Altar Boys

Creative expression definitely runs throughout my family.

My brother is an actor/dancer/model who just finished touring as part of the hilarious production of Altar Boys. The fam' drove down to Louisiana last weekend to see him perform, and it was absolutely amazing! For those unfamiliar with the show, the concept revolves around the last concert performance of the Altar Boys - a Christian boy band out to save the lost souls of America through their pop music and awesome dance moves. If you get the chance to see the show, I guarantee it'll be a great time. And be sure to check out my brother Joshua David on Youtube!

(Josh - aka "Matthew"- is the one in the middle!)

New Work, New Media...

I've been working lately with watercolors and ink pens, two media very different from my usual choice of acrylics. And I have to say, I'm really liking the results...

Here's one of my favorite characters - Ralph S. Mouse from The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary.



And from Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville, a portrait of the dragon Tiamat.

3rd Place!!!

I just got the news... I won third place in the SCBWI Southern Breeze 2009 Illustration Contest!!! I can't believe it! Holy cow! I'll post more about this later, but I had to go ahead and share the news!

Woohooooo!!!!

Update on Jeremy Thatcher...

Although I did have to put the project on the back burner for a while, I've been able to start up work on my Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher illustration again. To bring everybody up to speed, I've decided to scrap the initial design concept and my first attempt at the painting.

Using my new favorite "sketch" tool Photoshop, I've gone back in and reworked the original sketch of Jeremy, changing the position of his hands. I'm still tinkering with the background details. But here's a quick watercolor sketch I finished tonight just to feel out the colors:

Just a fun halloween experiment with watercolor...

I love this time of year!

The Illustrator's Quest...

For those who've waited patiently to see final piece for the SCBWI Southern Breeze Illustrators Workshop, here it is! I have to say, I'm quite proud of it, and I got lots of great feedback from my fellow conference attendees, too!

Variation on a sketch

Just a variation on yesterday's sketch - the little guy's looking more skyward now, into the future (which is full of possibilities!).

Another sketch...

Here's another sketch for the Illustrators Workshop - I've combined aspects from a couple of earlier sketches...

Southern Breeze Illustrators Workshop sketches

These are some of the concept sketches I've created for the Southern Breeze Illustrators Workshop based on the theme "It's All About YOU!" My concept is a kind of metaphorical self-portrait idea: I've really been feeling lately that my experience of pursuing a career as an illustrator is like an epic quest. I'm on this journey, and I'm carrying with me the "tools of the trade" and the artistic and literary influences that have made such an impact on me.

Busy, busy, busy...

Good grief! There's so much going on right now, and I haven't had a solid block of time to comment on any of it lately here on the ol' blog. So here's quick look at the latest:

• I've been painting steadily on my Jeremy Thatcher mock book cover. There's a lot going on in the composition, and it'll take some time to finish. Plus, I'm really attached to the piece, so I want to do the best I can!
• I've started working on my ideas for the Southern Breeze Illustrators Workshop piece based on the workshop theme, "It's All About YOU!". The experience so far has been great - challenging, but great. The first 25 of us to sign up for the workshop were given the opportunity to have one-on-one consultation with illustrator Mark Braught throughout the process of creating the illustration. Read more about the workshop here.
• And finally, last weekend was the Decatur Book Festival - holy cow, what an event!!! Lots more to report about that when I've got more time.

Hope this is just enough to keep ya satisfied till I can give more details!