Hasbro & Toys for Tots

Pre-order the season's hot new toys from Hasbro now through August 2 and for every participating toy purchased, Hasbro will donate a toy to the Toys for Tots campaign.

ICON Roadshow

Under sparkling chandeliers in the Grand Ballroom of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan on Wednesday evening gathered a stellar group of illustrators who, in lieu of sleep, had spent the night before polishing up their portfolios and urging their printers to spin out more and more sample cards and giveaways. It was the kick off event to Illustration Conference #5--the Roadshow Salon. And the amazing thing was that, in this age of the internet, so many art buyers flew in from around the country just to meet with 100 illustrators at this 3 hour long event! I actually met - in person- clients I have been working with for years and never met before! There were also clients and friends (fellow illustrators) who I haven't seen in while and was able to catch up with, including my table mate, Nicole Schooley, a former SVA student of mine, who was excellent at scoring an icy bottle of Pinot Grigio with 2 glasses just in the nick of time. Thanks to everyone who made the Roadshow happen, to the art directors, editors and art buyers who took the time to come (on the eve of the July 4th weekend) and especially to Mark Heflin and the Roadshow team.

The Park & Ride lot near my house just sprouted the white tent and flags of The Big Apple Circus! The Circus is back in town!

It seems as though it has been raining everywhere lately, including my porch, so I am posting this image from The Sleeping Porchby Karen Ackerman which I illustrated a while ago. It takes place on a hot, stormy summer night, in a big old house with a very leaky roof.

This is another one from Mother's Song.Its another piece featuring water which I love to paint.

A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill

Here is a petition sponsored by "A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill," a new grassroots group founded by multimedia journalist Steve Lehman on Facebook and Flickr. You can read it here and I hope you will sign it too... "Stop Anti-Free Speech, Anti-Artist, Anti-Journalist Legislation in Congress"

For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists

Contact your Senator in opposition to S.2913 NOW - TAKE ACTION letter from the Illustrator's Partnership.

Wave jumping

This is a spread from I Already Know I Love Youwhich was written by Billy Crystal. For reference I used a photo of my father and my daughter at the beach in East Hampton. I am posting this in honor of our record breaking heat wave... maybe it will cool off a bit tonight.

Two images from The Goldfish Yawned. A dreamy night time journey for the pre-school and emerging reader set. "The clock tick-tocked, the nightlight hummed... On the rug a ship set sail..."
A Bank Street College Best Book. Order from Amazon

Here is a spread from The Little Black Truck.

Amelia

March 17

This is the publication date for my newest book - Mother's Song which was adapted by Ellin Greene from a Victorian lullaby. It features a troupe of fairies, and a very sweet baby. My art director, Joann, graciously transported her daughter to my house one spring day so I could photograph her. And my neighbor Anne, was my very patient model for the mother.
Available now!

American Girl

Last Summer I was commissioned by American Girl to paint a snowy landscape with a frozen pond in the foreground. It is for one side of a playset (Mia's Ice Rink) for the new 2008 doll. The finished art was over 5' x 3' and was a lot of fun to paint. I was trying to scan it all before the fedex guy came to take it away, but couldn't get it all... See it now in the new AG catalog and on line at american girl.com Here are two details from it.

Running the Dogs

This is a book jacket I illustrated for Farrar, Straus & Giroux last year and now the book is in stores. It was written by Thomas Cochran and is a beautiful coming of age novel. It takes place in Louisiana during a rare (and inconvenient) white Christmas. The snow challenges the story's young hero to confront his morals and fears as he "...learns that even though life doesn’t always follow your plans, things still sometimes turn out in a way that makes you glad to be in this world." -FSG
Running the Dogs by Thomas Cochran (FSG 2007)

Frogs, dinosaurs, goldfish and more!

Tees and more for infants, kids and adults. New items are added periodically. See them all here cafepress.com