andy, Eric, and Nicole. Ok, now back to work!!!

Children's Illustration Show, Portsmouth NH

I'm very excited to share the news that I'm part of a group exhibit of Children's Book Illustrations opening next week at Kennedy Studios in Portsmouth, NH! I will be showing work along with the very talented David McPhail, Robert Squier, Teri Weidner, and Tess Feltes. The opening reception is May 9th, from 5-8pm. This coincides with Art 'Round Town, a collection of galleries in Portsmouth that have openings on the same Friday so you can take a little tour.

I hope some of you living in the area can come and meet all of us. There will be originals, prints, and sketches to see (and purchase). The show will up for one month. Let me know if you plan on coming and I'll be sure to look for you! I'll be taking some photos at the opening to post on the blog for those of you who cannot make it.

Mini-break to Seattle

Since I'll be very busy for the next few months, my husband planned a short 3-day vacation to Seattle for us last weekend. Why Seattle? Why not! Cheap tickets from Jetblue didn't hurt the decision-making process either. We managed to see a tons of things in the short time we were there.

One of my favorite moments was exploring the downtown branch of the Seattle Public Library. It's architecturally stunning, inside and out, particularly for someone from the east coast who appreciates modern design but sees far too little of it nearby. But what was really overwhelming was the children's department of the library. Enormous and bright and fun, the picture below doesn't quite capture the size. I'd say this shows about 1/5 of the whole space.

The teen area was nothing sort of beautiful also, I noticed Carolyn Mackler's Vegan Virgin Valentine on the display table in front.

And away we go, up the glowing escalators!

And the view from the 10th floor...

Other highlights from the trip were: the Seattle Art Museum; gluten-free baked goods and pastas at the public market; dinner at Wild Ginger; the views from the space needle (of course we went!); the Experience Music Project building designed by Frank Gehry; our picnic-style lunch from public market treats like fresh cheese, fruit, fresh bread for my husband and italian specialty meats; coffee tasting; bookstores; eating junky fastfood out of desperation but overlooking Mt. Rainier while doing it; watching artists work in the hot-shop at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma (look below - they are stretching hot glass!)

views of the hotshop, outside and inside looking up

I'm now fighting off a cold from all the walking around outside and traveling but I'm glad we went. And now... back to work!

Mass MOCA

Last week, I traveled out to North Adams, Massachusetts to revisit Mass MOCA. (The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art)

Only open since 1999, it's a relatively new museum, set on the grounds of the old Sprague Electric Company. There are many old factory buildings that make up the museum. One gallery spans the length of a football field and rises a few stories making for a spectacular exhibit space. Much of the charm of visiting the museum is seeing the old spaces converted but preserved, brick walls layered with paint not always masked by fresh sheetrock. I lived in North Adams for about 4 months in early 2001 and was quite fond of the grounds, spaces, and the excitement of the community in renewing a depressed-closed-factory town. The upside-down trees just outside the entrance were my favorite part of being there.

New and fabulous restaurants abound making this a great day trip or even weekend. We had lunch at Cafe Latino located on museum property. My beet salad was delicious, fresh and delicate. We also stopped into an old favorite of mine, brew haha, a cafe just down the street. I remember the pressed sandwiches being delicious and of course they have great coffee.

I hadn't been back to this area since 2001 and will try not to let that much time go by without another visit. If you've never been and you live in New England, it's a must.