Back to the Drawing Board with PiBoIdMo

Literally, it's true. I'm back to the drawing board. Although in small increments and not really at the board. Since mine is in the basement minus a leg bracket I can't seem to locate. I am however, back in the saddle... very part time.

Yours truly at old drawing board circa 1992

Household things break, children need tending to, regular work intervenes. You name it, there's excuses up the wazoo as to why I am blog-absent.

But PiBoIdMo beckons. In case you've been hiding under a kidlit rock, Tara Lazar hosts a month-long extravaganza for picture book authors wherein we all get to scratch our proverbial heads and curse at the paper. Really though, in the past two years I have come up with some nuggets for picture books during this sacred November ritual. Hard to believe that there's ideas still rattling around up there, but with the assistance and inspiration of one's fellow writers/illustrators many an idea floats to the top. How many become picture books? Ten percent? Who knows. But it definitely gets the creative juices going and that, my friends, is how I hope to revive my terminal case of creativitis.

If you've never heard of Tara Lazar, she also has a blog, Writing for Kids (While Raising Them). Please stop by and check her out http://taralazar.com/. Even if you're not going to join PiBoIdMo, it's fun just to lurk.

Journaling and Danny Gregory

Whenever I get in a creative slump, (which happens to be now!) I reread "The Creative License" by Danny Gregory. For some reason his work really "resonates"* with me. He's a guy who has to work for a living (in advertising) and manages to take the carpe diem approach to art. Just do it... a little each day. Observe. Nothing has to be good. Just do it. So, in my birthday month I now will devote a small chunk of my day to get off the media and do art. Simple art with a pen or pencil. Just record. If I manage to write also, that's bonus points.

If anything comes out of this journal that's worth sharing I will do so.
In the meantime, I'll share a quote from Danny Gregory that addresses why people are enthusiastic at the beginning of art journals and lose energy as time goes by:
"Why? Often it's because you are disappointed with your drawings. You may say you don't have the time, forgot your book, grew bored. But it's really because you aren't that impressed with your drawing skill. You haven't made something that looks like art."
The true purpose of doing journals according to Danny is "To celebrate your life. No matter how small or mundane or redundant. each drawing and little essay you write to commemorate an event or an object or a place makes it all the more special."
In other words, it doesn't have to "look like art". As long as we can accept that, the journals keep on going.

In case you haven't heard of Danny Gregory, here are some of his books:

 His most recent is "A Kiss Before You Go" a diary about life after his wife's recent passing. Which is sad, but shows how Danny's journal is such an important part of his life and how he experiences/records his world.



 

 Check out this interview with Danny Gregory and his website when you get a chance!

*I don't like this word, but I can't think of anything more appriopriate!

Celebrity children's books

Due to my back being thrown out and having illustrator's block, 
I'm hereby reporting on junky internet news:
Here we go again. Another celebrity pens or co-pens a children's book and everyone needs to rush out and buy it. Or maybe only the curious. Or huge fans of said celebrity. Or people who just like to watch cash fly out of their pockets.
Dennis Rodman, basketball fashionista himself has a book out entitled, "Dennis the wild bull" which he co-wrote with Dustin Warburton and illustrated by Dan Monroe. The bull stomps to the beat of his own drummer, so we know it's loosely(!) based on his own persona. Perhaps there's a positive message to be had out of this book.....wear outrageous clothing and piercings kids....it's all good (just joking :-)).
Which got me to thinking: has anyone surveyed celebrity kid books and listed the good, bad and ugly? 
Sure enough, in 2010 Library Journal had an article on just that subject which was a follow-up from the blog posting on Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

                                                

It seems as though Madonna was a top winner amongst the baddies, along with Gloria Estefan, Jeff Foxworthy and Jay Leno. Just goes to show you that even money and fame can't guarantee a solid performance in the kidlit world.

         

One-Star Amazon Reviews

This week's posting is prompted by a hilarious online article: One-Star Amazon Reviews of Beloved Children's Books. Just goes to show that even the classics get panned and you can't please everyone.

Here's a couple of samples:

 
Goodnight Moon:
"If you want to bring up your children to love God or at least acknowledge the existence of things that are not part of the physical world, things such as love, spirituality, truth, etc. I think you'll find the page which says 'goodnight nobody' a bit jarring....."

Where the Wild Things Are:
"I cannot believe this book is a best seller. Max, the protagonist, is a wild, rude, annoying, little snot-nosed monster. The last thing I want is for my child to model her behavior after him! My daughter received this as a gift and it is now in the trash because I could not bring myself to give it away to another child."

This got me to thinking: what other classic children's books have been "dissed" by one star on Amazon? Oh yes Virginia, there are more!

Green Eggs and Ham:
"This book is SOOOOOOOO annoying! What's the deal with all the rhyming? That got on my last nerve. I can't believe this book is a children's "classic". This book does for childrens' books what Jim Jones did for children's drinks (kool-aid, that is). If you want a GREAT children's book, try "Atlas Shrugged" the pop-up book by Ayn Rand."

Blueberries for Sal:
"I don't understand the positive reviews here or the caldecott award. The sketchings are artistically done, true, but in a way an adult can appreciate intellectually; they don't really evoke emotion. The story is a yawner."

Harold and the Purple Crayon:
"Harold's messy adventures have resulted in a lot of pain and suffering in my household. Purple crayon everywhere. You could say the blame falls on me for leaving purple crayons in easily accessible areas of the house, but I prefer to blame a children's book. Harold seems to be a stand up little fellow, but I shant be purchasing any more Harold adventures that involve colored paraffin wax."

Snowy Day:
"My wife bought this book for our 9month old son. He doesn't understand it but likes to hear stories. I won't read this to him any longer. Simply put this book is strange and doesn't have any redeeming value as children's literature. I honestly found it to be a little creepy."

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel:
"The steam-shovel is personified enough in the book, and at the age I was introduced to this book, I had a fuzzier concept of animate vs inanimate. The ending... living forever in a basement, immobile, was hellish. I cried in horror at the steam-shovel's fate. While I wouldn't recommend this book to any child, I would be especially cautious if the child has demonstrated any interest in construction machinery."

Ferdinand the Bull:
"I bought this for my 4 year old son because my husband said it was his favorite book growing up. Well, this book was only one of his many problems from childhood. First of all, it speaks of the violence brought on a bull in a bull-fight (not appropriate for young kids in my opinion). The worst part, however, is the ineptitude of Ferdinand. He is a big, strong bull not at all interested in being what he is. He is lazy and just wants to look at flowers. He is a waste. I cannot fathom how anyone finds the story endearing..."

Okay, I made my point. Nearly all the books I looked up had at least one person who couldn't fathom the book, found it boring, illustrations amateur, politically offensive etc. It's actually kind of funny when you see all these one-star ratings in a collection. It's an almost addictive research process...endearing and weirdly amusing!

Illustration Friday

In honor of Illustration Friday I'm posting today, even though I'm usually a Monday/Tuesday blogger. But that's okay since I missed this week! And I'm trying to get back into sketching regularly, so this works for me.
This past week's topic on Illustration Friday was "Ocean", and I have an older piece that I thought I'd share.
 My style has evolved since this piece was done, from watercolor to gouache and/or acrylic.Though I was never comfortable using watercolor, I was somewhat happy with this piece. It was for an assignment at RISD and the text involved a boy being afraid of the ocean. Images immediately came to mind and this is one of them.

Starting today on Illustration Friday, the topic is "Myth". That might be harder, since I don't typically do myth... but hey, there's a first time for everything!

Quentin Blake

When you think of Roald Dahl, what images come to mind? The loose, sketchy watercolors of Quentin Blake of course. And I am pleased that not only is he still alive and doing artwork, but he will be receiving a knighthood by the Queen this year.

He has also devoted his art and time to many charities including murals in UK hospitals and an international organization called Survival International (supporting indigenous rights). Clearly a guy who is not only talented but a humanitarian as well.

And to top it off, you can buy Quentin Blake fabric/wallpaper. Quentin is a one man
band!

Always good to see long term illustrators get the recognition they deserve.  And a good news story to start out 2013!

Books and Christmas

My family has been under the weather this week, so I'm doing more caretaking and movie watching than drawing or blog posting. However, once I got back on the web, I noticed two interesting articles that put an emphasis on books during the Christmas season.
One is from My Little Bookcase, a blog by an Aussie mom. It features a book-a-day advent calendar. That sounds like a great idea for next year!

The other is a fascinating NPR article about Icelanders and their relationship to books. It turns out that the Icelandic people are big on books---actual books not e-books (as of yet). And they only recently started getting into paperbacks. This time of year is especially important, since most of their Christmas gifts are books. They even have a word for it: Jolabokaflod or Christmas book flood. Imagine if the U.S. had this tradition.

Intrigued by these people,  I'm determined to read at least one book by an Icelandic author (children's books included) this year.  Any suggestions?

Happy New Year! (Or Gleðilegt nýtt ár!)