Kim's Art Blog

How SoCal Goes Sledding and Artist Playdate results

2012-01-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

It has been a most magical week... writing (rewriting) is going well, and I was able to finish up what I started at Marilyn Scott-Water's artist playdate last week. I am so hooked on this concept!
Free creating! Woo hoo! I told my illustrator group at our monthly meeting last week how much fun this is, and they convinced me to have an ARTIST PLAYDATE at my house. It is going to be one heck of an estrogen fest (although men are welcome, we were definitely women-heavy that meeting- especially since Jennifer Olsen brought her two-week old baby!) Probably twenty intensely talented illustrator ladies, some cardboard, bubble wrap, sparkly paint... I can't wait to see what magic this yields! I will have to post our group result.

So anyhow, this is my Elf and Ermine; I brought a National Geographic photo, as well as my boarding pass folder from Frontier Airlines, the cardboard from a Hickory Farms gift from best-friend Melissa (she wants to make sure my husband gets red meat at least once a year!), Sharpies and scrapbook paper. When I do this at my house in February my goal is to work BIG.

On a totally different note, our Long Beach schools get out early on Thursdays, and I decided to take my son and his buddy California Sledding. Seal Beach, my favorite little beach town on the planet, uses earth-mover machines every Fall to put up a big sand berm on the South side of the pier to protect the beachfront homes and boardwalk. We took skimboards and boogie boards and surfed the darn hill. Too much fun! I have cute photos and videos of the boy and his friend, but I have to admit I did rock the hill surfing as well, but photographers never get in the pictures...

EXPLORE

2012-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

My word of the year is EXPLORE. It is my motto and resolution. Note how nicely that resolution does not have anything to do with not eating cookies or keeping my office tidy? NOT a coincidence! I figure, know what you're good at and go with it, right?

Anyhow, the kid is back in school, the husband is back at work. I even put the dog out. My family is lovely and I adore them, but they took turns being sick all vacation. By the grace of God (or the fact that I'm a woman and who else would make them food?) I didn't get sick myself. However, not much drawin' got accomplished. Therefore, here I am, chompin' at the bit to redo the Surfside Girls website, thumbnail out my daily 10 pages for fairy godmother agent, and start the KidLitChat picture book challenge (see my facebook wall if you're interested.)

I wish all of you a delightful 2012 full of energy and creativity. Yes, the economy is icky, but historically this is when opportunity is born, right? Put on your creative beanies, take some deep breaths, and let's dive in!

Tomie de Paola contest

2011-12-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Back in high school my dad thought it was obscenely funny to determine my status each day by asking, "Hey Kim! Are we stoked? Or bummed?" Proud of himself that he was using surfer lingo and knowing that as a teenager I was always at one extreme or another, he was able to get an accurate reading of my life.

I have thought of those days a lot these past few weeks, as I went from "bummed" to "stoked" in very short order. I almost feel like visiting the doctor for whiplash.

First I found out that I lost both of the classes I was slated to teach at the both universities I teach at. Ouch. In the same day. Double ouch. And I found out too late to go find other work. BUMMED! Then, just as I wondered how I was going to structure my non-semester (I am like a migratory bird and am instinctively directed by semester ebb and flows) this wonderful agent called me and wants to represent Surfside Girls and get it sold! STOKED! I will now actually have the time and ENERGY to thumbnail out the rest of the book and do some editorial changes. I adore the young people in my classes (they know how much I love them) but they do require massive amounts 0f my energy.

So I am happy Kim, feeling like I have a fairy godmother. Someone else to help me steer the ship. Thank you thank you.

Here is my Tomie de Paola Competition piece, which got done against all odds as I dealt with the most hyperdramatic group of college students yet getting their finals in. Seriously. I had one student (you know who you are!) who actually sent me a photo of herself from her phone with her artwork standing outside of her car on a shut down freeway, in front of a giant fireball. See what I have to deal with? The poor creature did not fear for her life, as the tanker truck on the 60 freeway caught fire and took out a bridge. No, she had a panic attack that she wouldn't get her final project in.

Enjoy the piece and enjoy some peace! Merry Christmas!

happy holidays...

2011-12-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

The semester's winding down... I can't believe it's here already. While I'm terrifically happy to get some rest, it's also a little sad. I really do enjoy the classroom and it's always sad to know all those young people are launching out into the world. I guess it's just the mom in me, maybe it's too close to home with my own.

I am looking forward to a whole ton of stuff, which when I really think about it is not going to get me much rest. Painting the porch, organizing my office, relandscaping the front, creating a new personal website, doing some experimental art stuff, and maybe even working in some morning surfs! Cuando muerto, duermo, right?

Here's a piece I did as a demo in class working in shaved graphite. I borrowed the subject matter from another of my paintings, but the treatment gives it a whole different vibe.

Merry Christmas everyone!

page 40 part 3

2011-12-02T20:42:00.001-08:00

Okay,it's late, but it's up!

Surfside Girls page 40 part 2

2011-12-02T16:42:00.001-08:00

So I had an art playdate with my good friend and collegue Marilyn Scott-Waters (the Toymaker, see her at thetoymaker.com.) She hosted a lovely afternoon of apples, bread, cheese and painting. I really needed to shake things up artistically, and have wanted to experiment with painting on wood. It was so fun to bust out some paints with no game plan and play! This is the result, I will definitely be trying more!

Here also is the ink and type stage of page 40. I will paint after this, and post tonight!

Surfside Girls hits page 40!

2011-12-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

So it's Friday, TG as they say... and today is totally totally momentous in that Surfside Girls has hit page 40, which to me is an awesome milestone. To celebrate I figured I'd chronicle the making of this page. I've never posted a pencil before, so here it is. I noticed in scanning it- it has to be scanned in two sections and put together in Photoshop- that there is (?) moisture condensed under the glass on part of my scanner. Yuck! This may account for the icky blue color I'm getting.

I didn't spend much time dealing with the blue color, as I'm off to ink now and then paint this afternoon. But anyway, I'm always fascinated with how people work, so hopefully you'll enjoy this.

By the way, since we're sharing, I'm considering starting a post somewhere, maybe facebook, where all of us arty types post pictures of our workspaces. I will edit out anyone who looks too neat and organized, as it may fuel my insecurity about the state of my desk! No, kidding, what I may do is ask you organized types how you maintain that!

Happy Friday. :)

A little of this and a Little of that...

2011-11-25T13:23:00.000-08:00

So. The holidays are here. Turkeys, shopping, grading final projects, making pictures. I think I need about a week curled up in a sand dune with a cheesy supernatural romance novel.

I'm posting bits and pieces of what I've been up to. A little Flash animation, Ethan's shoes, the logo for my Christmas party (complete with family self-portrait in monster.) I can't post the e-book stuff I just finished because of NDAs, but hopefully once it's out they'll let me. Some fun stuff there. My life feels a little fragmentey, like my posting. Little bit of this, little bit of that. Not a bad thing, just a little spread out.

I feel like 2012 is going to be a good year. I would like to start the year with a clean office and some giant canvases. Breakin' out. Gettin' crazy. I want to paint big, sculpt mantises. My friend Katie wants to build robots. It's gonna be a good year.

Twin Cities rises from the recycle bin...

2011-10-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

The problem is, I'm creative and I'm a sucker. When the boy names the year's outlandish Halloween costume, I feel obligated to rise to the occasion. Well, maybe obligated is the wrong word. Inspired, excited... not that I don't have anything else to do, so it's ALWAYS last minute. I am definitely grateful for this time as a mom...

The photos are in the daytime, and then at night with the lights glowing. Next to him is a Chinese emperor, courtesy of creative supermom Millie (dig back into blog history, she posed as a gossiping bug for one of my paintings...)

more! more!

2011-10-29T15:44:00.003-07:00

I couldn't fit this in the first posting, but it was such an awesome day spent with my Studio 5 friends Marilyn and Katie, sketching in the park...

more! more!

2011-10-29T15:44:00.001-07:00

APE sketches!

2011-10-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

I promised to put them up, and I've been swamped. You know things are not right as a beach girl when you go in to your twice-yearly visit to your dermatologist, who routinely berates you for your outdoor lifestyle, and he is PLEASED to see you haven't been in the sun. PLEASED! It is not for lack of want, I have just been glued to my chair (buttglue!) bustin' out projects. My NDAs don't let me post work, so it looks like I've just been lazy. NOT the case, as my pasty skin confirms.

Here are the sketches of characters I found roaming APE in San Francisco. Since we're close to Halloween, I figured they'd be relevant. I will post both my boy's Halloween costume (made by mom) and also Sam and Jade's from my book.

By the way, I'm battling back from the pastiness. We had a highly competitive family gave of Bocci Ball down at Seal Beach this morning...

APE!

2011-10-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

APE was awesome. For those of you who haven't been to San Francisco's Alternative Press Expo, I highly recommend it. Everyone was really nice, Surfside Girls did great and had a great response, and the minute the Con finished everyone broke out into applause. I'm so glad I got to be part of it.

Enjoy the photos of my booth. I did some really funny quick sketches with watercolor of some of the more interesting outfits, but I'm pressed for time and can't scan right now so I'll post them next time.

If you're checking out the blog for the first time and I met you at APE (you all know who you are!) welcome and it was great to meet you.

bookmarks!

2011-09-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

I've been working quite a bit actually, and have had NO time to post. I thought I'd throw these up on the blog, they should be here next week. Bookmarks to hand out at APE! So excited! The Sam and surfboard one will also be my banner. It'll be so cool to see it 6 feet tall!

San Francisco here we come!

2011-09-13T12:08:00.003-07:00

It's been quite a month, and it's going to be quite a month.

Summer finished with a bang; there was the SCBWI Summer Conference and all that comes with that- friends, inspiration, connections, portfolios. The following weekend I roadtripped with my best friend Melissa, driving her recently relocated mommy's car from Mission Viejo to Denver via Las Vegas, Moab and Glenwood Springs. Arches National Park is just plain ridiculous. I need to spend more time there.

The following weekend (!) I taught leathercrafting to 125 Cub Scouts up in the mountains at Camp Tahquitz. LOTS of mallets punching holes in leather...

Came home Sunday, started teaching Tuesday at CSULB. At that time I still had luggage strewn about my bedroom from three successive weekends of being away.

Now this month. Our Studio Group, Studio 5, is having a show at the USF Thacher Gallery. Need a vacation? Come visit me Sept. 21-25, and Oct. 15-16. THEN I will be back in SF Oct. 1-2 for the Alternative Press Expo (APE) introducing Sam and Jade at booth 545. I've had the first 40 pages printed up as a teaser and will be on sale for $5 along with buttons, bookmarks and prints.

The rest of summer has meant HARVEST! I'm so stoked on my veggie garden this year, I tried some things I hadn't before, and we've been eating so well- tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, potatoes, peppers, strawberries. I'm looking forward to my fall garden. There's something really cool about cooking from your own garden that is very different than running to the market.

Please do stop in, especially if you are a San Francisco friend I don't get to see enough!

San Francisco here we come!

2011-09-13T12:08:00.001-07:00

Junior Lifeguards Seal Beach

2011-08-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

This has been an awesome summer. Today I hung at the beach while the boy had Junior Lifeguards, since I knew he was jumping off the pier and my husband requested a picture. So I sat on the beach thumbnailing out the next Surfside Girls page, then went for a run and swim in the ocean, sketched some Junior Lifeguard antics that will most certainly make it into Surfside Girls somehow, then took picture of said boy. I think this is the happiest time in my motherhood to date. I used to teach JGs at Laguna Beach and Lake Mission Viejo. It's the greatest thing in the world to see how it changes your kid for the awesomer.

I asked him on the way home if he could just stay ten forever; I could drive him to the beach everyday, and either surf or run or go home and paint, then I would pick him up with some Carl's Junior burger to feed the machine, and we'd go home and hang out. I wish it would never end. Maybe that's why I'm funneling so much into my book; it will remain immortal there...

Summer!

2011-07-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Summer is when I'm at my Kimmiest. Lots of beach runs, pool workouts, surfing, and painting painting painting! A busy one, this summer is! It's been too long since I blogged, so let's catch up.

I was invited in to a Studio Group called Studio 5, with some really really talented people. We will be having a show at the Thacher Gallery at USF the last weekend in September through October. It will be a blast to be up there doing workshops with people!

I'm also in a couple of shows at CSUF; the Art for Health show in October, and one I'm curating, the Art of the LA Times Kids Reading Room show, also in October. Because I didn't feel I had enough in October, I am also going to APE, the Alternative Press Expo, in San Francisco October 1 and 2nd. I'll have Surfside Girls printed up, at least the first 30 pages, with buttons and t-shirts.

Oh. AND I'm teaching at CSULB and CSUF in Fall. So this summer has been a ton of prep for a ton of things. I'm posting some Art in the Park photos, which I teach occasionally and are put on by my friend Trish (http://handmadepenguin.com/blog) as well as a new piece I'm working on. The color palette was (stolen) borrowed from Carl Larsson, one of my favorites. The piece is from a new book I'm working on, which is a really funny one if I do say so myself. I work alone a lot, and I have to crack myself up or I get bored...

art and all that

2011-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

So I am taking the LAST class of the MFA, the one I had to put off due to teaching (a person can only do so much.) Anyhow, it's called Survey of Southern California Contemporary Artists, taught by Professor Mike McGee who I'm convinced has some sort of genius memory about all this. We saw a presentation on an "artist" last night, I can't remember his name, but I got so worked up during the presentation I doodled dragons with big nasty fangs. Oooh scary, I know. This "artist" tries to make "art" that no one recognizes as art, and then doesn't name or sign it, so it can't be catalogued (?). Like, for instance, he made a drinking fountain that looks just like a drinking fountain and works like a drinking fountain, out of mundane drinking fountain materials, and then "installed" it on a college campus in a place where you would normally find a drinking fountain. And didn't sign in, just in case you might wonder if that drinking fountain is actually art masquerading as a drinking fountain. !?! I HOPE he did not get a grant for this. There are other equally obnoxious "pieces of art" or non-art art, or whatever, that he has made, but I am going to end my rant. I just don't get it.

On that note, there are also those people who don't really think illustration is art. But I'm not one of them. And so I am posting a little thing I had to get done for a show. I much prefer this silly sort of art to any art that tries not to exist...

2011-06-25T07:45:00.001-07:00

It's been a week of solid freelance. I busted out a lot of work this week and feel I deserve some face-down-in-the-sand time. Woo hoo! I finished a cool little Flash animation for a client, and the new Surfside Girls page, plus all of the work for this last CSUF class, which is a 45 minute video presentation on video artist Diana Thater, best known for her work on The Cove. Today I'm speaking at the LA Society of Illustrators with my friend Marilyn Scott-Waters and Professor Cliff Cramp, and I have one more little painting to finish. I predict beach time tomorrow morning after church.

All of this productiveness is really not helping my tan. Or really the cleanliness of my office. I think I'm going to start scheduling in beach and cleaning time. Does anyone have any suggestions for keeping a creative space clean? That doesn't involve a ton of money?

I'm posting some things that have been done for a while, and some I finished last night. :)

Oh Canada!

2011-06-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a MUCH NEEDED vacation to the Great White North. Some good friends had a son get married, and we went to the reception in Saskatchewan, and then on to the end of the known universe, the Stockman Lodge Fish Camp. So so beautiful- after driving across most of Canada, then float-planing (!) in to an island, we relaxed in utter bliss. It was SO QUIET. I read, fished, hiked, and painted. Bald eagles were nesting just across the lake. I wish I could go there yearly and totally de-stress. My son got spoiled; now he thinks that fishing means dropping a line in totally clean water, in an uncrowded, beautiful environment, and multitudes of fish compete for the privilege of your lure! Anyhow, here are some photos, and also a little of my sketch journal.

my street and a potato head

2011-06-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Life is pretty good. If I had to complain, which I shouldn't, I guess my house and my waist have borne the brunt of grad school. However, with a little scrubbing and organizing, and a little extra running (and some good surf days!) life should be back in order. No permanent damage.

On the positive side, this is my street right now, thick in the middle of Jacaranda bloom. It's ridiculously messy and stinky, but just look at how awesome. Some days, first thing in the morning, all of the lawns and cars are covered in flowers, and it looks like it snowed purple. People have been coming by and taking photos, so I figured I would too.

Then there's the potato head, or Why I Teach. My Cartooning and Caricature students had me crying the last day of class as they presented me this Pirates of the Caribbean Potato Head, signed by the class. They are most awesome, this class, and this is currently one of my most prized possessions. I am looking for a vase shelf to put him on for my office. It pretty much sums up why I teach- I love getting so involved in these little young artists' lives. Plus, I know that at least half of the people on the Potatohead will be famous some day, and then he's going to be a very valuable Potatohead!

I am off to Canada for ten days, for a wedding reception, and then up to a fly-in fishing camp, where I will sleep and read and paint while the man and the boy fish and hunt things. Maybe I'll paint a fish.

graduation!

2011-05-26T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is my life. It's full, fast, furious, and filled with lots of people I love. Today is my birthday. I celebrate birthweek. If you don't, I recommend you start. This birthweek, however, tops all.

My birthweek started last Thursday with my husband's birthday, exactly one week before mine. On momentous birthdays, we have a big old combined party. This year we're just having the family BBQ. Friday was a hoe-down at Ethan's school and I met with Aubry Mintz at CSULB about teaching a class. Saturday I graduated from California State University Fullerton with my MFA in Illustration. Those of you who have done this know how hard and rewarding this is. Sunday we planted an organic garden. Monday was my friend Frans from grad school's wedding- totally adorable. Tuesday I had this amazing lunch at La Vie en Rose- I was fortunate enough to be given a great scholarship from the Leo Freedman foundation, and this was the scholarship luncheon. What great conversation and amazing people I got to meet there! Recipients were from Theater Arts and Music, as well as Visual Arts. Kathleen played the most incredible violin for us! Yesterday I had breakfast with my illustrator group, also wonderful and talented people.

And now today! My mom is taking me to lunch, and then a quiet evening at home (I still have grades to turn in and artwork to post tomorrow! Work among the playing!)

Anyhow, if you are my friend or family and you're reading this, thank you. You make my life so full!

almost summer!

2011-05-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost summer but it doesn't feel that way. I spent Saturday at the SCBWI event "Agents Day" in Newport Beach, trying to find someone who might help me get Surfside Girls published. More than one agent commented on how they didn't think Southern California in May was grey and drizzley! However, things are winding down, school is ending, grades are due, and I have faith that in a short while I will be face down in some warm sand. Yum.

The picture is of Joe, figure drawing model extraordinaire. I introduced sequential gesture to my class. Joe is great and totally fired up, even though he had been modeling all day and would have been happier if I wanted a one hour sustained reclining pose! I never ever get a chance to really focus on drawing when I'm teaching because I'm moving around the classroom helping students. But these poses were so good, and Joe is so great, I couldn't help myself. Sequential gesture is what made me want to animate. I think these are five minute poses. Thanks, Joe!

Sally got a haircut

2011-05-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

My puppy just got her first haircut. How pretty is she! We are just about to head out on a run before I dig into some grading and art stuff. Had to share. She is the happiest dog I've ever met. Dogs are so dang awesome...

LA Times Kids Reading Room

2011-05-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

My Mothers Day piece printed in the LA Times on Sunday. Happy Mothers Day, all you mommies! I can't imagine how different my life would be without my son. Having a child gave me such an increased capacity for love, and a vulnerability, that I don't think I could have understood without. A little tiny bit of how God must feel...

Anyway, the piece printed a bit washed out in the paper, but perhaps that was my fault for wanting to use superduper spring pastel colors!

Semester's wrapping up, I'm walking in the cap, gown and MFA hood on May 21st. Lots of endings mean lots of beginnings...

Upwelling

2011-05-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

This is the chapter heading for Surfside Girls' first act, Upwelling. I wanted the viewer to be underwater, looking up at the kelp. It's a metaphor for possibilities. Stuff is surfacing- in the ocean upwelling is where the nutrient rich cold water hits the shelf and comes to the surface. All kinds of little things start feeding on it, and it provides a start for the food chain. When you're surfing, it's a sudden cold spot in otherwise warm water. In the book, it's where everything is setting up.

I kind of feel like that's life right now too. I'm graduating with my MFA, I have students graduating into the Wide World, taking their toolboxes of skills and trying to make it. We talked extensively about that today in my Cartooning and Caricature class. What the state of things is, and where can you fit into it. Publishing is changing, print is changing, there are simultaneously less and more opportunities. I think the best we can do as artists is to keep learning, keep the skills sharp, be kind, and say yes to opportunities. And enjoy the ride. It is the best job in the world.

my visit with Kelly Light

2011-04-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

SCBWI is such a cool organization. A couple of years ago, Kelly Light popped up on my blog. She is an illustrator from the East Coast who had grabbed my card from the Summer Conference, and we began to correspond. Turns out we have a similar background in animation, are moms and love lines. Plus, she reminds me a ton of my cousin Patty. We totally hit it off, and talked in person at last year's summer conference. We spent Easter with my Aunt in Massachusetts (just got back) and I thought while I was back there I'd give her a call. Kelly was kind enough to make time for me, even though she's on a deadline, and we went to the Eric Carle museum and then had a cuppa coffee. Talked shop. Totally fun! Kelly's got this great little house they've remodeled that's a little retreat- I had been following its progress on her blog. Darling place. I'm so glad we got to get together- being an illustrator can be a bit isolated. SCBWI did its job, and introduced us. Thanks for a fun visit, Kelly!

You can see her amazing work at kellylight.com, or follow her blog at prettygoodforagirl.blogspot.com

Yay surf

2011-04-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a good day!

collaboration 2 and Leilani

2011-04-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

My illustrator group is breaking up. I'm devastated. So many amazing people, and I know I'll stay in touch with all of them, but there is just something reassuring about knowing that a group meets at a certain time and place every month, and without that regularity I know it will be a lot harder to keep in touch. Marilyn (the Toymaker) and Veronica have hosted for five years. Sheesh. That's a big commitment. I don't know how I would have found my way without them.

I'm graduating with my MFA in May, just bought my cap and gown (I could really find a much more attractive outfit for $100) and that means that that group is breaking up too. Waa. Ten of us are graduating this semester from CSUF. All of the artists are amazing, and it, too, has been a great group to be part of. If you aren't doing anything for the next eight Saturday nights, you should head over to campus and check out the art. Katy Betz and Frans Kusuma are this weekend. Great stuff. Plus, they're always catered, so it's a cheap date night.

So I guess I'm really fortunate to have my writers group. I am groupy, if you haven't gotten that already, and being a Marine Corps Brat, I hate hate hate endings and goodbyes because my childhood was so full of them. I just got back, got great feedback on my latest page, inspiration for a new Surfside Girls cover for SCBWI's Agents Day, and support for plan B. I am posting the finished Leilani painting I did as a demo for class yesterday, as well as an anatomy handout I did, just because anatomy is so darn cool.

doors opening and closing

2011-04-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm having a little bit of a pity party. Surfside Girls has spent a bit of time at a publishing house, and I had all of my fingers and toes crossed it would go. I just got word that while the editor I was working with loved it, he couldn't rally the support needed to invest in it. Bummer. I totally believe you end up where you're supposed to, totally totally. And in a way this frees me up; I would love to print a bit of it and go sit some cons like APE in San Francisco with my writers group. But I'm still a little sad. I do have a couple of publishing houses in mind that I really want to send it to, maybe it will strike the right chord there.

I just finished another LA Times Kid's Reading Room illustration, and am quite happy with it. It prints Mother's Day, so I got to use Easter eggy colors. I used my beautiful neighbor Juana and her daughter Gabriella for inspiration- Juana is one of those people who is always beautiful, and keep her home and garden amazingly. Oh, if I had a little of that! I wish I could post the painting, but I certainly will after it prints.

I'm working on an upcoming character in the book, Leilani. Her haunting knowledge of hula and Hawaiian culture help Sam start to figure out what the heck is going on in her life. I'm going to do a watercolor demo for my Cartooning and Caricature class with her, so I'll post that result as well. Here's the drawing.

2011-03-26T17:21:00.001-07:00

2011-03-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. This has been the wackiest week. I feel like I used to after finishing a film. Getting an MFA is like throwing a wedding and giving birth. I have lived through both things, but never at the same time! I took the show down Thursday after I taught figure drawing, and was a little sad. I felt like a princess all week, holding court in my gallery of artwork, and answering questions when professors brought classes in. Thank you to all of you who helped paint the gallery and who came to celebrate with me. Special thanks to Melissa (Jade) who came out from Colorado, and Anders Swanson, awesome on the ukelele. I feel very blessed to have all of these awesome friends! Oh, and not to be forgotten, Penelope the Wahine Wienie, pet dog of Laura. She had asked if she could bring her dog, and I replied certainly not, unless it was in appropriate Hawaiian attire. We got a good laugh imagining the "walnut bra" covering all ten teats! I doodled it immediately in my studio, and scanned it to share. I got a really great response for Surfside Girls, fingers crossed friends, I want to see it in print. I am posting photos of the event if you weren't able to make it. Find more in my facebook album.

re: Robert

2011-03-10T11:43:00.001-08:00

I had to come up with some theory on how to paint the ghosts on the cliff in my book. If they're totally see-through, they disappear. If they look too white they look solid. I feel like I captured Robert, the boy-pirate-ghost love interest, well in this one. I am embarking on one of the last pieces for the show; all of the ghosts on the cliff. Lots of perspective and characters and it's important to get it just right.

I was blessed enough to spend Monday morning in Bob Singer's studio. Bob was a character designer, among countless other things, for Hanna-Barbara. He was responsible for Fred Flintstone and Scooby, etc. Woo. My life is a fairytale! I showed him my struggles with the piece, and he taught me so much so quickly, explaining what he would have done and why.

Too long a discussion to have now, as I have to get back to work, but I've been telling my classes how important it is to be just like Bob: eager, enthusiastic, positive, hard-working, and most of all, willing to share. What an inspiration.

Anyhow, enjoy Robert. I adore him.

2011-03-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

Grad show in 15 days. Eeeeek. Not in bad shape, but I keep thinking of one more way it could be more awesome. Yeah, like I need more stress. Anyhow, just inked this page and thought I'd post a little piece of it before I paint because I wish I could do this right now...

This is the grad show invite too. Woo hoo!

countdown to MFA exhibition...

2011-02-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't been posting as i've been teaching and getting ready for my Grad Show (March 19!) which means postcards, frames, mats, and painting! In order to not look completely flakey, I thought I'd post my Cartooning and Caricature class demo- we took an inanimate object and gave it some personality! I showed them some quick ways of finishing, working on top of their xerox or computer printout. Crit is tomorrow, should be fun to see what they've done!

Sunday afternoon

2011-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

It's been a week of summer here in the dead of winter. I dread it reverting because I've gotten used to being out gardening and sketching and running in shorts, gathering up my vitamin D. It's only a matter of time before it's 50 degrees and raining...

Anyhow, I've been neglecting my quick sketch skills as I have been doing so much comic book work. I saw the neighborhood kids going up and down the sidewalk in the wagon and had to sketch. I would have stayed and sketched the following football and then basketball games- seems like they are taking advantage of the weather as well! But it was my brother's birthday party and all I got was the wagon sketch.

surfside girls in HB

2011-01-18T13:57:00.000-08:00

They're having the year-in-review ArtWalk in Huntington Beach tomorrow... 6-9, with a live band and a no-host bar. Sounds like a good time, and Huntington should be going off with the way the weather has been! I'll be there with my Burger Dude piece. I had a bunch of promo postcards printed up, so I thought I'd share. Come on by for a fish taco if you're in the neighborhood! PS have you checked out SurfsideGirls.com yet? I'm updating (and Sam's blogging) on Fridays.

surfsidegirls.com

2011-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

It took a ton of blood, sweat, and tears, help from friends, and a definite neglect of personal hygiene, but surfsidegirls.com is live. Go, now! and check it out. I haven't posted in a while because it's all been going here! Enjoy. Maybe 2011 is the year you learn to surf? (you know you want to!)

Happy New Year

2011-01-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over and my break is just beginning! Ethan is back in school, and I have no shopping/decorating/baking Christmas craziness to get after, so I have thrown myself into Surfside Girls Website Creation Mode (SSGWCM for you military brats like me.) I am itching to make art, too, so I've started on some cool things which I will post when I'm farther along. Because I've been computer-bound, I figured I'd put up the illo for our Christmas party. It's inspired me to do more black and white!

Kevin Wood of my writing group has declared 2011 The Year of Woody. I appreciate the sentiment, but actually get more behind making it The Year of Kim. It's very refreshing, and I recommend you try it. The Year of (insert your name here.) Tell people! And then accomplish it! Lot of potential energy in a new year... ride that wave!

the wave, realized

2010-12-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

I posted this on Facebook, and forgot to post it here- Ethan as the wave, come to life! I am days away from Christmas break, and can't wait to chase some of the creative projects I haven't been able to get to because of school. The mantis with dragon armor has a destiny in Sculpey! I haven't worked in Sculpey since the Disney days, when we got to do figure sculpting in our down time, but I've heard that there's a great tutorial on Conceptart.org.

I found a mantis in the garden last week when I was cleaning up for the party, but it had gotten cold and he was dying. After a brief couple of hours trying to revive him under my desk lamp, I realized he was too far gone, and put him back to die in the fresh air as any wild thing should.

Oooh. Downer. Sorry. I hope everyone has a great holiday, whatever you celebrate. Stay tuned for Surfside Girls website, which will be appearing this break, and mantis sculpture updates...

collaboration

2010-12-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Collaboration. It's been the word of the day with me for about six months now, as I see the graduation light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel. In an animation studio, you get to drive to work and see a bunch of arty friends every day. The downside was I couldn't work on my own stuff. Oh, and I literally worked every day (the garden looked really bad in those days.) So, wanting my cake and to eat it too, I have decided I need to a. secure a really cool studio space, which I think I have in a really cool applied arts district in Long Beach, and b. convince my illustrator friends to stop working in various garages and coffee tables and actually help me pay for the space. The upside is we all get to hang out everyday, like in school, and the whole street has cool arty types on it. Plus, they have a rockin' street-wide Christmas party every year. The curatorial grad students on campus have figured this out already, and have formed the studio group Six Pack. They hung a great show last night on the Promenade in Long Beach.

So I have finished Surf Tip 5. These will get bound into a bitty book for my Illustration Special Studies class. Over Christmas break they will become part of the Surfside Girls website (or online experience, if I can learn Dreamweaver that well.)

magic day

2010-12-08T22:10:00.000-08:00

It was really a cool day today. In the midst of the muddle that is thesis edits and end-of-semester wind-down, I got a scholarship, and a good one at that. There was a really cool lunch, and I got lots of hugs from my CSUF family. Happy happy day.

I finished up Surf Tip 6, though I haven't finished 5 yet. That's tomorrow's project. I had to rebel against linear thought... I think it's all that critical reasoning. After they're all done, I'm binding them into a How to Surf book for the end-of-class leave behind. The concept looks cool in my sketchpad- I can pull it off if I get thesis done (final final done.)

wish for St. Nick

2010-12-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have a week and a half to finish my thesis (just got my edits,) two more Surf Tips, a sketchbook for class, and get the house ready for our massive, awesome Christmas party. So what happens? Along comes the opportunity to make Ethan another costume (for the "Walk Through California" fourth grade history thing.) Squirrel! Just like in "Up," give me something to distract me and off I go. I am making him a geographical feature of California, a wave. The drawings I made had me laughing out loud, though I know I'm easy to please. I hope you like them.

I'm also posting Surf Tip 4. I have decided that all I want for Christmas from "St. Nick" is a book deal. Keep your fingers crossed, folks.

re: artwalk

2010-11-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

I need a nap. Last night was ArtWalk at Huntington Beach, tons of fun. Thanks to all my friends who came out, and thanks to Robin Ott, awesome cookie-providing librarian. I hope you took advantage of fish tacos and HB Brewery as well. I would have if they weren't CLOSED when I was done! I got really good feedback on Surfside Girls; I had it up next to one of the framed interior pages. It was cool to watch the little people pick it up and read it, even if it is just 20 pages. They all wanted to know what happened next... woo hoo!

It was also fun to watch people read Surf Tip 1: Goofy or Regular? and see adults do both stances and then exclaim, "I'm goofy!" Wish I had a video camera on it.

I just got done trying to teach six Cub Scouts (nine year-olds) how to draw portraits. I don't know what has me more tired- ArtWalk or Scouts. Couch, here I come.

2010-11-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

I finished the warrior mantis and fairy piece and I called it Alliance. Wow, they both were really telling me their story as I worked! I had a fuzzy idea what was going on, but it seems to be rolling now. I don't know what I want to do with it, except I needed some story framework to produce pieces for my grad show. I want to utilize some epic storytelling devices, higher contrast than I'm used to working. I finished this piece and am very happy with it. I busted it out in 6 x 6 format for a show at Memphis Saturday night, put together by some of our curatorial grad student buddies. It already sold before it got hung! So excited!

dead flies and fairy warriors

2010-10-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! A new distraction from thesis! I've been invited into a little group show by, actually, some of the curatorial students in thesis class! And with my total commitment to collaboration with friends, how can I say no? Although, I'll have to work fast, as the whole first draft is due in two weeks... Anyway, this gives me a chance to explore my mantis warriors a little further. I had to include the dead fly sketch. In what universe does an artist need reference of a dead fly? I love this job...

Raina Telegemeier spoke at CSUF yesterday. Thanks to the Pencil Mileage Club for making that happen! She illustrated Scholastic's Babysitter's Club into graphic novel format, and has just put out "Smile Raina." She gave a great talk; really clear, entertaining and honest.

She will be at the Long Beach Comic Con this weekend, as will my awesome friend Woody, his beard, and his comic. See you there!

re: sketch day

2010-10-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the SCBWI illustrator's group had another amazing, inspirational sketch day yesterday. Thanks, Veronica, for coordinating, and thanks Marilyn, the Toymaker, for offering your (always clean, well decorated, inspirational) home as the venue. It rained lightly, but not enough to spoil things. The costumed kiddos played with blocks on the table out back, and we sketched them in action. Quite a funny sight to have a minion playing blocks with a zombie! Love Halloween! I came away inspired by Marilyn's latest projects on wood, and Margaret's amazing lit scenes in boxes. I've been wanting to work large lately, after having been confined to graphic novel parameters and thesis brain ache, and I think that even if it has to be late nights and another cup of coffee, I must carve out some time to do so. Here a couple of my sketches. The other artists did some beautiful work; I will post them if they send them to me (hint hint!) It's so cool to see how people interpret- some are soft and delicate, some have amazing likenesses, some capture the energy and the action. So glad to know y0u all!

running and painting

2010-10-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

Waaa. Huntington Beach Art Walk was canceled for tonight, which means I've got 15 pieces of artwork matted and framed, and nowhere to go... Well, we need the rain, so I can't be too upset. And my plumeria and most of the other potted plants are gloriously happy.

Sunday was a great day! I ran, and finished! the Long Beach Half Marathon (and I can still walk, as long as it's not down stairs,) and my illo came out in the LA Times. Not a bad day! I have used three of my neighbors in this illustration. They've been really fun projects. It's nice to get someone else's story, and not be responsible for the words too, for a change.

I will be at next month's Art Walk, and I'll post that date when I get it.

go Sam!

2010-09-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

I just finished a piece for the LA Times Kids' Reading Room. I'm really happy with how it came out! I used all warm, Halloween themed colors, and it has put me a totally Fall-ish mood. Let's just hope the summer we never got in California doesn't come late! I'm all about the sweater and crisp, clean breeze right now! I'll post the piece after it publishes October 17th.

I thought I'd throw this up (on the blog, not actually upchucking); I particularly like this drawing of Sam, out in front of the cave, and wondering what to do. Going through will change her life. Ever feel like that? What if I go in? Will I be a different person when I come out? Life is just cool like that, huh?

Hey, I will be putting a bunch of paintings up in the Huntington Beach ArtWalk on October 20. If you're around Surf City, stop into the library and say hi! The librarian has especially requested some of the Surfside Girls pages, so I'll frame some and put them up. Preview of the grad show..!

re: thesis...

2010-08-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hoo boy. I have come to that place in my education where I have to write the thesis. Not fair. I mean, do they make the math grad students hang an art show? Does computer science have to have a cohesive visual display, with cocktail shrimp and champagne, of their thesis? The professor, who is very nice, and a walking encyclopedia of obscure art knowledge, asked if we had any questions. I didn't feel it would help my case to have her define critical thinking... Anyway, to console myself, and while the graphic novel is (gggglk, anxiety and nausea) off at a publisher being looked at, I'm going to pursue a series of paintings I've wanted to do for a while now, of warrior fairies mounted on dragon-armor clad mantises. And build the Surfside Girls website, with my new friend Priscilla. Stay tuned. Oh, the lobster tail was at our Cabrillo Beach campout with Scouts- tons of fun!

2010-08-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

We had such a great day yesterday! Linda from my illustrator group suggested a sketch day in San Juan Capistrano. She had free tickets to the Mission, and it was "Historic Days," where people are moving about in period costume. Yesterday was Zorro day. I've always had a thing for Zorro; so mysterious, with the Latin accent and all. We never actually saw him, which was probably a good thing, since we were there to be serious artists and he would have made quite a distraction. It was an amazingly beautiful Southern California weather day, and we all had a great time making little pictures. I'm very inspired to go back! Lots of early Californian history.

2010-08-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

The L.A. Times Reading Room illustration published Sunday, and the colors looked great! Thanks, Jennifer, for that great opportunity. My son was so proud; he is, of course, always my model, so he's told everyone he knows that "he was in the paper." We're in the process of updating his bedroom- he wants his decor to be a combination of Despicable Me Minions (I picked up a bunch of cut-outs at ComiCon,) Mom's art, and Star Wars. Yes, I have a pop-culture child, and yes, I am proud of that. Anyway, I put a little frame on the original piece, and that will be up in the room.

I mentioned in the last post about this cross-platform media stuff. I find this endlessly fascinating, and am embarking on getting Sam (my graphic novel's mystery solving surfer girl) up and running on the internet. I love the added depth and reality this can add to a story. I came across this article in the online magazine Script, put out by Final Draft. The link follows:

http://www.scriptmag.com/2010/07/28/transmedia-and-writing-starlight-runner-goes-the-distance/.

There is probably a more elegant way to do that, but I'm just learning this linking business. The article made me flash on a memory I didn't know I had, of myself as a four or five-year-old at Disneyland. There was a board, and on this board were a bunch of labeled phones. You know, the old style kind, with the metal cord and ear and mouth bulbs between the handle part. These phones were labeled "Mickey," "Minnie," "Donald," etc. You could pick up the phone and "call" these characters. Fast forward to today, and I imagine Mickey tweets! Same concept. Disney was always ahead of the curve, especially in those early days. I do remember the sense of awe, knowing that Mickey was talking to me! I am only slightly less naive now...

re: website!

2010-08-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

kimdwinell.com is up and running! I know I've been a bit slow off the blocks with this digital stuff, but now that I'm in, I'm really excited, and look forward to more. John Sciezsa, at the SCBWI conference, talked extensively about his SPHDZ project, which is a multi-platform middle grade novel. What that really means is that the characters in his book, and their classroom, all have facebook pages and websites. Among other projects I'm on right now is getting Surfside Girls' website up and running, with a trailer. Woo hoo! Back to my film roots! This is honestly the best of both worlds. It's a great tool to make a fictional world that much more real.

I've attached a screen shot from the website. Enjoy!

re: SCBWI

2010-08-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am back to reality after an amazing four days at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (yes, a mouthful) conference in Culver City (LA.) Exhausting, emotional, overwhelming and inspirational, I am recharged for another year of chasing the dream. So today I am taking the day off from anything creative, and doing that miserable task of getting my house back under control. Really, it's ridiculous the state it's in. Try leaving a man, a boy, and a puppy home alone for four days with no woman supervision. If you are a woman reading this, you are nodding your head and sympathizing right now. However, in their defense, everyone still has all of their limbs, and the house isn't burnt down.

I had a very clear "I will remember this moment as long as I live" kind of moment at the conference- I was out on the dance floor at the Heart and Soul Ball under the stars, dancing next to the awesome Lin Oliver, who runs the show, in addition to writing awesome books, and Gail Levine of Ella Enchanted fame. My friends were also all around me, shaking booties to "I Like Big Butts," and for a surreal moment I had a sense that this was my tribe. Odd and looney, but my tribe nonetheless. If writing or illustrating for little people is what you want to do with your life, this summer conference is something you shouldn't miss.

Let me also put in a word here for my friend Kelly Light. She is a fellow illustrator and happy, saddle-shoe clad gal, who took the gulf oil spill tragedy to heart and started Ripple. So far she has raised $10,000 for the cause, all money going to bird and animal rescue organizations on the Gulf Coast. You rock, Kelly. Check out ripplesketches.blogspot.com.

I compiled doodles, words, and caricatures from my weekend conference notes/ sketches and thought I'd post them. Now back to cleaning...

re: sister's wedding

2010-07-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

Woo. My little sister is getting married Saturday! I am married-maid of honor (I can't take the word matron; my bosom is not large enough.) A lot of time and energy have been going into preparations- like the bachelorette party posting shows. By the way... it's really hard to keep up with a group of girls ten years younger than you are. We're going to dinner at 9:30? And then going out after? That's bedtime! It was a darn fun weekend in Palm Springs, but it's taking me a week to recover!

She asked me if I would do watercolor sketches of the different tree names she has designated her tables at the reception. I'm posting my two favorites.

re: Palm Springs!

2010-06-28T07:03:00.001-07:00

Just got back from my sister's bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs. I need a nap! Lots of fun, but just being outside in that heat was exhausting (I assume this is why we were exhausted after a day of laying by the pool.) Darling little boutique hotel, with funky lanterns in the olive trees, and neatly clipped boxwood hedges. The whole color scheme was black and white and yellow. I stayed by the pool late in the afternoon while the rest of the girls were primping to go out, and painted the pool. The colors are so vibrant in the desert, and the air is so thin there's no atmospheric perspective. We weren't so sure if we weren't on a giant movie set...

2010-06-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well school is out, and the livin' is easy! I wish that were true... out of the frying pan, and into the fire is more like it! I'm in the midst of a Boy Scout crisis; our local council is in debt, and in danger of losing its land. Nothing like a crisis to get the blood flowing, huh? I am leading a charge to recycle ourselves out of debt. Wish me luck.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get the last of Act 1 done on my graphic novel for the SCBWI conference in July. Hoping to snag some interest there. This is a splash page of Sam and Jade. This summer should bring me a website, and Surfside Girls' own website as well (I'm very inspired by Axe Cop!)

2010-05-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-05-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

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!

re: hedgehog

2010-04-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm putting the hedgehog close-up out there by itself.

Winter

2010-04-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

I finished this piece this morning. I am particularly happy with the hedgehog. So so sad they're illegal in California, although, if I had one as a pet, I would probably not be very productive, so maybe it's for the best.

The wind's blowing today, making everything look alive. My connection with the outdoors is really driving this seasons book. I remember a time during the Disney animation days, on Hercules in particular, where I would go in to work in the early morning dark, and leave work in the late evening dark. Working in the basement of the building, there would be entire days where I would have missed what the weather was doing. I remember one day in particular, where I left work to find puddles all over the parking lot, and I realized it had rained all day, and I didn't even know. That kind of disconnect, for me at least, is very unhealthy, and I am so happy to be painting in my office/ sunroom, looking out over the pond, and seeing the trees blow! Grateful!

re: the Huntington

2010-04-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

I had a delightful time on Saturday at the Huntington Library and Gardens. The Orange County chapter of SCBWI went on a sketching/lunch/children's book art viewing trip. The weather was perfect, the company was delightful, and wow! to see original Arthur Rackham illustrations, amazing and delicate Kate Greenaway watercolors, and discovering Jessie Marion King... it was pretty close to a perfect day. If you live in Southern California, and have not discovered the Huntington, it is an amazing jewel that you owe it to yourself to see. I think it is a perfect example of way way way too much money, done right. To be able to collect all of those plant specimens, master works of art, and (?) the Gutenberg Bible, and then to ultimately give it up to the public, seems to me to be money with a higher calling. Thank you!

I am posting a bit of work; I've been extremely busy, but working on several different projects simultaneously. These are two sketches I did on my new Canson sketch pad (wonderful paper texture,) also a page from a new quiet book I'm working on about the Seasons, and then two panels from the last page I've done for Surfside Girls, which I'm particularly proud of.

re: spring cleaning

2010-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's warming up, I'm sitting here with my studio door open onto the garden. Yummy! I've been pretty darn productive lately, although it's mostly been busting out more graphic novel pages, and I don't post those (yet...) This time of year I have to fight the urge to go spend all day in the garden or at the beach... good for generating ideas, but not so great for getting things finished. That takes buttglue, and buttglue and gorgeous spring days don't get on so well! I finished the charity piece for my son's school, and finally am getting to post it. The other sketch is of our Graduate Studios and orange tree at CSUF. The Chair of our Illustration department (and all around wonderful guy) asked us to do some plein air sketching around the department for a project he's putting together. The rest of today will be about finishing the Domestic Life of Bugs piece "Coffee," and putting the final touches on a landscape design. Maybe if I work really hard I'll have a little time to peek at the ocean...

re: snails

2010-03-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

Snails are really cool. It rained the other day on campus and I saw one on my way to the parking garage. I had to stop and take a picture. What would it be like to have your eyeballs on stalks? Seriously! I have this charity piece to do for my son's school auction, and of course the snail got incorporated. Here's the sketch, and the photo. The bugs and coffee piece is progressing, about 85% done, but I'm not going to post until it's finished (which should be Friday.) Lots of projects!

Lots of fun! By the way, on a totally unrelated note, I went stand-up paddling last week for the first time. Woo hoo! I was walking on water! I felt cool and tribal. It was glorious. Just the fuel I needed to keep the projects fresh and moving!

farther along

2010-02-23T09:47:00.000-08:00

Well I've got too many irons in the fire right now, and I think that's how I work best creatively. Just a slight bit of ADD is good for the art! Here's what I've accomplished on the Bug Coffee piece; the graphite transfer is slightly incomplete due to my small scanner and oversized plywood board I work on, and the color is the first round of color layin. (I got the whole color piece scanned by cleaning off my desk and laying my scanner lid flat. Imagine that!)

I went sketching at Downtown Disney on Sunday with my illustrator group. How lovely! So much fun to be out with fellow artists. A little lunch + a little sketching = a great day.

2010-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

Goodness! I am posting the drawing I'm wrestling with right now; it will someday soon be a watercolor, but for right now it remains a thick tangle of furniture, bug legs, and perspective. Ouch! Hurting my brain! Thankfully I have a light box, which means I will eventually be able to decipher which line lies on top of which, and will blissfully begin my graphite transfer. How does a gossipy bug cross her legs? How does a mantis grip her coffee, without spilling or impaling it? Does a beetle torso bend enough to sit properly in a chair? There may be people out there grappling with more difficult questions right now, like health care or acceleration pedals, but I've got to believe that these questions rank right up there. Stay tuned for watercolor...

2010-02-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

I just finished a piece to send up to LucasArts. That was fun. I've never really done the fan art thing, but Ira asked if I would put something in a charity auction up there, and wanted to know what I'd do with Ahsoka. A spunky girl character? Of course she has to be surfing! I put a logo on the piece for Kashyyk, the Wookiee planet that has really good surf. Sounding mighty geeky, I know, but having an eight year old boy means we are firmly entrenched in Star Wars and Clone Wars and all that- not that I don't like it too! I scanned both my transfer drawing (almost nothing makes me happier than a freshly graphite transfered drawing on stretched paper,) and my finished watercolor.

2010-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well I had a heck of a weekend. I do believe I experienced Geek Nirvana. A former student, and all around great guy, Ira Owens, took me and my best friend Melissa on a tour of his work- at Skywalker Ranch. Words cannot describe how cool it was, from the incredible scenery of the actual Marin ranch, to the organic vegetable garden which they harvest and feed to their employees in the dining room. And that's not to speak of the actual working animation studio, with a collection of the world's most talented (and nice) artists who work (somehow) in this serene environment. Very very inspiring... The only downside I can see is that you would never be able to work anywhere else!

I have been mostly posting sketchbook pages, and that will continue this time as I have been working on my graphic novel, which I'm not ready to post yet. These sketches were from the Denver airport last week, when I went to pick up my new Springer Spaniel puppy Sally. Watch for sketches of her, coming soon! These sketches, along with many others artists', will be put together into a megasketchbook at Cal State Fullerton by Dana Lamb, for their Animation Department's 10th Anniversary film festival, and in support of their Pencil Mileage Club's founding member Mike Williams, who is struggling with Machado-Josephs disease. Check out this link: http://10thpmcanniversaryfilmfestival.blogspot.com/

2010-01-13T08:30:00.000-08:00

I've been multitasking lately, which means I've been really busy and not quite done with anything. That's not a bad place to be- there's a lot of possibility in potential energy, right? I've been writing and drawing on the graphic novel, working on a new Domestic Life of Bugs piece, and then there's Eejm. I finished the illustration, but haven't finished the flag. I am den mom of a Bear Cub den, and I am very interested in getting my boys out hiking. We hiked (and summited!) the highest "peak" in Long Beach: Signal Hill. I got to thinking that no explorer went out into the wilderness without a proper identifying flag, so I did an Illustrator version of the coffee-can totem pole my Bears created. They named him Eejm, which is Ethan, Eli, Justin and Micha. I will now print this onto iron-on transfer paper, iron it onto white fabric, trim it with navy blue, punch in the grommets, and tie it to the stick. We'll be ready to conquer the next peak!

2009-12-26T15:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Boxing Day! I don't really know what Boxing Day is. I have various friends from Down Under, and I never really got a satisfactory answer out of them when I asked. Some say it has to do with the (?) Boxer Rebellion. Some say it's when you box up all the things you got for Christmas that don't fit and take them back. I don't know. They do love to wish it to you though.

Today the Cub Scouts had a fishing derby. Actually, it was kind of a trial run to see if they knew how to cast before we got really serious. No actual fish were caught, so by default we honored the kid who caught the biggest tree. If you want to stock up on hooks and bobbers and things, find out where cub scouts are practicing casting, and then scale the trees. We all had a great time, though, except for the worms, which Cubmaster John made sure to name before they were sacrificed. Enjoy some watercolor and pen and ink sketches from the trip.

2009-12-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Almost Christmas! I talked to my great aunt in Massachusetts, who was expecting a snowstorm. I'm so lucky to live in Southern California, where I spent the day not waiting for a snowstorm, but sketching at the zoo with my illustrator group! I got very caught up watching the monkeys, with their cute little hands. I realized that while the largest bone in a human's body is the femur, and thus the largest muscles all involve the upper leg and pelvis, in a monkey those areas are almost afterthoughts! The big bones and big muscle tie-ins are all in the shoulder girdle. It was great to watch them hang and swing. Enjoy the sketches...

2009-12-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

Ho ho. One day to go in this semester, I've finished the last project, and it's not midnight! I guess I get to watch House after all...

This is for digital illustration class. I think it's my most successful digital illustration yet, because I did most of it traditionally. I photographed the little tin guys (so cute! Thanks Millie and Jeff!,) then drew it, inked it, and colored it in photoshop. My friend Erin introduced me to the work of Tomer Hanuka, who has the most awesome sense of color. Inspirational! Anyway, it's called "Wind Up" and it's all of the little robot caffeine junkies waiting for their morning cuppa jo. Just looking at their psycho painted eyes gave me the idea. Incidentally, I am (once again) trying to give up caffeine. You should see my eyes...

2009-11-27T14:19:00.001-08:00

Kelp is cool. It's a combination of two of my favorite things, plants and the ocean. I was out at Dana Point, and found this floating in the kiddo swimming area. I popped it in the cooler, took it home, and painted it. I tried to do that earlier in the summer, but I left it for a couple of days in a bag in the fridge, and I don't recommend that. It got really really stinky. If you're going to paint kelp, do it while it's fresh. I have been searching the internet, trying to figure out what kind it is, but to no avail. There is plenty of info on Macrocystis pyrifera, which this is not, but not a whole lot of help if you're trying to ID anything else. Hmmm... maybe that could be a project... Anyway, I've been doing a lot of exploring of native California species for Surfside Girls. I've been sneaking all sorts of cool things into and onto my pages.

2009-11-15T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hey there, I've been cranking away at my graphic novel pages, trying to get as much done as I can before my freelance hits. I'm amazed at how much there is to think about in trying to tell my story this way! I've been checking out other graphic novelist's websites and have been very inspired by what I see. Boltcity.com has a great tutorial. I don't know if I want to post my pages yet, because I may put them up on their own website. I will post some character sketches I did of Sam, trying to get my technique of watercolor and sepia pen down.

2009-10-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of photos of the patio garden I created for my client in Seal Beach. I'm really happy with how it turned out. As I've said before, the working in the dirt, with plants and all of their amazing colors and textures is such inspiration to me and my illustration. I have been working quite madly on the graphic novel, and will post some sketches next.

2009-09-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Good Morning! I haven't posted this last week, because I have been exercising another creative side- landscape design! Brita of Brita's Old Town Gardens, where I used to work on Main Street in Seal Beach, found me this darling job of bringing color and beauty to an upstairs patio on the beach. I will go photograph the job on Monday, and post it, as it came out beautifully (now I'm inspired to get after my own garden!) The colors and textures of the plants are so amazing and inspirational. I am posting a piece I had done for the CSUF show, which we just took down. It includes two of my direct influences- plants, and reading. The words in the background of the piece are from Madeline L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time." It is the part where Mrs. Whatsit explains to Mrs. Murray, on that dark and stormy night, that there is such a thing as a tesseract. When I read that as a ten year old, I fell in love with science fiction, fantasy, and all of the kinds of writing that confirm that there is more going on in this world than what is obvious on the surface. Enjoy!

2009-08-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well. School starts today! I love the rhythm of the school season... Anyway, I thought I'd put more up about the SCBWI LA conference. One of my favorite quotes came from a writer's workshop, from a woman named Karen Cushman who wrote The Midwife's Apprentice, among other things. She had such quotable things to say; very inspirational and funny. My favorite was,

"Write, and Keep Showing Up." Wow. That's pretty much it, isn't it? She also said, "Write, don't fantasize." I got that one loud and clear, as I'm often dialoguing in my head, and it really does need to get put on paper to be of any use. I also liked, "Inspiration often hits when my butt is far from my chair." I write as well as draw, but I think the advice applies very easily to both. I have put in my posting today a very silly thing, but I'm realizing that staying connected to the very silly thing is an important thing to me. If you're an artist, you may understand this- to take in a lot of audio information, I have to doodle. Not just take notes, actually draw. Teachers get kids in trouble for this, but it holds true for me, and I'm sure those arty kids in detention, that letting the brain drop into that swimmy vat where doodling frees up the thinking (like listening to jazz) really does help the information land and sink in. So here are the backs of heads I doodled while at the conference.

2009-08-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

I went to the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference a couple of weeks ago in LA. Wow, what a friendly, amazing and talented bunch of people! If children's book illustration is what you're looking to do, this is such a good support group, and so inspirational! I haven't posted in a while as it's been all about readying the portfolio and postcards and such. I am going to be in a small group show opening August 28 at CSUF's Exit Gallery. The show is called, "From Here to There," and we have our development work up as well as our finished pieces. The other participants are Erin Shea, Pat Cantor, and Katy Betz. I did a new piece for it, and am posting a little teeny bit of it.

2009-07-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

This is colander-head boy, compare with the digital version from a couple of weeks ago.

2009-07-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

2009-07-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

Colander-head boy has led me to a whole new challenge, which I am exploring in my special studies Illustration class this summer. I am attempting to paint characters in watercolor, and then duplicate the illustration using Adobe Illustrator. There was a time when I said I would rather dig ditches than work on the computer, but this week I've been doing a Landscape Design job which involves a LOT of soil preparation, and I think I am going to take that back. Working at the computer may not be great for the posture, but at least you don't wake up sore! Seriously, though, there is something good for me in the being out in the dirt, and it's as satisfying as finishing a good illustration to see a newly mulched yard with beautiful, healthy plants.

2009-06-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer! I have been spending a lot of time in the garden and it's so cool how that fuels my drawing... nothing like dirt under the fingernails and communing with carpenter bees. I saw an amazing variegated agapanthus today at Target of all places. I'm going to have to find a place for it. I'm in the process of ripping out a whole planter of agapanthus at a client's house on a landscape design job... I understand they're common, and that I may have "pedestrian taste, (as my former nursery-job boss let me know,) but I figure that they grow well and are beautiful- what more can you ask? I wish that was true of more things in life! I get a garden magazine from England, and they showed people growing them in hothouses. So Bob's your Uncle... Anyway, I wanted to post a couple of things; first, a Jack in the Beanstalk I did in Children's Book class, and second, a character design of my Grandma, God rest her soul. The woman swore like a sailor, and was never far from her scotch, cigarette, or Sambuka and coffee, but she had a heart of gold and I miss her.

Kim is digital

2009-06-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo. I am digital! I am spending this summer revisiting my computer skills, and getting up to speed on Illustrator and Flash. Quite a different way to think, and sometimes I just want to solve the problem with a pencil or paintbrush (it's faster!) but the results are fun and I enjoy the learning curve.

2009-05-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

School's out! Woo hoo! I did this study of a mantis from a photo- I took a whole mess of photos of one we had here at the house as a pet. My son named her Katrina the Bikini Girl after the notorious American Idol contestant. I'm not exactly thrilled that my eight-year old has a crush on her... anyway, I am fascinated by mantises and how sentient they seem to be. I think they came from another planet, or perhaps they're animatronic. They don't seem to move like anything else. Summer school will be starting next week, and I will be finishing off some of the illustrations from the 32 page dummy book we completed in Sequential Art- Children's Book class.

2009-05-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Two down, one to go! Wednesday is the last class of the semester, and I'm still working to get all of that work done. I did this little spot as the last assignment in my Special Studies Illustration class. Cliff (the professor) clued me in to how cool spots are. I tend to think of finished artwork as square, in a frame. It's so freeing to edit down to what's really necessary. When I started this idea, I had sidewalk, telephone pole, and a larger cast of characters (ant, mantis, slug.) It's fun to reduce!

fairies and bugs

2009-05-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the other buggish piece. It makes me laugh, hope you enjoy it too. I did the spot of the fairy because I'm trying to work on more spots- I'd love to get some work doing children's magazine illustration. I will post some bug spots (?!) next week as I finish them. We're in the final week of grad school, well, for the semester at least... wish me luck!

2009-05-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

The homestretch! Almost done with the semester, and totally stoked from all of the work I've been busting out. Nothing like a little pressure... anyway, here are some bugs. I'll post Bugball now, and New Arrival when I get it off of the watercolor board. Bug spots to come, as well!

2009-05-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the last in the Surfside Girls location paintings- this is the Burger Dude, Sam's dad's restaurant on the sand. The monster is just silly, I taught art in Ethan's classroom yesterday (trying to enlighten second graders to light side and shadow side, and using color in shadows, phew!) but I've been working so tightly it was fun just to let go. Only three more paintings and a dummy book to go before semester's over in two weeks. Go Kim!

2009-04-27T08:37:00.001-07:00

I finished this one, Sam's house, and it's part of a 3 painting series that I'm doing to show three important locations in my book. Sam's house is the house that all the kids hang out at. Parents don't have a lot of money, but lots of love and lots of fun. It's in the fictional Southern California town of Surfside. The other painting is of a surf shack on the cliff. I'm almost done with the Burger Dude, which is Sam's dad's burger joint/watering hole on the sand. It's really cool to see the places in my head come to life in color!

2009-04-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I finished the book! All of these black and white illustrations have been for a little 4x4 illustrated Aesop's fable for a class. My stepson and I constructed the little book, and sewed the pages. It's really cool to have a tactile little representation of your work. I want to do more!

2009-04-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going on my third spring break, and finding it very hard to keep up with homework! I had break three weeks ago, last week we had some Canadian friends come down and wanted to go to Disneyland, and this week is my son's spring break. Anyway, I have two more illustrations to post from the Aesop's fable project. Enjoy, and Happy Easter!

2009-04-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

I photographed the Swim Race piece today; it's a little blurry in parts but I think it will do. I enjoyed working big and want to continue- it really helps me loosen up!

2009-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well Spring Break is over. Boy did I need that! I didn't do much homework, but I surfed at Bolsa Chica one day, and put in my vegetable garden another day. If I didn't take the time and do that sort of thing, I don't think I'd make it through the end of the semester. When is summer? I did finish the painting of the swim race. I'll have to photograph it because it's so big, and then I'll post it. This new post illustration is the last in an eight page book we have to do for my children's book class. It's the fable The Ant and the Dove. I'm happy with it, and happy to be working in watercolor and experimenting with different lines.

2009-03-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

Wow! School's been busy! This is the first semester I've tried three artwork-producing classes in the same semester. In the past I've put in an art history class. Other than the constant lack of time I feel, I like how productive I've been. You should see my office, though... I have a bunch of work to post, so I'll start with the most unfinished. I'm doing a series in watercolor and pen and ink of lifeguarding events, and these figures will end up being about 14 inches tall. It's fun to work big!

Bugs

2009-03-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

I had to write something for my church on Psalm 92 as part of Lent inspirational readings. "I sing for joy at the works of your hands" has been so on my mind lately, and I'll tell you that, for me, nowhere is it more evident than in watching bugs. Bugs! Insects! Have you been in your backyard lately and watched the tremendous amount of work that gets done on a daily basis by bugs? And then you get to looking at them up close, and wow! There is some amazing, wacky, creative, inspired design there! I've had my mantis out since the days are getting warmer, and I just live to see her move her head. I swear that we're going to find out that they're either extra-terrestrial, or animatronic. And sentient...

Anyway, this katydid was in my yard and I ran for my camera, and did a study of her. She will be the subject in my series on the Domestic Life of Bugs. Stay tuned.

Lines

2009-02-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

I am trying hard this semester to push my watercolor skills. I rely heavily on lines to finish an illustration, and thought I would try to de-line my artwork. As I finish the first illustration in my "Domestic Life of Bugs" series, it occurs to me that I really do enjoy lines. I enjoy drawing, graphite transferring, reworking the lines on the freshly-stretched watercolor paper. I guess using line isn't a bad thing. Arthur Rackham, Bill Peet, Carl Larsson... my heroes do use line. I did clean-up in animation for how-many-years, and line is just part of who I am.

2009-02-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

Wow! You can tell that school has started, as I haven't posted in a while! I've got three classes at CSUF / MFA, and that means thumbnails for upcoming projects. I'm really excited about a series I'm doing in my watercolor class on bugs. Since I don't have much to post yet, I'll put up the piece that got me inspired to do a buggy theme. It took Honorable mention a couple of semesters ago in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's Great Race competition. Speaking of which, I attended their "Writer's Day" conference yesterday at beautiful USD. What a great event, and so inspirational!

2009-01-22T16:41:00.001-08:00