Got a great package in the mail:

Today, I got a picture from my wife saying, "You got this in the mail today....Don't worry, I won't open it."

OHBOYOHBOYOHBOY

Anyhoo, the day went by very slow and I ran home and like on Xmas morning, I tore into it with a big grin on my face... and VOILA:

The four books from ABDO Publishing 

I have to say, I let me wife look at them first, as I wanted to see what they looked like when someone was reading them. I know that sounds weird, but as I had looked at the art probably more than anyone else, I wanted to see if they worked "on a book." ...I dunno if that makes sense. I thought, "Yeah, the art looks like it belongs on the book." ...so I was happy there.

And then I saw that ABDO included one of the books on the banner of their website. I think this made it hit home more than even having a physical copy in my hand: To see it sit up there with other books... well, I cannot describe the feeling except to say it was a very very good one. Kind of watching your child go off to school with the other kids.

ABDO's Magic Wagon page

Sometime in the next few months, I will retell the whole process: from portfolio to book signing... that's right. March 29th at Blue Willow @ 2 pm!

More on that later. I have some conferences to get ready for!

Sakai charity piece

As mentioned in the previous post, I was working on a charity piece for Stan Sakai. I originally was doing more of a rabbit-inspired Usagi, but the more I read my books.... I decided to go with the more traditional antrhopomorphoic one.... so I fiddled with it a little bit, and here is the finished version(s).

Original Black and White version

I have been playing with my comic coloring lately, and I had a little problem with the coloring file, so it's not @ 100%.... but anyway:

Colored version

...Now I have to send it off! For more info on the auction go here:

http://garageartstudio.blogspot.com/2013/11/help-stan-sakai.html

Helping one of my heroes.

Sometimes things come up where you have to drop everything and work on it. This is one of those times.

Stan Sakai, creator of Usagi Yojimbo is one of my idols. I was introduced to him (as I am sure others were) via the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Since I was from a small town, it was hard to learn about any comic characters. Luckily, my mother took me to the store (Powerhouse Comics) in Green Bay almost every single time we went for groceries. Comics were a sedative to me... She gave them to me, and I was content. There are comics that I would definitely suggest to kids: Usagi Yojimbo is one of them.

Back to Stan. His wife has been ill, and CAPS  (Comic Art Professional Society) had started collecting artist work for an auction to help Stan and his wife. Here is a link to the website concerning the auction. 

I could explain in my own words, but I will just pass on what Stan posted on his Facebook page:

Thank you, everybody. I had been gone from FB since yesterday and did not realize that CAPS had started the solicitation for art auction donations to help with Sharon's care. 

A bit of background with what this is all about: In 2004, Sharon woke up one morning and said, "I can't hear anything out of my left ear." It was traced back to a meningioma brain tumor. It is benign, but large and inoperable. There was no hope of it getting smaller. The most we could hope for was that it would not grow larger. She underwent radiation therapy, and that seemed to control it. She went in for regular MRIs, and no growth was detected.

However, it started growing in 2010, and very aggressively. She has facial paralysis on the left side (everything happens on the left side). The paralysis includes her throat, vocal chords, and it has even deteriorated her neck bones. She had lost almost 40% of her body weight in a year. She is undergoing chemotherapy. Doctors don't see any end in sight for this. There are complications because of the tumor, medications, or just coincidence--diabetes, high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, compromised immune system. She has a tracheostomy tube for breathing and a G-tube connected to her stomach for a liquid diet. She can take nothing through her mouth. She is bed-bound, but we try to give her daily physical therapy--walking a couple hundred feet with a walker and/or sitting in a wheelchair.

She had been in the hospital and nurse care from April to September, but we are glad she is home. She requires 24 hour care, so daughter Hannah and her family moved in with us. This includes 18 month old grandson Leo, and another grandchild due in February/early March.

A lot of you do know Sharon, as she had been a fixture at my booth at San Diego and many other conventions. Thank you all for your help, good thoughts, and prayers. 

So when I heard of the call for artists to submit an original piece to help Stan out, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to make something. I have been doing some rough sketches on my tablet, and have a rough done. The auction will be in early 2014, so I will have a little time to finish it... but here is the rough, done in Sketchbook Pro:

Rough Usagi Yojimbo

Very rough, yes... It is Usagi, with smoke around him.possibly with some allusions to architecture behind him.  I think I will do it in Sumi with splashes of color. Need to do a little color research first, but I will post here when I have the final piece done. 

If anyone wants to help out or donate, please click the link above for information. 

I am on the big screen (in a short film).

I am excited to finally be able to show something I did a few months ago. My good friends Kathryn Kane and Rob Neilson have made a short film called "Sing Song." It is a film based on the relationship Kathryn's mother and aunt had when they were sisters growing up.

The site for Sing Song can be found here.

… I was asked to provide some kid's art for the film showing the family, and helping drive the message of how the older daughter viewed the family dynamic.

It was very kind of Kathryn to put my little picture in the film, and will be quite a hoot to sit in the audience and see it on the big screen. (playing November 12th at the Sundance theater in Houston).

AND HERE IT IS!!!

SING SONG: the short film

WIP: "Night Light"

Upcoming rough of an auction piece for the Texas SCBWI conference season. 

Will most likely be in ink, and then colored. 

"To Redo Winnie the Pooh..."

Just attended a great workshop sponsored by the Southwest Texas chapter of SCBWI in San Antonio. The guest was Richard Jesse Watson, who was a great speaker.

The fun, art part of this was re-imagining Winnie the Pooh in a different context. I thought of Winnie & Co. as Intergalactic Bee Keepers:

Not super happy with the coloring job, but I did what I could with the time I could spare...

Why I haven't blogged (but with GOOD NEWS!)

Hey everyone! ...It's been quite a while since I wrote anything newsworthy.... so let's start at the beginning:

Last April, I attended a SCBWI conference, sponsored by the Houston Chapter. It had some really notable attendants, including editor Lucy Cummins (Simon and Schuster) and Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown (Creepy Carrots)... it was a normally hectic day, as I had a critique with Lucy, and got to take part in the birdhouse auction and silent auction, in which I donated this piece for auction:

"Wonce Ug Ton a Tim"

The work on display

Amongst other work up for auction.

I had a great time there as usual. There is a great energy whenever I am at the children's book events. Just being around that many people dedicated to the craft is invigorating! I need to take more pictures next time I attend these events. I am notoriously bad at taking photos. Have been my whole life, actually.

my portfolio display

There was an assignment for the illustrators, and a special breakout session, where Lucy looked at a piece we did. There was the choice of a picture book spread, or a MG cover. I liked the haunting subject matter of the latter, so I chose that one. Here are some preliminary sketches:

and the finished work:

Honestly, I wasn't happy with it, but I figured I could just eat some humble pie and take whatever feedback was given. I like my idea, but I didn't like the execution.

Lucy giving her thoughts on the piece

. I considered my work a very rough piece but almost everyone there had very refined work, and I was a little disappointed in my submission. If I do this again, I would do a million things different... including not showing the piece if I am not happy with it. I don't consider myself a proud person, but if my work is not up to my standards, I probably won't show it.

Anyhoo, Great news....  I watched the bidding all day (I did bid, myself... only because I really liked the piece), and saw the bid go above $100.00! Which is awesome, because our SCBWI chapter got the proceeds from the auction items. The winning bid was submitted by the amazing (and obviously, very smart) Shannon Morgan! Shannon just also happens to be the Regional Advisor for the Southwest Texas chapter of SCBWI....

Thanks for helping support the SCBWI Houston chapter, Shannon!

Shannon and her prize

The sold piece

Shannon was kind enough to post some pix on her Twitter (@nomadshan), and showed where the work ended up. I am honored to have my work on the same wall as C.S. Jenning's art (For more of his work: Click here)

Well, You may ask, "What does this have to do with myself not blogging in MONTHS?!" 

Well, as a result of myself having monsters on my postcard (cuz seriously, I love monsters!)... I was contacted by Stephanie Hedlund, an Editor at Abdo Publishing ...who was also a speaker at the conference. I completely missed her talk as I was in a critique with Lucy at that time.

The bottom line.... I spent the rest of the summer (almost 4 months) illustrating 4 picture books!

I will post more later on the process and what not... but let's just say I would have been happy with just one interested person, let alone an offer for many books. Here is a sneak peek from them:

The Littlest Vampire's Story

The Littlest Werewolf's  Story

The Littlest Zombie's Story

The Littlest Witch's Story

I learned that doing one book in 4-5 months is one thing, doing 4 in 4 months is a completely different matter. It meant working for days on end, having good communication, and making sure every decision was swiftly acted on. It meant being efficient and was quite the exercise in teamwork. Stephanie was great... and when she left for another opportunity, Renee LaViolette stepped in without skipping a beat. I can't thank those 2 enough for being so great in this whole process.

So keep your eyes open for these for books in January 2014 from Abdo Publishing (Magic Wagon).... (click here for their site).

Okay, now that I am back, I have a lot of new art to work on, a lot of new books to review, and a renewed energy to kick out some new artwork!

Special thanks to:

Abdo Publishing

P. Abdo

Stephanie Hedlund

Renee Laviolette

SCBWI Houston Illustrators, especially:

Diandra Mae

Kirk Reedstrom

Felicia Lilley

and all the others, who gave me incredible support!