Spring Sumi-e Sketches
03 Apr 2015 1 Comment
in Artwork, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, bird, brush pens, bunnies, butterflies, Iris, sketch, spring, sumi-e, tulip
Scottie Dog Sketch
05 Jun 2014 Leave a comment
in Artwork, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, brush pens, dog, sketch, sumi-e
Frolicking Frogs Sketch
30 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Artwork, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, brush pens, frogs, sketch, sumi-e
Telling a Story with Pictures
24 Jan 2014 1 Comment
in Artwork, Children's Illustrations, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, children's illustration, collage, ink, Japanese, koi, lily pad, mixed media, sumi-e, watercolor
Happy Friday! Welcome to my current style. I’m also practicing the idea of carrying a character from illustration to illustration. What do you think will happen next???
Tour of My Mindwork Art Exhibition
31 Oct 2013 5 Comments
in Art Exhibitions, Artwork, Brain Paintings, Children's Illustrations, Chopsticks and Ink, Promotion, Sumi-e Paintings, Tours Tags: art exhibition, artwork, brain, children's illustrations, chopsticks, creation, creator, library, mind, mindwork, sumi-e, tour, wander
Greetings 🙂 Can you believe it’s the end of October already? I hope many of you had a chance to see my recent art exhibit at the Troy Public Library. But if you didn’t, don’t fret! You can still take the virtual tour now. Enjoy! (Don’t forget to let your mind wander…)
Mindwork: My Art Exhibition at Troy Library
02 Oct 2013 3 Comments
in Art Exhibitions, Artwork, Brain Paintings, Children's Illustrations, Chopsticks and Ink, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: art exhibition, artwork, bucket list, children's illustrations, chopsticks, dream, library, mindwork, sumi-e
Greetings 🙂 I’m excited to report that my artwork will be showing at the Troy Public Library for the month of October. It was a lot of work putting together, but I’m very pleased with how it turned out. It’s a combination of work, some adult and some children’s illustration. If you’re in the area, you should come check it out!
I’ve been talking a lot about bucket lists lately. Speaking of which, I can cross one item off my list. In a recent post, I offered a tour of Denise Fleming’s Story Park, which features her work at the Toledo Library. I mentioned that it’s a dream of mine to have my work displayed in a library. I guess some dreams do come true…especially when you make them happen! What dream will you make happen?
Bamboo with Red Bird
23 Jul 2013 1 Comment
in Artwork, Children's Illustrations, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, bamboo, bird, children's illustrations, ink, painting, sumi-e
All Its Birds
22 Feb 2013 2 Comments
in Artwork, Children's Illustrations, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, bird, book, children's illustrations, painting, sumi-e, universe
I recently read Wonder by R. J. Palacio, and I highly recommend it to everyone. It’s the story of fifth grader Auggie, a boy who was born with a facial deformity, and how he faces the challenges of transitioning from home school to mainstream school. As I said in my Goodreads review, I think reading this book will help humans learn how to be a little more humane.
When I attended the SCBWI summer conference in L.A. last summer, Gary Schmidt gave the last keynote speech. He offered the writers in the room some serious advice, which has stuck with me to this day. And yes, I’m going to quote him once again. 😉 He said, “Write stories to give kids more to be a human being with.” I think Palacio has done that. We can, too.
Getting back to the book, my favorite chapter is only one page and is titled, “The Universe.” The narrator of this section is really questioning how the universe could allow kids like Auggie to exist in the world. Why do some people get all the luck and others none at all? I guess it depends on how you look at it and what you define as lucky. Auggie is lucky enough to have a loving family and support network to protect him and serve as his nest. He’s also learned to be very strong and brave in his own way.
Here is my favorite quote from the last lines of the chapter: “maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all its birds.”
This can be a hard concept to accept sometimes. But I think the more that we believe this and strive to embody this in our world, the more we can make it a reality. It is our choice. We all have a responsibility to take care of each other.
“The Terrified Eye”
21 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Artwork, Children's Illustrations, Sumi-e Paintings Tags: artwork, book, children's illustrations, eye, painting, sumi-e
I’ve been curious about “the terrified eye” (which I kept calling “the terrible eye” and “the terrific eye” by mistake– Don’t you just love “eggcorns” ?) ever since I read Gary Schmidt’s book Okay for Now. How can you not be concerned with the outcome of this eye? Which in this case belongs to 8th grade narrator Doug Swieteck, who’s having trouble at home with an abusive father. He finds solace in art, particularly in viewing Audubon’s illustrations for The Birds of America. “The terrified eye” both represents the main character’s own situation and that of one of the pictured birds: The Arctic Tern ( Plate CCL).
What is even more interesting is that Schmidt seems to have been fixated on this eye for quite a while now. It shows up in several of his other books! In the aforementioned book’s predecessor, The Wednesday Wars, 7th grader Holling Hoodhood is constantly getting the evil eye from his teacher. She has the habit of rolling her eyes at him, which is not a very teacherly thing to do. 😉 Our other narrator, good old Doug Swieteck, shows up in this book with a BLACK EYE. And then there are the rats, which just happen to be named after two characters from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. I love this line: “I looked back, and there were the demon rats, racing with their scabby paws toward me, their eyes filled with the big M–Murder!–and their pointy heads bobbing up and down with each leap.” How’s that for imagery?
But we’re not done yet. The eye shows up in an even earlier work, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. In this book, 13-year-old Turner Buckminster, a minister’s son mind you, starts out in a new town by getting into a fight. An elderly neighbor, Mrs. Hurd, gives him some advice on how to handle someone bigger. “You were supposed to hit that boy in the eye.” Later on, Turner comes face to face with a whale while out in a boat. Schmidt not only describes the whale, but also highlights the main character’s deep connection to it. “Its great fins slapping the water. and its eye…its eye.”
I decided to study my own “terrified eye” for this sumi-e painting. I’m drawn to this eye. Aren’t you?