Superhero!

Licensing International 2006!

I know you've been wondering where I've been. Admit it. You've missed me.
I have a good excuse. Really. In 1 week, I'm launching 2 brand new children's brands at Licensing Internationl 2006 (www.licensingshow.com), the big children's property and marketing show here in New York City. It's been 6 months of story and character development, thinking, drawing, sweating, crumpling papers, planning, scheming, daydreaming and preparing. It's time.

happy new year!

a happy and healthy new year to all you readers out there. it's been a year of ups and downs and roundabouts--thanks for sticking with me. i'm looking forward to a whiz-bang of a 2006 where some of these ideas i've been sharing get taken to the next level.

i'll finish with a favorite, rendered in colored pencil for my Aunt Dorothy:

pop-ability

there's nothing like the birthday of a relative to help me kick some creativity into high gear. let me clarify. there are really only 2 people i pull out all the stops on birthday cards for: my niece and nephew. so as soon as one of their birthday comes round, i find myself pulling all-nighters so i can outdo last year's creation. unfortunately, that bar is not getting any lower.

this year i decided to break the 2 dimensional barrier for my nephew Sonny's fifth. i have a really cool paper engineering book that shows how to create all the basic pop-up movements. naturally, i disregarded the advice about starting simple and chose to combine 2 pop-ups. i admit this was foolish. i'm a victim of my own competition.

here's the card, emcee'd by Albert the Crab:

re-convening with a Master

this past weekend, i got to re-visit with author/illustrator Steven Kellogg who was doing a book signing at new york's amazing independent bookstore Books of Wonder. growing up, Kellogg was a huge inspiration and i used spend lots of time examining all the detail and hidden humor in his illustrations. when i was 10 or 11 years old, he visited my elementary school in Upstate New York and gave an assembly to the school. i can still remember him drawing on a giant easel. back then he signed a book for me and i've kept it. and it only seemed fitting he should sign the same book 21 years later.

Kellogg was extremely gracious and even remembered staying upstate for the visit. as i continue my own quest to get published, i realize that Kellogg's school visit is among the strongest influences on me choosing the path to entertain and educate kids through my words and art.

the original signing:



the new signing:

boredom = snakes

i've been noticed lately, that when i'm bored or restless, i end up drawing snakes. or variations on one snake in particular, Tobey. he's a personal favorite from the "Bludo and Friends" gang and he just seems to pop up more and more. perhaps, i'm on a mission to change the world's view of serpents or maybe he just makes me happy.

next week i'll be working to prepare some drawings to accompany my 2 latest children's book stories.
i've been hard at work all year on "Carla's Crab" and "Jungle Jam!" which have each been through my writing critique group twice now. both are stories i'm really pleased with. i've got a meeting with a few editors coming up in a few weeks as part of my affiliation with CBIG (nyc's Children's Book Illustrator Group).

ssssunday