Art Mingling a success

The Art Mingling, sponsored by the Portland Phoenix and held at the Asylum in Portland, was well attended. Big thanks to Leticia Plate my co-president at the Maine Illustrators' Collective and Lisa Craig the AD at the Portland Phoenix. In a few days I will have a link for you to view the exhibit: The Art of Illustration, at the Boston Phoenix site. A variety of illustrators from the Maine Illustrators' Collective, Students from Maine College of Art and some professors brought art to show. The theme was political and world issues.
How 'bout that weather- we've hit 60 degrees and rising!

What boys are reading

The Portland Press Herald has been running an interesting series about boys and academics, the "new gender gap" in education. This link includes most of the articles and a top 10 book list of what middle school boys are reading. Fantasy rates often on the list and a book of poems written by teenage boys is second on to the top spot. And, why am I not surprised, the Simpsons. Don't have a cow, dude. For more info on this, check out Jon Scieszka's site Guys Read.

Interlibrary Loan

I was going to gripe about noone appreciating the fact that I wash, fold and put away everyone's clothes but instead...I'm going to extol the virtues of interlibrary loan. I love interlibrary loan. I have access to books in universities and distant libraries for free if I can just be a little patient. I mentioned that I bought the Illustrator's Bible, by Rob Howard,and one of the helpful reference tips he suggests is getting a copy of the Fairburn System of Visual Reference. Well the volumes are quite expensive, some are out of print, and used ones are even more expensive for their collector appeal. Down to the library I go, fill out a form, and voila... I get a call saying it is waiting for me at my local fabulous library. Try it!

Ruth's Sketchbook

Do not miss a chance to see Ruth Bradshaw McNally's sketchbook from the NYC Winter SCBWI national conference. Congrats to Ruth on her new book coming out with Bloomsbury. Watch her website for more info.

DC Trip

I just returned from a weekend in DC. I went to see the exhibit of all the entries to the National Cherry Blossom Festival Poster contest of which I was a participant. The exhibit was very educational as it one doesn't usually get a chance to see the competition in these types of contests. Some entries were very professional others were amateurish. Those that were most competant or professional didn't especially win if they didn't ground the festival in DC and have some readable depiction of the blossoms. Also, one of the judges mentioned to me that it was important to the committee that nothing be depicted that might upset the Japanese community. Therefore, any stereotypical Japanese symbol should be removed. Very informative.

My poster, which looked great in my studio, looked very sparse next to the rest of the entries. I noticed immediately that my image didn't include any DC monuments or symbols. It's okay though, I've already started on sketching for next year.

On another note all together, here are Sam (dog) and Ivan (cat) in my studio.

Spring?

Just a short post today. The birds are singing, the squirrels are...well... squirreling, and the sun is warm. Yes, warm. I am going to teach my exercise class and then come back and write and paint! I also hope to sketch outside some today. I have a great book on gouache by Rob Howard that is teaching me a lot. I look forward to trying some of the demos in the book. Hmmm, once again, too much to do in the few hours I have before small people start nibbling at my knees.

Gallery Openings

I received my invitation to the Gallery Opening for the Poster Contest for the National Cherry Blossom Festival that I entered last year. While I did not win, my entry will be displayed along with the other entries. If anyone in the DC area wants to see the exhibit, it will be at The Art Institute of Washington. Check out the winning entry by Anne Marie Williams. The show will be up from March 18th-April 8th.

Here in Portland, Maine, the Phoenix paper sponsors a series of "Art Minglings." "The Art of Illustration", including my work and work by many members of the Maine Illustrators Collective will be held on March 30th, 6-9 pm at the Assylum. It will be very casual beer, a band,and our art tacked to the wall. Hope you can come.

Time Waster

Just the fact that I am on the internet means I'm wasting time. But, if you need any help finding something useless to do try this link, where you can boogie, and pop like the best New York City jammers. In the game, players create their own BODYJAM personality and then play against a virtual instructor or friends and other players. The player watches the instructor's dance moves, and then copies the sequence. With each round, the instructor adds more moves and speed, increasing the challenge. To
check it out, go to www.virtualbodyjam.com

How do you get illustration jobs?

Okay, so it is officially March, three months have gone by and I am in the hurry up and wait mode for a batch of writing that went out in January. I am deep into my illustration mode, entering contests and reworking my portfolio for the April NESCBWI conference in Nashua, NH. Once again, I am wondering about spending the smartest marketing dollars. I'd love your comments about on-line portfolios. I've listed some below and hope that someone will chime in about whether they use an on-line portfolio service and if it has gotten them any work at all. If nothing else, you will waste a lot of time surfing beautiful portfolios. This is what keeps me from completing my own work most days.

ispot
portfolios.com
createmagazine.com
21portfolios.com
childrensillustrator.com
folioplanet
picturebook artists association