July 29, 2008

Hello to the few people that will check this blog.

I am a fan of the blogging nation, and only today decided to venture into one myself. I hope this is something I can keep up with.

I will post a few images here and there with some background and process to what I am currently working on and what is in the future for me.

I guess I'll start now. Thanks for checking out this blog, and I hope you enjoy what you see. I'm finally connected in a way. Thanks again for checking it out.

I'm getting ready to ship 19 painting to Sleeping Bear Press for my fifth picture book. The title is 'The man behind the Peace Prize, Alfred Nobel'. This book was a risk for me to take on due to the subject matter. I learned that Alfred also invented dynamite and therefore the destruction had to be tackled within the text as well. I went into the project a little tentative to say the least. The saving grace on this particular title was the supporting characters at SBP. They were and continue to be the most pleasant people to work with. I hope this relationship continues for years to come. The image post is a pencil drawing from the book. All painting were done in oils. Since it isn't published yet, I don't feel right posting them. Please check back and I'm sure some of them will be here soon.

'Casey and Derek on the Ice' is publishing this fall with Chronicle books. Another great experience. I love doing picture books. The freedom that I have as an illustrator is outstanding and the vision that publishers have for these projects is always amazing to me. Look for this one this fall. I'm scheduling book signings and speaking engagements right now to take me through December.

This past May, My first picture book that I both authored and illustrated came out via Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. 'Friday my Radio Flyer Flew' was released to some great buzz. It received a starred review right away and I hope it keeps its momentum through the school year. I'm very proud of it and the work that I did throughout. I will post more details of the paintings as I get more comfortable with this technology.
Thanks for letting me get through this first post, now I better go watch a movie with my son.