What I've Been Doing Lately

It's been a while since I've posted so here are a couple of pieces I just finished :)

Mystery Crew Rework

Here's a group that I first drew on a spread for a picture book but decided were middle grade after a couple critiques.  I refinished them today on their own.  Now if someone would just write a middle grade mystery novel starring them, I'm all set :)

Scouts in Trees

I'm still working on beefing up my portfolio.  Here is  one I just finished with two of my favorite things to draw, trees, and boy/girl scouts :)

First Day of School

It's back to school for a lot of kids today.  Hopefully they made fast friends like these two...

More MG art

Here's another new MG one about those prep school kids solving mysteries:

Cactus Story Time

Sort of a random idea, but when I was sketching I liked this little girl and her cactus collection.  Here she is telling them all a story.

Middle Grade Mystery

I'm working on developing some more middle grade art.  I'm starting out with a prep school mystery solving team.  Here's the first one:

Another Rework

So this one started as a redo but kind of turned into it's own thing.  I feel like these have similar elements but have  a very different feel.

Refining

So I'm going through a few pieces from my portfolio and approaching them with the word "refine" in mind.  What that means for me is sharpening my line on the foreground/main character, adding depth, and making all the pieces more cohesive overall.  Here's the new "Heading to Fall" followed by the original:

National Underwear Day

A day or so late, but here's one of some cute animals dancing it out for National Underwear Day

Fit Mom Dummy Book

I'm trying to decide on the final look for my latest dummy book.  Here are the styles I've tried out so far.  I'm leaning towards the more minimalist one but I may change up the way the background color looks...

Meditating Monsters

I did several versions of color on this one but here are the two I like the best.  One is done entirely in my sketchbook so the colors are a bit muddier which I think gives it a more retro vibe.  The other I painted first on a light board then went back over with pen.  I like that the colors are clean here but I prefer the other drawing slightly more.

More Nursery Paintings

Here are the last two monster paintings for Hudson's nursery.

Monster Art

Here are some paintings for my nephew's monster nursery.  I have a couple more to go and I'm having a lot of fun so far

Yoga Buddies

Inspired by how my nephew likes to come "exercise" with me when I visit, which usually means he tries to twist into my poses as I stretch.

Hoe Down

You know when you listen to a certain kind of music and that just streams through your ears into your hand and you start drawing it? Well that happened to me the last couple of days :)  Here's a hoedown!

SCBWI Draw This: Adventure

"Pooh pooh!"

When I saw Madeline was the prompt recently for #SketchDailies, I know I had to do a sketch for it.  I absolutely loved Madeline growing up and I still do!  And I always loved this part of the book when they go to the zoo and Madeline says, "Pooh pooh" to the tiger :) So feisty!

Summer Promo Card

Finished my promotional postcard for the summer season today!

Memorial Day

I wanted to go back to what this holiday is all about for this drawing. Let's all remember to take a moment to think about the soldiers who have fallen protecting us.

Revamping Continued

Here's one I expanded from an earlier one for Children's Book Day

Revamping some things

Trying to revisit older pieces and sketches to give them a more polished look for my portfolio.  Here's a before and after of one I did today...I don't know

Baby Brothers are Weird

Playing around with some ideas for a new story.  Here's a sketch

Silly Face

Here's a sketch from today

Happy Friday!

Have a great Friday!  Next time I post, hopefully it's with some jungle sketches in Costa Rica! :)

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!
Perfect day to hug a tree don't you think?

Belated Kindergarten Day

A Hug for Monday

Monday's are rough, have  a hug :)

Quote Illustration

When I read this quote, an image that seemed to contradict it popped into my head of a grandpa playing with his grandson.  I feel like in those moments, even grown ups can remember what it is to be a child.

Sketches

Here are some recent sketches.  I've been playing around more with my dip pen and it's been a lot of fun.

International Beaver Day

A meeting of beaver minds for International Beaver Day :)

International Children's Book Day

What a wonderful holiday!  Grab your favorite children's book because they are so not just for kids! :)

Manatee Appreciation Day

I love these weird looking animals!

Reading aLOUD

An idea of a library full of loud people popped into my head this morning, mostly with this little character reading her book aloud LOUDLY :)

Gardening Sketch

I've been experimenting more with my dip pen and I think the results have been pretty fun.  Here's a recent sketch that I like almost enough to put into my portfolio.  And back to work I go... :)

Colorful Quails

A quick sketch of some colorful quails.  They're just the cutest birds :)

Trash Day Sketch

Quick sketch today of what I imagine happens on the other side of our fence every trash day.

Happy Mardi Gras!

I don't think I could do a Mardi Gras piece without a nod to New Orleans, so here's an alligator brass band... :)

Springtime Surprise

It's only February but it feels a lot like spring here in Portland today!