The road to studying children's book illustrations has taken me in many directions. My artistic interests vary, as evidenced by this motley list of books. While my goal still is to illustrate, I take the time to explore. I trust that the pieces will come together, and my unique voice will emerge. Society puts overwhelming pressure on us to succeed. I heard a quote recently that went something like this - To be successful, "hurry up and fail." I've been thinking about that quote and where I am today, a published writer with a desire to be a published writer/illustrator. The truth is, I fail daily, advance slowly, and enjoy the process of play. I've come to realize that the culmination of my days, rather than achievements alone, constitutes happiness. With that - here is a list of my favorite art books. I hope you take a few minutes to play today! “Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.”― Corita Kent THE ART PACK Christopher & Helen, Frayling Ron van der Meer Who can resist a book about the history of art with pop-ups!! PRINTS AND THEIR MAKERS Phil Sanders A great introduction to contemporary printmakers and their techniques. PICTURE THIS: HOW PICTURES WORK Molly Bang How placement of shape, line, color, and placement evokes emotions. A must have for picture book creators! QUICK DRAW PEOPLE: STEP-BY-STEP MASTERPIECES Sarah Wimperis Before Instagram reels showed an artst's process from start to finish, this book did it. LEARNING BY HEART: TEACHINGS TO FREE THE CREATIVE SPIRIT Corita Kent, Jan Steward Easy and creative assignments and exercises. "There's only make," Corita Kent. BEGINNING DRAWING ATELIER: AN INSTRUCTIONAL SKETCHBOOK Juliette Aristides Sketch right inside this book. Touchy-feely paper and cover. INK: DO MORE ART Bridget Davies Tons of cool ink techniques and its unpredictable nature. PAINTING WITH MIXED MEDIA Paula Guhin, Geri Greenman Media, tools, substrates, and techniques. This book has it all! ALTERED BOOKS WORKSHOP Bev Brazelton Messin' up old books to make new books. ENCAUSTIC WORKSHOP Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch I don't work with wax, but this book makes me want to learn. The beautiful textures serve as inspiration for other media as well. COVER TO COVER: CREATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR MAKING BEAUTIFUL BOOKS, JOURNALS, & ALBUMS Shereen LaPlantz Tons of book binding techniques! PAINT MOJO A MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP: CREATIVE LAYERING TECHNIQUES FOR PERSONAL EXPRESSION Tracy Verdugo Exercises and examples to inspire. This artist is a great teacher as well. SLOW STITCH: MINDFUL AND CONTEMPLATIVE TEXTILE ART Claire Wellesley-Smith I purchased this book for the feel of the fabric cover. Another touchy-feely. Oh, and it has great photos too. DISRUPTED REALISM: PAINTINGS FOR A DISTRACTED WORLD John Seed Features artist who distort realistic images. PROJECT CALM: MINDFULNESS THROUGH MAKING A quarterly magazine to inspire creativity. Look, read, make, enjoy the freebies and pullouts. CARTOONING: PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE Ian Brunetti A guided, fifteen-week course in cartooning. ART BEFORE BREAKFAST: A ZILLION WAYS TO BE MORE CREATIVE NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE Danny Gregory Drawing practice, ten to fifteen minutes a day. READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO TAKE GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS Henry Carroll An impulse buy from a gift shop, but it offers super quick, easy to read and understand photography tips for the less knowledgeable, like me. STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST: 10 THINGS NOBODY TOLD YOU ABOUT BEING CREATIVE Austin Kleon A super quick read. Read it when you head keeps saying, "I can't ..." DRAWING LAB FOR MIXED MEDIA ARTISTS: 52 CREATIVE EXERCISES TO MAKE DRAWING FUN Carla Sonheim Super fun and creative exercises! And I love this artist's work. THE BORDER TRILOGY Suzy Lee My absolute favorite book for picture book creators. This artist offers an in-depth, analytical study into the artistic choices she made for the books, MIRROR, WAVE, and SHADOW. DESIGN IS STORYTELLING Ellen Lupton Everything tells a story. This book shows you how with tons of graphics. FECK PERFUCTION: DANGEROUS IDEAS ON THE BUSINESS OF LIFE James Vicotore I throw this one in here for any creative who gets too much in their head. Me. GYPSY: A WORLD OF COLOUR & INTERIORS Sibella Court Beautiful book #1. You'll just want to look and savor, maybe redecorate too. A great book for finding color palettes. ETCETERA ETC. CREATING BEAUTIFUL INTERIORS WITH THE THINGS YOU LOVE Sibella Court Beautiful book #2. Stylish photographs. Tons of muted colors. Reads like a journal. CUT PAPER PICTURES Clover Robin Even if you're not into cutting paper, working with shapes helps develop the muscle memory for drawing. ART SCHOOL: A COMPLETE PAINTER'S COURSE Halyn Publishing Group (Editor) Looks like a textbook. Reads easy. Very comprehensive. It has just about any painting technique imaginable. Great reference book for beginning painters.
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Sometimes I try to understand the source of my creative frustrations. It is never for lack of inspiration or drive. Most of the time, I am happy to meander and make discoveries that make me happy and continue on. But sometimes I do question. Why do I create? Do I need an end result, a finished product? When this happens, I take inspiration from people who have found the perfect ways to articulate it. I hope you enjoy my top five creativity boosts. If you'd like to share other quotes or posts, please comment below! |
It's been a long path to publication, but this end is just the beginning! As I continue to write new stories and promote THE STAR FESTIVAL, my goals include finding my dream agent and illustrating my own books. As I learn about art and illustration, I will share my insights, processes, successes, and failures. On occasion, I will spotlight my influences. I hope you continue on this journey with me. |
The piece of writing below is a set of rules by Corita Kent, also known as Sister Corita. I was turned on to her work by a distant cousin, unknown to me until recently, who is the daughter of Henry and Mona Lovins of the now historic Hollywood Art Center School.
I became fascinated with Sister Corita because of the dichotomy that she represents, a nun and a creative. I'm not religious, and what little I do know about nuns doesn't usually include the word "artist." Corita is known for her 1985 USPS "Love" stamp. In addition, she created pop art, silk-screening advertisements juxtaposed with verse to bring awareness to social issues. Equally important, she worked with students at the Immaculate Heart College Art Center in the 50's and 60's, encouraging them to play, see the world from a different perspective, and create.
Corita's rules remind me that everything is an experiment. I hope you get some value from her list too. Be sure to read to the very end!
The piece of writing below is a set of rules by Corita Kent, also known as Sister Corita. I was turned on to her work by a distant cousin, unknown to me until recently, who is the daughter of Henry and Mona Lovins of the now historic Hollywood Art Center School.
I became fascinated with Sister Corita because of the dichotomy that she represents, a nun and a creative. I'm not religious, and what little I do know about nuns doesn't usually include the word "artist." Corita is known for her 1985 USPS "Love" stamp. In addition, she created pop art, silk-screening advertisements juxtaposed with verse to bring awareness to social issues. Equally important, she worked with students at the Immaculate Heart College Art Center in the 50's and 60's, encouraging them to play, see the world from a different perspective, and create.
Corita's rules remind me that everything is an experiment. I hope you get some value from her list too. Be sure to read to the very end!
In 2018, I traveled with my daughter and husband, whose musical journey took us to wine country and then to England. As I celebrated his successes that year, I think about the experiences along the way that made this trip memorable, the awe-inspiring walk around Stonehenge, the local pizzeria in Notting Hill (Yes, we did eat pizza in England!), and the resonating performance of my husband and his band in the halls of the Barbican.
While I was there, I received a bit of good news from the SCBWI (Society of Children's Books, Writers, and Illustrators). They honored my manuscript as runner-up for the Sue Alexander Grant, a prestigious award given by the organization. But there were other achievements and failures that year - all worthwhile.
These included:
A mentorship that I did not get, but I gained practice in writing cover letters.
A course with the Lyrical Language Lab, a rhyming class that helped me with rhythm in my prose writing.
Reaching out to people I didn't even know for extra critiques and made new friends in the writing community.
And writing a new chapter book turned graphic novel, which has gone nowhere except to hone my character-building skills.
I can't discern which of these stepping stones that year made the biggest impact on my overall goal of getting traditionally published, but I do know, collectively, they all mattered.
In the moments I felt low, I asked myself this question and tried to put my thoughts into this perspective.
If I were published, what would I be doing right now?
The answer. "The same thing I am doing right now--
writing!
TAKE AWAY:
Failure: def. Disguised success.
Set goals, big and small.
Enjoy the journey.
What goals have you set for yourself this week? Did you have any disguised successes? (Personal goals accepted! ❤)
Please share a comment, and celebrate!
Click here to read past posts.
While I was there, I received a bit of good news from the SCBWI (Society of Children's Books, Writers, and Illustrators). They honored my manuscript as runner-up for the Sue Alexander Grant, a prestigious award given by the organization. But there were other achievements and failures that year - all worthwhile.
These included:
A mentorship that I did not get, but I gained practice in writing cover letters.
A course with the Lyrical Language Lab, a rhyming class that helped me with rhythm in my prose writing.
Reaching out to people I didn't even know for extra critiques and made new friends in the writing community.
And writing a new chapter book turned graphic novel, which has gone nowhere except to hone my character-building skills.
I can't discern which of these stepping stones that year made the biggest impact on my overall goal of getting traditionally published, but I do know, collectively, they all mattered.
In the moments I felt low, I asked myself this question and tried to put my thoughts into this perspective.
If I were published, what would I be doing right now?
The answer. "The same thing I am doing right now--
writing!
TAKE AWAY:
Failure: def. Disguised success.
Set goals, big and small.
Enjoy the journey.
What goals have you set for yourself this week? Did you have any disguised successes? (Personal goals accepted! ❤)
Please share a comment, and celebrate!
Click here to read past posts.
![Picture](/uploads/5/9/5/2/59527877/published/screenshot-2021-03-03-at-11-14-02-am.png?1614799351)
This might be the shortest post ever, but 2017 was packed full of life experiences, marrying my now husband and moving my mom more than a thousand miles across states, into my home, right after my honeymoon! Yes, I do have a husband with a big heart! There was some writing sprinkled in there too, but I had my priorities in order!
Fun fact: My mom later inspired my book, The Star Festival!
Fun fact: My mom later inspired my book, The Star Festival!
"I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better." -Georg C. Lichtenberg
Photo Credit: "Love" by Steve Charman is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Photo Credit: "Love" by Steve Charman is licensed under CC BY 2.0
![Picture](/uploads/5/9/5/2/59527877/published/3-amigos.png?1612212823)
Joining my first online critique group gave me the boost that I needed to start writing again. It felt great to be critiquing and to be critiqued! My only regret is that I wish I had created new stories at that time. Because I was in a new group, I chose to get fresh eyes on older manuscripts. Looking back, I see the importance of challenging myself to keep writing new material.
Speaking of critique groups, I will share a bit about listening to critique partners. If this sounds preachy, please know that I AM speaking to myself! But I'd like to share my experience and advice, TAKE OUT THE DOGS!
In a manuscript that I am currently working on, I wrote in a pack of wild dogs to create tension in the story. About 50% of the critiques said to take out the dogs. They were too scary for young kids. I resisted. Instead, I tried replacing the word "wild" with hungry, mangy, and dirty. I even added a puppy!
I felt the manuscript was in pretty good shape. But there was still that nagging, it-can-be-better feeling. I was not able to revise at that time. It needed space. So I put it away for a while. Later, after several more critiques, I experimented with adding a sibling, changing the POV, and adding metaphors. Through this process, the dogs miraculously disappeared! They really weren't necessary! My story went under a significant transformation.
Now, I feel it. My manuscript is submission-ready!
TAKE AWAY
Listen, even if it's advice you don't think you will need.
Try a new approach.
Take out the dogs! Or, as they say, kill your darlings!
Speaking of critique groups, I will share a bit about listening to critique partners. If this sounds preachy, please know that I AM speaking to myself! But I'd like to share my experience and advice, TAKE OUT THE DOGS!
In a manuscript that I am currently working on, I wrote in a pack of wild dogs to create tension in the story. About 50% of the critiques said to take out the dogs. They were too scary for young kids. I resisted. Instead, I tried replacing the word "wild" with hungry, mangy, and dirty. I even added a puppy!
I felt the manuscript was in pretty good shape. But there was still that nagging, it-can-be-better feeling. I was not able to revise at that time. It needed space. So I put it away for a while. Later, after several more critiques, I experimented with adding a sibling, changing the POV, and adding metaphors. Through this process, the dogs miraculously disappeared! They really weren't necessary! My story went under a significant transformation.
Now, I feel it. My manuscript is submission-ready!
TAKE AWAY
Listen, even if it's advice you don't think you will need.
Try a new approach.
Take out the dogs! Or, as they say, kill your darlings!
Path To Publication
Archives
Inspiration is Infectious
Booksellers Tell Us
Miso Magic Cover
Kidlit Creatives
10 Ways to Support Authors
Revision in a Hospital Room
Librarians Tell Us
Kidlit Authors Trivia Quiz Path 2 Health-Plot Diagram
Write Kidlit Scholarship
Books 4 Indecisive Artist
Top 5 Creativity Boosts
Inviting Accountability
Explore!
Getting An Agent
1st Draft to Published
What's Next?
The Year of Travel
The Year of Change
The Year of Critiques.
The Year I Made It Back!
The Year of Breakups
The Year of Inspiration
The Year of Firsts
The Year "It" Happened
Long Beginnings
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