I had a great time at my Illustrator group meeting Saturday. It's so cool to be able to hang out and get inspired with other illustrator types! It's raining today and it's nice to be cozy in the studio with the cat and dog hanging out. The end of the semester means seeing a culmination of all of the semesters work, and that also is a boost. I printed a short, 20 page booklet of my graphic novel to date, and though it barely scratches the surface of the story, I'm thrilled with how it came out. I see light! I am taking it to the SCBWI conference this summer with hopes of attracting someone to publish it. I am certain I can get at least another ten pages done by then.

I am posting a watercolor from another project, the season's book. It's one of the spring pages. I love having both projects going at the same time; the energy keeps me going!

My friends are the best! Not many people will endure being directed when they know that ultimately they will end up as an insect (thanks, ladies!) However, directing is an important skill to have as an illustrator. The people gotta do what's in your head! Not always easy to communicate! Therefore, I had my figure drawing class do a little of this yesterday. What a hoot! Inevitable, somehow, many of the scenes we came up with ended up being Star Wars or Lord of the Rings related (strong with us,the geek factor is!) But it was fun to let them create a multiple-figure scene, then spend the three minutes drawing it. Great skill work, and tons of fun. Here are some of mine from the session.

Have you ever gotten near the end of a painting (project, etc.) and realized that it's not quite right? And then, when you ask people what to do to fix it, it gets worse and worse? And then you realize that there is no putting diamonds on poop. What really needs to happen is a complete, from scratch, overhaul. That is the story of this piece. I finished it and it didn't sparkle. Usually a painting will sparkle or sing when it's done. No sparkle. No singing. It was flat. Happily, though, the second time worked out. Rethink, repaint, sparkle. Enjoy Gossip!