A Donkey’s Hind Leg
So, there I was a couple of months ago, trying to draw the hind legs of a donkey for my new children’s book Zando, a re-telling of the classic folktale, “The Bremen Town Musicians.”… Continue reading
Drying Time
I’m sitting here in my armchair at ten p.m. waiting for the dryer to ding. A year ago, it began running through its cycle in exactly half the time it takes to actually… Continue reading
Coffee and Tea (and Roger and Me)
Recently I set myself a challenge: three 16” x 20” Mother Goose paintings. The first was a re-do of a piece I’d done years ago for “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!” Then I tackled a brand new… Continue reading
HEDGEHOGS AND HOBBLE SKIRTS
I’ve spent the last three weeks thinking about hedgehogs, hassocks, and the brief fashion in 1909-1910 known as the “hobble-skirt” because it effectively bound the wearer’s knees together, causing her to take tiny,… Continue reading
Tea for Ten
No wonder Kelloggs’ chose a toucan to advertise Froot Loops. Their beaks are gorgeous splashes of red, orange, green, blue, and yellow. “Toucan Sam” hawked his wares during the Saturday morning commercials… Continue reading
And the Category Is … Things That Begin With the Letter “Q”!
I’ve launched into the newest alphabet story painting, this one for a baby named Quinn. I’m touring through my 1940’s dictionary and finding all sorts of quirky characters like quaggas, which are extinct… Continue reading
Pipe, Cat! Dance, Mouse!
I admit it—I have “Mother” issues. Mother Goose, that is. Ever since my mother read to us from Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever (c. 1970), I’ve loved the old rhymes. It’s… Continue reading
INTERVIEW WITH ARLETTA
Years ago, at an SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in Bozeman, I sat in on a workshop presented by talented writer Elaine Marie Alphin in which she recommended… Continue reading
“Jack Built”
I’m working on preliminary drawings for a painting of “The House That Jack Built” and realizing, again, how editing an art piece resembles editing a manuscript. I’d like to say they’re neat pyramid-type… Continue reading