Some Good Things

My next book, Something Good, will arrive February 11, 2025. It is a bad-day-turned-good kind of a book. I loved the final sentence of the Publisher's Weekly's review: Feather-light messages about sharing joys and not assuming the worst accompany this swiftly paced, effervescent comedy with Peanuts vibes. That is such an inviting sentence, I hope readers experience the book that way.

This was the first book I have illustrated using dip pens and a brush for inking and, despite the learning curve, I really loved using them.  It was a nice Bic pen that started me drawing - it was given to me as a gift and I just sat down and began drawing with it. Somehow the pleasure of using that pen gave me the idea that line art was something I could do. Later on, when I was starting to take art more seriously I saw a jar of Sakura Microns by the cash register of an art store and bought a couple. I have been using those ever since. They are great pens, but the tips wear out quickly  on watercolor paper and the colors are limited. I went on a quest to find a pen that worked better for what I was doing and what I eventually arrived at, dip pens, now seems obvious. It was from comic artists (as well as calligraphers) that I learned about the virtues of dip pens, so it is fitting that the above review mentions the Peanuts. For the artists: my favorite nibs are the Blue Pumpkin, the Nikko G, the Brause Rose and the Brause 51 and the fast drying, waterproof Ziller inks made the shift from Microns easy.

Also in the news: Mermaid Lullaby was one of the picture books from 2024 to be featured in the Society of Illustrators original art exhibit. If you are in NYC, you can see the "orange" illustration there. Of course it feels great to have my work  included with so many great illustrators, but it is extra sweet because the founder of the annual show, Dilys Evans, was someone who offered kind words and encouragement very early in my career, so it feels quite significant that a piece of mine is now in her show!

And speaking of artwork that hangs on walls: I have a found a local printer capable of making very high quality fine art prints. I hope to get an online store set up for some of my prints, but in the meantime, if there is an illustration you are interested in, let me know!

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