Be Both Soft and Wild

 Encouraged by videos by Alisa Burke, I've been keeping an art journal in a cheap composition book. I thought it wouldn't work because of the cheap paper, but as Alisa says, the paints make the paper stronger. I've enjoyed it because it's not a precious book, and I feel free to experiment, make lists, and make a mess! 

This page was inspired by notes and thoughts during a presentation led by Flora Bowley, which I did in white pen over a previously painted page. I wanted the woman to be dancing and twirling. Hopefully the twirling shows through the way I drew her hair and her legs. The quote from Victoria Erickson seemed perfect to finish off the page. 

ABC What do you see? Rolling Along Route 66

 So much time has passed since I last posted that I hardly know were to start with updating. So, I think I will start with some things I've been doing lately, and then fill in some of the gaps later. 

Annette LaFortune Murray (from Tulsa, Oklahoma) called me and asked me to illustrate a picture book for her. After I read her wonderful manuscript of "ABC What do you see? Rolling Along Route 66,"  I knew I wanted to do this project with her. Annette had seen my blog and wanted to see what I would envision for her manuscript. She liked the sample pages I created, and we became a team!

Annette liked my work with collage and travel journaling so we settled on illustrating the book with these things in mind.  It was a joy to create pages with the freedom to use mixed media! 

Here are some photos of the pages in progress: 

After I was done creating the illustrations Jeff and I traveled Route 66 to Tulsa to meet Annette and her husband Kevin in person. 

Annette had even arranged for us to film a trailer for the book. That was a new experience for me! 

In October Annette came to Pontiac for the Mile of Possibility Conference. We got to know each other better, and I'm so happy to have Annette as a friend as well as a colleague. She is a mom and a retired elementary school teacher and school librarian, as well as a writer. She has the background in teaching and instilling a love of reading in children, which is a wonderful knowledge base for a picture book writer. 

Here we are in Pontiac, holding our book next to Pontiac's famous Route 66 shield mural. The book is available in many shops along along Route 66 (including Home Again on Route 66), and on Amazon. Please purchase from a Route 66 business if you can, as it helps the small businesses that make Route 66 the fun place that it is!