Time to Chill!

©Kathleen Rietz
Waiting for good news can be so hard at times. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Creatively speaking, I have had so many new things going on that I just want to blab about, but can't yet. And then, last Thursday one of the books that was assigned to me was suddenly "unassigned" to me. Friday (July 4th!!) I was involved in a pretty horrible car accident and rushed to the emergency room. Well, when I got home that night, I discovered that my kitchen sink was leaking! LOL! It is said these things happen in threes. I am trying really hard to keep my chin up. I am just looking for some good news...and some "chill time".

This was the sample piece I submitted for the book assignment. I got a nice portfolio piece out of it. : )

Picture Bookie News Flashes.... *:)

The PICTURE BOOKIES are busy! Just look at what is going on.
Gina Pfleegor has welcomed a new baby, Emma James Pfleegor and is in the process of moving into a new home with her husband and Emma. She is also working on her newest book, and enjoying the success of "I LIKE GUM" published by Shenanigan Books.






Sherry Rogers is also too busy for words, but not for PICTURES as she works to complete three more picture books!
Her website and blog will give you all the great details and some sneak peeks besides.

Bron Smith has launched a spectacular painting adventure, Painting in Paradise and you really need to check out his course of study...or GO THERE yourself!

Paige Keiser is so busy we may not see much of her online as she completes THREE new trade books, and a possible fourth. We all wish her the very best and support her with our cheers. Three, no FOUR cheers for you Paige!

And also happily busy with illustrating, as well as family and friends, Amy Cullings Moreno is working to finish a series for the USDA which will be due later this summer as well as keeping up with her gorgeous pen and ink renderings of fine homes.



Kristi Valiant is also working on her latest leveled reader series and is looking forward to creating the illustrations for a trade book as well.

In the latest issue ofThe Prairie WindThe Prairie Wind,
Kate Rietzshared with everyone how she found her style in the latest issue of the and has been working on many aspects of her illustrating career. And she has just signed on with an agent in London. More to come......

Ginger Nielson is finishing up the illustrations on her seventh children's picture book, a Rhyming adventure of some out of the ordinary African animals.

We encourage others to visit our collective website The Picture Bookies read the personal interviews of all the illustrator/authors, and visit their personal websites. You will enjoy the "journey."


And LAST but not LEAST take time out to visit the The Picture Bookies Showcase a gallery of 50 wonderful children's illustrators dedicated to bringing joy into the lives of children AND adults!

And Another Announcement

Our Picture Bookies Illustrator's Group welcomes Paige Keiser !! Be sure to visit her blog, her website and enjoy her wonderful stories in pictures and words.

Picture Bookie Kathleen Rietz Shines Bright

One of our very own Picture Bookies Kathleen Rietz has written an article featured in the Illinois SCBWI Newsletter. She did an incredible job. I loved every word of it and found as an illustrator, it really spoke to my heart, and I know it will to yours too. It's a great article on finding your style as an illustrator. I especially loved the part about it taking her 20 hours to do an illustration from start to finish and she felt that was just to long. Go on over and read the article and see how she found her true self.


Click here to read and enjoy the article written by Kathleen Rietz

This week at the BEA in Los Angeles

This weekend the Book Expo America was held in Los Angeles. I am happy to say that the publishers of the book I illustrated,
The Adventures of Cali, were there and promoting not only the book but a wonderful addition to the book. Their product, called iRead 2 You, is an easy to use recording device that can be used by a parent or grandparent to record the story. Once the device is set in the Play mode and placed inside a book's cover it is ready to tell the story. As soon as a child opens the book the recording begins to play telling the story in the parent or grandparent's own words.

WELCOME KRISTI

A Warm Welcome to our newest Children's Illustrator member of the Picture Bookies Children's Illustrators Group, Kristi Valiant.

Kristi is a full time freelance illustrator with over 20 published leveled reader books.  Her normal media is digital.  You can browse through her website by visiting here.

Bear Feet and Bare Feet

I was trying to figure out whether to mail this to anyone, or post it on my regular blog, or whatever.  The decision was to post it here and hope you all get some enjoyment out of this.

They keep saying that 'country' bumpkins can't get along in the city.  Well, I am not a city girl, but the suburbs we lived in didn't come with the kind of country in which we now live.  So this is what happens when city bumpkins move to the REAL country.

Moving to NH from NJ metro area, was, we thought, just going to be more countrified. Not so.

People up here are used to living with wildlife. Our home is in a collection of small mountains called the Monadnocks.  The average height is only about 3200 feet.  Not the rockies~!

 We just figured we would see a deer or a turkey once in a while.  But we didn't expect that the forest behind our house held so many surprises.

So the city bumpkins, didn't have a  clue about what could happen.

Last spring we had the huge 300- pound bear come and visit...just for one day. This winter we had a herd... a FULL 12-13 herd of deer come visiting almost every night to feast on the leaves that were exposed above the 2 feet of snow.  Entire bands  of turkeys come wandering through the yard as if it was their home territory. 

BUT..... stranger things have happened and continue to happen.

Last night I was out with Henry hound ( both of us in bare feet ) and we heard really strange noises coming from the forest.  I figured it was BIG BIG birds at first, but what birds are up at 10pm?  And no, it was not the owl.  Something else was whining and chortled a lot.   I kept Henry inside the fenced part of the yard, and after listening for a while we went inside. I had been told that coyote pups sound a lot like little children crying.... it was almost like that.  But still "Sc-SCARY"..... I was so glad there was a 6 foot fence between us and the forest.

Could it be baby coyotes or baby bears, as it is time for them to be around.  This morning, whatever it was made its presence known.  My beautiful octogon bird feeder lay on the ground.  Wood posts, knobs, glass, all broken and scattered about...and of course no bird seed to be seen.  We had just filled it with the most delectable sunflower seeds.

Now the folks up here who know a thing or two, never leave a bird feeder out at night, and most don't leave them out again all summer until the first snowfall...... I suppose there is a lesson to be learned here...for those city folks.  My guess is that mama bear decided to bring the kiddies for a visit to our front yard.  But wait, do  coyotes eat sunflower seeds?  I know a lot of baseball players do.

And why am I posting this here?  Well maybe it will inspire a great illustration.  I'll give it a try, why not anyone of you guys.............

Jungle to Jungle

What started out in an outdoor setting near a jungle, turned a corner in my mind and became a walk into another kind of jungle, the concrete kind.

I had some refining to do and now I'll get to painting the illustration.

I might also bring back the small boy. I have to ask if he wants to go to the library too.

Painting is Paradise is up

I thought I would let everyone know that my new Painting in Paradise web site is now up and running. The site promotes my watercolor workshops in exotic places around the world, starting in Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. It would be so cool to meet some of my blog friends in a south seas paradise and paint flowers together. Actually, the price isn't that bad, a lot cheaper than other comparable painting workshops. Let me know if you have any questions. Here's the URL. I'll be getting a permanent URL soon. http://bronsmith.googlepages.com/

Website Makeover

©Kathleen Rietz
If you haven't checked out my website lately, DO! I update at least weekly, and I feel as though it is finally really coming together and representing who I am as an artist. I have weeded out a lot of artwork that, while very nice, does not represent my current goals. I would really like your feedback, even if you see something you don't like about it.. Don't be shy... It is alwasy nice to have others' objective eyes!

KIDS WRITE THE DARNDEST THINGS!

I thought I might share a few lines from some recent letters from kids at a school that I recently visited. Kids' letters are always precious. I included the misspellings, or course:

Dear Mr. Smith:
I like the banan slug it is cool I wud like to have your autograph. I like the funny weird animel it was weird and I mene it.
Mason

Dear Mr. Smith:
Thanks for teaching us to draw a banana slug. I really wanted to get my picture autographed by you, but I didn't have enough time. And I took my pictures home, and my mom really liked my picture of my banana slug. I really liked the talk about your new book Washington for Kids. I'm looking forward to reading it. And one more thing, I really like your outfit. The badges were really cool. The hat was funny because when you wore it it looked kind tall. I like you a lot.
Soraya

Dear Mr. Smith:
Than you for coming to our school My favirite thing at the acimble is the monster game. And when my class came to the jim and drew the banana slug.
Shelby

Dear Mr. Smith:
I like you pichers. they are cool. I wish you colde drow spong bob. I like you. I bet you wer a slef maniger, to.
Aiden

Dare Mr Smith
I am so happy to meat you! I think you are cool And a gerate other and ilstratr. I like you Olot. you are Osum. I want to be a Oather and a ilstrater like you.
Abe

MY HOMECOMING SCHOOL VISIT

I recently returned to my alma mater elementary school for a week-long series of assemblies and workshops. The newspaper interviewed me while I was there. I posted the article here and it was up for about five minutes, but I thought it took up too much space, so I deleted it.

If anyone has questions about making seven hundred dollars (or even more) per day just for making a presentation at a school, I'll be glad to answer your questions. Schools pay a LOT more than publishers...you can take that to the bank. Bruce Degan gets four grand a day, last time I checked.

So here's a picture of me with one of the classes at the sign in front of my alma mater elementary school.

Happy Easter Everyone!

©Kathleen Rietz
Any of you who know me well know that Easter has a much deeper meaning to me than bunnies and coloring eggs. But I do enjoy the images of spring this time of year. Here in Chicago there is a winter storm warning today. I could use a little springtime festivities right now! Happy Easter everyone!

Read my first article for the SCBWI-IL!

Read my first attempt at writing for The Prairie Wind, the e-newsletter for the SCBWI-Illinois chapter. I love to draw and paint, but writing was a whole new venture for me! It was actually kind of fun, and I would definitely do it again if asked. The topic and article length were totally up to me. I chose to write about the history of my career as an artist, and why I now blog.

What do you think? What do you like most about blogging? Do you use it as a marketing tool? Networking? Creative support?

All About the Books and Beyond! ~ What about YOURS!

Have you illustrated ( or written and illustrated) some books you would like to share? Created a map, greeting card, or received a sensational review?
My Bookpage has grown over the past four years. I have been fortunate to work with some wonderful authors and small press publishers as well as some fantastic educational publishers.

Since most of the marketing and press is done by the publishers I need to check in once in a while to see what is happening with the books. Some have received awards, good reviews and wonderful articles in newspapers. But what I am most proud of is the way children react to them. I love seeing their faces as they look at my illustrations and read the charming stories or listen to me read the stories.

It must be the same for so many illustrators that are devoted to creating for children. Do you have a story to tell? Do children inspire and encourage your art? Post your response, and let others know how your illustrations can bring a smile or a tear to those who view them.

If you are a blogger, the link to your name will bring people to your site so they can view your work. Once there they can follow other links you may have to your personal website and beyond.

Where I Love To Be - In My Studio

What would a studio tour be without a picture of the "boys." These are my dogs Luke (Yellow Lab) and Billy (Tibetan Terrier.) They are not only my studio buddies but great friends.



Here is the area of my studio where the creative work gets done. . .and a lot of emailing to my friends too!

I have two work areas. The area closest to you is where I sketch. You can see my light table. The area right across from that is where my computer is and where I do the painting part of my art.



One of the most important parts of my studio beside my computer. . .is my five cork boards. As I sketch the pages I pin them up and see how the whole book looks and it's a great way to see if the book flows. I couldn't live without them.

Sorry for the crazy angle. . .but this is they only way I could get them all in.
Amy if your looking. . .see the parrot eye in this picture?




And last but not least is my couch area. This is an area where I can read, sketch or where my family and visitors sit.


Well that's it. . .if you're ever in the area. . .stop by.

MY FAST FOOD/GREASY SPOON STUDIOS

This will undoubtedly be the dullest of the studio tours. You've all seen my studio if you've been to McDonald's or a cafe. If I showed you my home studio, that would be even duller...my bookshelf isn't that exciting to look at, nor is my computer. It looks a lot like yours. Hopefully, the text will spice up the photos a bit.

This is one of my window seats at a nearby cafe. I get much more done here than at my home studio. It seems strange, even to me, that my Trowbridges, my comic strip, and all of the rest of my work is hatched in little places like this. As long I'm careful about who gets my cell phone number, I can work relatively undisturbed much, but not all of the time. At home I'm constantly plagued with phone calls from people who want to take a chit-chat chunk out of my workday. It has become so annoying that I flee my studio to hide away and find some quality work time.

This is my corner window table at a nearby McDonald's, one of my afternoon studios. I broke my priceless McDonald's mug the other day, so now I'm actually having to PAY 75 cents for my ice tea until they replace my mug. I used to travel all over the area to different wharfs, parks and beaches to work, but now I seem to prefer just a handful of nearby eateries. Wendy's has the best ice tea, but it's free at McDonald's. Plus, here you don't have to ask for refills...you can get your own, so that makes it handier.

This is the art for the front and back cover of my most recent book, Washington for Kids. Though the ink is still wet, it's already selling like donuts at a cops' convention. If anyone wants to know how to write, illustrate, and sell your books as fast as you can sign them, by way of "infomercials" as I do, I'll be glad to give you some tips on how you can do it too. It works like a charm. This book will be just as hot next year as this year. Every elementary and middle school in Washington state would want this book in their library because every child needs to learn about their own state, and why not make it fun? Dr. Seuss did quite well with that philosophy.

If you happen to know a writer who would like to collaborate with me on a Florida for Kids, or whatever state in which they live, I'm starting to look for collaborators. I wrote this over the course of three or four months of late nights, early mornings and weekends. If Trowbridge has slowed down a bit over the last few months, this is one reason.

"Thank you Miss Ginger!"

I'm a lucky person!I get to witness both the inner workings of making literature for children and seeing what that literature can do in the hands of a child! And I don't know which I like best- for the past five years I have had the fun of teaching ART to rural ranch kids and Native American kid,mostly Navajo, at Battle Rock Charter School in historical McElmo Canyon.
I'm also a freelance writer and aspiring freelance illustrator who is getting to know some very kind and cool illustrators-and one of the coolest and kindest is Ginger Nielson- who just donated a whole box full of her new book- "The Adventures of Cali" to my kindergarten through second graders.Written by Michele Lallouz Fisher, with wonderful "Ginger-esque" illustrations- she has such a distinct look- the story tracks the travel of a little caterpillar that is hiding in a delious tomato patch and found by a curious boy.
What makes these books really cool is they come with a little recorder- so the kids can have someone record the story and than they can read along listening to the device.
Anything, again I say anything, that gets these kids interested in reading is a good thing. As is true across the rural West,reading is a skill that is sometimes overlooked- and if a "gimmick" of a recorder- is used to get a kid in a lap of an adult reading- I'll do the happy dance.
The recorder, itself will be great for these kids as well- allowing them to listen to their own voices- Navajos, by their culture, can be very soft spoken- so sometimes it is hard to get these kids to talk much, but who doesn't like to hear the sound of their own voice!
So thank you, Miss Ginger, for your generosity- the kids loved the story and loved the illustration and thought it was pretty cool that I knew you! Some fuzzy caterpillars are coming your way- so watch your mailbox!!

Space...

The space I carved out for myself in our small office suits me fine. I have a neat drawing table that fits nicely next to my desk and computer and it is on wheels so that I can easily move it away from the printer or extra bookshelves. It was on sale at almost half price and I like that it is lightweight, has an adjustable drawing board and cupholders. The cupholders are for a glue gun, but I keep a water bottle there.
The window is wonderful to have. But, when the sun is too bright there is a little folding Japanese screen that I can use to block out the light. If you look closely out that window you will see that the snow is up over the sill outside. There are three full bookshelves in here but I have another two in the hallway outside this room and walls of books in our family room. The ones that I keep close to me are reference and picture books. Some are signed by the artists, and several are those have been illustrated by very good friends.

I hope in the next few weeks more of the gang can share the space where they work. I know at least one of the Picture Bookies uses the entire planet as a studio! It is always fun to see where and how an artist works.

Thinking Spring

©Kathleen Rietz
While I dare not show anyone my studio right now, here is somethng I sketched the other night IN my studio! How are you all doing? I know that Ginger and I have both suffered through monstrous winters! I am SO ready f0r spring! I hope this makes everyone feel a little warmer. Spring is just around the corner (even if that corner is 3 months from now!).

LET'S GIVE A SHOW!!!

For the next few weeks in the Picture Bookies Blog...let's all give a little show!

Show us your studio.   Use photos, drawings, writing to show us where and how you work.  I know that some of the Picture Bookies may have links to where and how they work,  and it would be fine to post a link to an already existing page on your website.   

Some of us are busy on projects, some have other limitations right now, but any post would be a wonderful insight to our readers and each other.

For me, the pictures will have to wait until I do some cleaning up!

Valentine Hugs to ALL!

©Kathleen Rietz

VALENTINE HIBISCUS

As suggested in Ginger's recent email to the group, I will describe the process that I follow to create a painting in Photoshop, in this case the current Trowbridge episode. My art school training may put me at odds with some, due to my non-purist "commercial" methodology.

Because of my art school training, I'm not hesitant about using tracing methods, when it's time-saving and advantageous. That's what we were taught in art school when doing representational art. Why take three times longer to be a purist and copy a photo freehand? To me it's not practical. In one of my art books on realistic watercolor painting, the author traced all of his images for watercolor paintings from photographs. It was obvious, but he never came out and stated it in his book. To me, there's no shame in tracing.

It's a totally different story when I do my humorous illustration projects. Everything is pure freehand drawing and imagination. The Trowbridge episodes are also obviously freehand, with the exception of this flower series. I'm doing these flower paintings for my new realistic watercolor painting workshop web site that I'll mention a bit later. I'm getting extra mileage out of the the paintings by using them for Trowbridge episodes. I've also blown them up into a large format and had them printed on canvas. The yellow tree hibiscus posted at the Trowbridge blog now hangs over our fireplace mantel. I will also blow up and print this red hibiscus on canvas.

Below is the photo that I used, taken on our Rarotonga trip. When you examine the painting below you can see how many modifications I made. The yellow anthers are much brighter in the painting than in the photo, and I modified the light and modeling quite a bit, and of course darkened the background to add contrast and drama.


In painting realism from photo references, the photograph is almost as important as the quality of the painting. The photograph must be well composed and cropped, it should be an ideal example of the flower, and it MUST have a strong light source. Without strong light and shadow contrast, the flower painting falls flat on its petals. The flower below is not a good example of strong light, but it's all I had to work with. That's why I enhanced the light on the petals as much as I could. I got only a handful of "paintable" photos from the trip. Unfortunately, I couldn't spend the whole time on the island shooting flowers.

My painting process is not complicated; it's quite straight forward. I choose a photo, decide where to crop it, then I trace the image onto the paper within the prescribed dimensions, in this case 7.5 inches square (Lulu book dimensions). I'm careful in the tracing stage to include all of the details that will be necessary for the painting. Next, I scan my pencil drawing as a foundation for the painting. I paint in Photoshop on a layer on top of the pencil layer in the "multiply" mode.
Much of the success of the outcome depends on the photograph(s) that I'm using for reference. If it's a dramatically lit photo, it's up to me to bring that light into the painting.

The trick to painting realism is in being familiar with rendering techniques. We did a lot of rendering in art school. It takes considerable patience to stay with it and keep the rendering tight throughout the painting. To enhance the realistic effect, the background may be rendered in an "out of focus" manner. It doesn't have to be the same background as in your photo. You can use a background from parts of other photos, or you can invent a background as I did in the red hibiscus. FYI: This photo was shot in the botanical gardens at the resort where we stayed.


If anyone would like to take a dream art vacation, I'm planning a return trip to the South Pacific next winter to teach a realistic watercolor floral painting workshop. I will soon be launching a new web site, called Painting in Paradise, that will spell out all the details. It would be wonderful if some of my blogging friends were part of the group. I'll let you know when I launch the web site. It will be in a month or so. I hope you find this explanation helpful.

Loving What I Do....

The process for Gunther the Underwater Elephant is now in its third year.  This won't come as a surprise to anyone else who writes and illustrates their own picture book. The process is twofold. The manuscript must be perfected and the illustrations must hit the mark with consistency and impact.
 It began as watercolor and ink ideas.

I decided to refine the sketch and move the action away from us a bit, to show more of each character.

The first job was for me to define the areas so I could concentrate on who was where in this entanglement.

Then some color and shading on about 5 layers in Painter IX and X. I also made a change in the leg positions.

Finally I added some seaweed and darkened the sea a bit.  The final will have text at the bottom and maybe a few more bubbles with more clarity.

Loving What I Do!

Since the mermaid illustration was created as a promotional piece that I would send out to trade publishers (as well as scholastic publishers), I decided to add a little spot illustration. This not only adds to the story line, but carries the tropical elements over to the back of my postcard....a visual treat for the eyes. Here we have a budding romance between a dapper lobster and shy starfish.


In the finished illustration, I added a sea horse to the right of the mermaid in order to add balance to the overall composition and introduce another cute sea creature into the story. I also slightly changed the angle of the starfish on the left so that the line would not be so vertical. I decided not to use such literal "scales" in the mermaid's dress, but instead gave it a smoother texture. I am such a "girly" girl myself, and had a lot of fun fashioning a sophisticated little princess dress for my mermaid....one that little girls would love, but not too cluttered. In the planning stages of my illustrations, I try to constantly keep in mind the overall balance of the finished work. This applies to composition as well as color. In this piece, I my focus was on the lush secondary color palette we associate with the tropics. I challenged myself to use saturated color and lots of fun details, yet l pull it all together in the end. This turned out to be one of my strongest illustrations to date. I already placed an order for the promo postcards I will send out in my next mailing to publishers. I am proud to say that I created the entire piece traditionally with gouache, without having to go in digitally and make corrections or "fix" anything. My illustrations are usually acombination of both traditional and digital media, but in this case I was able to acheive the look I desired using only traditional materials.


Here you can see that I have established the skin tones and the hair...and have begun to create the background. I decided to work on the mermaid's hair and skin first, since that would help me determine how to lay down a background of ocean that she would not get "lost" in. I did go back and work on the hair and skin more later on until I was happy with the overall illustration.


The original sketch inspired by the Illustration Friday theme "Tales & Legends". I often use Illustration Friday as an opportunity to create new sample pieces for my portfolio and promote my art blog and website.

February ~ Loving What you Do

I am trying desperately not type because of my hurt thumb. . .but how do you stop what you love to do? It's not easy. I am reading blogs and posts . . .but not posting comments. I am a talkative person. . .so this is killing me not to communicate! Anyway here is my contribution to this months topic. . .it's an old one. . .but appropriate.

February ~ Loving What you Do

Do you Love what you do? Are you creating a Valentine for someone special?

This month the Picture Bookies would like to share their Valentines, or the process in making one, or just the process in a particular piece of work.

Yippee yi-o ki-a for Kersplatypus!!!!!!!!!

Kersplatypus which is published by Sylvan Dell Publishing and illustrated by me just got it's first review by Andrea Sisco Armchair Interviews!! And boy am I excited. It's the best review I have ever had for a book I have illustrated! Thanks Andrea!! I certainly needed this to inspire me and make the next book even better!

Check it out

Andrea Sisco Armchair Interviews

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !

~CHEERS~

What's Up?

I have an assignment I'm working on for an Educational publisher. When I do these it is quite different from a Picture Book. With a picture book you can be quite creative and run with your imagination. Educational assignments are very nice to have, but the work is very specific and detailed. These are mostly early readers, or grade level readers and the text and images must fit together in great detail. It is fun to work both ways, although I would imagine that most illustrators would prefer the creative Picture Book approach to the detailed instructional/educational approach.

When I work for an educational publisher I will often make lots of sketches of different elements that appear on various pages of the text. I will cut these figures or objects out and start positioning them on a separate sheets of paper like little collages. This way I can move people and things around until I get an idea of composition and scale. I know this can be done in the computer too, but I like to work with my little paper people first. I will also work on several pages at a time, just to keep the characters consistent.

So here are some elements grouped in an image of how they have been fitted together....just for now. Once this is in the computer, it may change again, but I find the whole process kind of fun and challenging. ( You might be able to see the shadow line of some of the cut outs.) There are actually several more elements that will fit into this scene, but they are still in the scanner.