Monday, November 15, 2010

Savannah Children's Book Festival



I was able to participate in the Savannah Children's Book Festival this past weekend; my husband Fred and I attended a dinner at the main branch of the Savannah Public Library Friday night (fun!), and then, all day Saturday, sat at this little table in Forsyth Park signing and selling copies of My Foodie ABC. The park was absolutely packed, all day long. I was actually hoarse at the end of the day, from all of the talking! Tons of people stopped by, including many friends of mine. Thank you, thank you, friends! Sure made the event a ton of fun. Thank you also to my students Molly, Joanna, and Maria, who helped me man the table. All in all, it was a great day.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Roads Less Traveled



I love to see how other people use paint... acrylic, in particular, because I've always found it tedious. In fact, I wrote it off long ago as an impossibility for me. Here's the thing though: I just came across this scan of an acrylic painting I made for a friend several years ago, and I can't help but think, it's not half bad. Maybe I should give it another chance?

If only there were a few extra hours every day!! Too many roads enticing me these days.

:-)

~ v

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Coming Soon: My Foodie ABC Activity Placemats!




A copy of My Foodie ABC Placemats, which I illustrated over the summer, arrived in the mail today.... and wow, does it look wonderful! Very exciting. It's such a great idea for a book (developed by my friend Mauricio Velázquez De León, at DuoPress). The pages tear off. Each placemat features a letter from the alphabet and corresponding art from the original book, My Foodie ABC: A Little Gourmet's Guide, and an activity related to the food pictured. Very practical, very hip, and tons of fun!

Check out the other great titles DuoPress has to offer, here: http://www.duopressbooks.com/

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pile Up



My students are working on full-bleed spreads for their portfolios; I decided to join them this time. Adapted this image from a sketch I made for a book project years ago, that died in-process. Cute, don't you think?

~ v

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Pumpkin




This afternoon I carved up my entry for Anna Goodson Management's annual pumpkin carving contest. Special thanks to my husband Fred for his help. Anyone can enter:

http://agoodson.com/pumpkin/

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Cluck!




I've been looking all summer for some kind of motivation to bust out my watercolors (it's been years), and finally, opportunity came knocking. My soon-to-be-nine-year-old son Gray, quite uncharacteristically, did something very bad: playing at a friend's house a few weeks ago, he decided to throw rocks at some old windows. The two of them busted quite a few (13 or 14). I remain horrified about all of this, although my husband Fred assures me that all male humans simply enjoy breaking windows.

So.

Gray and Fred are taking care of replacing all of the broken glass. Meanwhile, I decided to have my son make a painting for my friend Melissa, owner of the windows and mother of Gray's friend (and partner in crime), Jonah. Melissa keeps chickens, and so we decided that each of us, me and Gray, would paint one for her. We bought some small frames and presented them last night. Gray's painting, an acrylic rooster, is posted on his flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lighthousecity/?saved=1

And here is mine, an ode to one of Melissa's sweet brown hens, who was recently taken by a fox. It's a rough world out there.

- v

Monday, July 12, 2010

In the Kitchen With Violet



Mauricio Velásquez de León http://www.duopressbooks.com/ publisher of My Foodie ABC: A Little Gourmet's Guide (written by Puck, illustrated by me) compied a list of interview questions for me to answer, for a promotional video which is now being edited. I took this little snapshot from the raw footage. The kitchen theme, perfect for the book, was my idea; my husband (and videographer) suggested the apron... which is really our family paint smock, turned inside out. I may not be photogenic, but I'm nothing if not resourceful. :-)

http://www.amazon.com/My-Foodie-ABC-Little-Gourmets/dp/098252952X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278959219&sr=1-1

Thursday, June 10, 2010

3, 6, 9




My son is growing so fast. He'll be nine years old soon. Today I made these illustrated numbers for www.letterplayground.com, inspired by his beautiful little (and getting bigger by the second) self.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Who-Whoooooo!



I made this owl image today, to post on http://www.letterplayground.com/. More to follow.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Summer Toes



In lieu of going for a pedicure and/or actually buying new flip flops this year (so many adorable styles out there!), I decided to get my fix by making this image for my portfolio. As usual, it began as a doodle I made while on the phone. Don't know what I'd do without Comcast tech support to lull me into a creative state.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Happy Birthday to You!


I stink at remembering birthdays. Seriously. And so, here it is, friends and family: My HAPPY BIRTHDAY greeting , to you. In case I forget (or already forgot) to send you a card this year. Please, forgive me.

xo

v

Friday, April 23, 2010

My Foodie ABC: A Little Gourmet's Guide



In January I spent a month or so illustrating this sweet little alphabet book for DuoPress; a set of proofs came in the mail yesterday. How exciting! Working in Photoshop as usual, I chose all Pantone swatches (which I recommend to my students all of the time), and I'm pleased to report the prints are gorgeous: perfect color matching. Quel relief!

The author, Puck, is a perfect gentleman and quite talented. The whole project came together beautifully. Copies can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com, although the book won't officially be on the shelves until the fall.

A range of unusual foods are featured in the book. Trust me, it will make you hungry. I gained at least five pounds when I was working on the art.

DuoPress is a great little publishing company. Check out their other titles at their website: http://www.duopressbooks.com/

Happy reading, and Bon Appetit!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Dabbling with Flash

I recently purchased Flash and, after spending days building up the courage to tear the cellophane off the box, am finally learning to use it. This little clip is the start of a 13 scene movie I'm working on for a writer friend of mine. Fun!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

J'Accuse


My final illustration in the series I've been working on, having to do with words and their effect on the people in our lives. I have a sketch showing a positive example, how words can lift up the people we love, but the whole vibe just doesn't seem to go with the rest. Think I'll make it as an individual image, and hopefully will post it soon.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Mocking Bird


I'm still working on the same series concerning words and their effect on relationships... how they are first formed in our thought-lives and then find themselves spilling out of our mouths, causing all kinds of havoc. My husband sweetly pointed out that in all of my images thus far, the bad guy has been the man. So I decided to make an image that would show the reverse, how women hurt their men by talking about their flaws. Husband-bashing, you could say.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Editing


I've been working on a small series of works concerning the power of words, how they can tear others down or build them up. My thoughts eventually come out of my mouth, so really, monitoring thoughts is the real issue, isn't it? If I could control my thoughts, it'd be much easier to edit my words, and I'd be much easier to live with as a result.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day


Okay, it's early, but January has been such a long month I'm getting antsy. So, I made this new image this afternoon and posted it on all of my portfolio sites. You can see it on the home page of my personal web site, if you like: violetlemay.com

Happy Valentine's Day!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Doodles


I doodle while I'm on the phone, and often my doodles become the basis for my personal work. Many months ago this little face turned up on a paper towel while I was on hold with the phone company, and it's been sitting on my desk ever since. I like way the pink highlighter bleeds into the towel. I can't imagine doing much with this little sketch—it is what it is—but I didn't have the heart to just toss it, so I thought I'd scan it and share it with you first. Before tossing it. Affinity aside, it's time for spring cleaning.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Teaser


I haven't posted in quite a while because, happily, I've been extremely busy. Can't share the details yet, but I'm working on a children's book project that is scheduled to be published in March. This little pig sketch, which I love, was cut from the book. I couldn't bear to just throw the scan away, so here it is!