Premiere Guest on The Creative Stir

My studio is featured this week at The Creative Stir. Such an honor, being the first contributor! The site is designed and maintained by a good friend, whose amazing illustrations you can see over at Margie and Jimbo's.

Playing With Paint...

...experimenting, for an upcoming book project. :o)

Live Drawing at WORD Book Store

I tried my hand at iMovie to edit this video, which shows me making a drawing in my studio in Savannah, Georgia for a group of kids at WORD Book Store in Brooklyn, NY. Three cheers for Skype!

Although in this video you can't see the folks on the other end, you can hear their voices. Puck (Mauricio Velázquez de León) was there, because he wrote Doodle New York and was the star of the show that day at Word. Jenn Northington, who organized the event, was there as well, directing the whole thing. And of course, there were lots of kids.

Thanks to my friend Brett Wilkes, who shot the video, and... thank you, WORD!

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Her Shoes Sing

I recently illustrated a mini-book for Highlights, a poem called "My Shoes Sing," by Joy Acey. What a fun project! A dream for me: twelve images featuring this adorable little girl, as she wears her favorite shoes throughout every season. The book (which you cut out and staple yourself) is at the very end of the January issue of Highlights High Five. Art Direction excellently provided by Kelley Cunningham.

To see a few more samples, click here.

a thousand sheets of paper

This summer I was busy with three new children's book projects, one for Highlights and two for duopress. I can't share any of the art yet, but I do have something to show for myself: over a thousand sheets of printer paper, full of pencil sketches, charcoal smudges, and ink marks. Most of these sheets were scanned several times. (Thank you, trusty scanner!) In the end I compiled them into 24 beautiful full-color images, and 120 black and white ink drawings, all of which will be available for viewing in 2012.

zach and sara

My friends Zach and Sara are moving soon; made this painting for their new digs in Columbus, Ohio.

Feisty, doe-eyed Nurse Sara exudes a passion for living rivaled by the likes of John the Baptist. She taught me to CHOOSE JOY. Don't let her sweet exterior fool you though; the girl is packing heat. She is one tough cookie. A warrior. As for the amazingly talented Zach, where should I begin? A natural leader with a razor-sharp mind, Zach tempers his mischievous sense of humor with transparency, sensitive to fellow humans in need of encouragement. He is both wise and humble: a highly excellent combo. Oh, how I will miss them.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. ~ Psalm 127:4-5

God, bless Zach and Sara!

~ v

Honfest, for The Baltimore Sun

This cover image ran in today's Baltimore Sun. Honfest is a big party in honor of John Water's cult classic, Hairspray. Thanks to Jay Judge & Anthony Conroy for the job and art direction. Great guys, both.

~ v