Occasionally I do historical illustrations, like right now I'm working on a couple of projects that are circa 1900. So I'm looking for reference to get ideas for clothing and other items from that time. I was having a tough time finding images of children's clothing and more specifically children's shoes, then I discovered the New York Public Library digital gallery. Doing a search for "children clothing" brings back lots of great reference images.
Okay, I'm not sure exactly what this has to do with skinny. Maybe a skinny young harpie perched on a skinny branch. But I just couldn't resist creating something creepy for Halloween. Happy Halloween everyone!
Here's a detail...
I'll be at the Barnes and Noble in Leominster tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. for a Halloween party. Grab a broomstick and come on down!
My son is eight now but has been obsessed with trains since he was an infant. Finding picture books for him was always a challenge because if there wasn't a train or at least a truck or bulldozer in it, he wasn't interested. I didn't always want to read non-fiction books and I was tried of reading about Thomas the Tank Engine. Sound familiar? If so here are a few books that my son and I both recommend.
Choo Choo Written by Virgina Lee Burton
This was my son's favorite book. Choo Choo was Virginia Lee Burton's first book, originally published in 1935. She certainly must have understood little boys (and girls) because this story of a run away steam engine is still chugging nearly 75 years later. I also recommend Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel and Katy and the Big Snow also by Burton. They may not have trains but they have larger machines (which are almost as good.)
The Lionel Great Railway Adventure Series by Lin Oliver illustrated by Charles S. Pyle
Sadly these books are no longer in print but they are nice picture books for the train nut who is getting a little old for Thomas. These are fictional stories but each centers around a real famous train. The books in the series are, The Mighty Mogul, The Daylight Limited, The President Express and the Torpedo Run.
Niccolini's Song By Chuck Wilcoxen Illustrations by Mark Buehner
I love Mark Buehner's illustrations and this book is no exception (I love his anthropomorphic trains) This story about a night watchmen singing the trains to sleep is a great bedtime book.
The Pony Engine By Doris Garn and Frances M. Ford Illustrated by Gregorio Prestopino
I was familiar with the Watty Piper book entitled "The Little Engine that Could." So I was confused when I picked up "The Pony Engine" at a yard sale one day. The story in both books is pretty much identical. So what gives? Well, in fact, the story of the little engine that couldn't get up the steep hill was not actually written by Watty Piper. In fact, Watty Piper was not even a real person. The true origin of the story is murky at best. See the Wiki entry and also here. But regardless of who came up with the story first, I prefer the Doris Garn and Frances Ford version the best. Sadly this version is out of print. But there are lots of used copies available.
Here's my entry for frozen. This is a new version of an old illustration I did years ago. After walking around most of this afternoon I has first had "Greetings From New England" but changed it "The Tundra" after I warmed up a bit. This was one of my first tries at doing my own lettering. I kind of like how the text came out but I'm not sure I like the placement. The penguin seems colder some how without it.
A nice review by Ruby Winkle of On a Dark, Dark Night. Thank you! You should also check out the rest of the Ruby Winkle Review: Children's Book Illustration and More, there's lots of good stuff in there. I especially enjoy the illustrator interviews.
I'm polishing up my broom and getting ready to go to Cornerstone Books this weekend (Saturday Oct 17th at 10:30) for a fun Halloween costume party. We'll be reading books and making crafts, so come join the fun!
For those of you who aren't happy with just 2 triangle eyes and a toothy grin these sites are for you...
The multi-talented Holli Conger hosts and annual Pumpkin Junkin event. It's kind of a squash collage sort of thing. So grab your glue gun and start "junkin". There are even prizes to be had.
And if that's not enough check out Scott Cummins' Pumpkin Gutter site. This guy must have pumpkins on the brain!
Sometimes far away friends and relatives like to get their books signed. Mailing the books back and forth can be a royal pain. As we all know postage is through the roof these days and then finding packing materials can be troublesome.
I figured there must be an easier way. Then I remembered we have a cookbook signed by Julia Childs. She didn't actually sign the book (which weights about 10 lbs) she signed a self adhesive label that was then attached to the end papers. That sounded much easier than mailing books back and forth. And, if it's good enough for Julia then it's sure as heck good enough for me. So I've started making my own book plates. Avery makes a large 3 1/3" x 4" shipping label (#8254) that works nicely. For On a Dark, Dark Night I've designed a little border that coordinates with the book that I can print out. Then I just sign the stickers and pop them in an envelope. Thanks Julia, now if I can just figure out how to bone a chicken...
Since I already had the border, I also created a "This book belongs to:" type book plates out of this design that you are free to download. That way you can keep track of all your Halloween books. The PDF is optimized to print on those Avery #8254 labels I mentioned above. When you print, just remember to set page scaling to "none" or they labels will not line up correctly.
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