not posting = working

i've been hibernating, but it's the good kind. i've been sketching for the Leukemia Society coloring book project for several weeks now and really think it's some of the best /most challenging stuff i've done. my desire to make it more than a simple b/w coloring book seems to be working. so far we've got a page of perforated color postcards and a 2-sided color door hanger (grumpy/feeling good) to add to the mix. the process has been a good introduction to the work required in creating a picture book, which it is.

here's one of my favorite sketches so far (this is one of the postcards):

my dark past

while doing research for the coloring book project, i looked through several coloring/activity books i saved since i was i kid. inside "The Monster Activity and Game Book" i discovered some ghastly illustrations from my much earlier, much touted "macabre" period:

kids in the hospital

i've finally started sketches for the coloring book project for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. at the end of January, i visited the children's cancer unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York and the Pediatric Center at the Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ. we've been discussing what each of the book's 20 pages should contain in trying to educate and entertain children undergoing stem cell transplants. i'm excited about the opportunity to introduce some fun concepts like detachable postcards and interactive puzzles into the layout.

here's a sneak peak:

i'm starting to feel a little over-qualified

"Dear Brian,

Thank you for sharing "What Time is in Now?" and "Animals on the Go!" with Cartwheel Books. The books are indeed imaginative and fun. Unfortunately, "What Time is in Now?" and "Animals on the Go!" are not quite what Cartwheel Books is looking for at this time.

Again, thank you for your continued consideration and support." [Cartwheel is an imprint of Scholastic.]

another day, another compliment on my work, another perplexing pass perpetrated by a pithy patron.