Studio McCann

Great time in India!

2012-01-16T19:26:00.000-06:00

Well, it is hard to believe that my Indian adventure has come and gone, but I can easily tell you that I had an experience of a lifetime! From the warm hospitality of everyone on campus at IIT Bombay, to the atmosphere at Techfest, the trip was one that i will never forget. Of course the main people I must thank include Anthony from Art for After Hours, whom I am one of their artists and was brought on board for this project. I also am grateful to Rajat, Animesh, Anish, Aseem, Palash, Julian and everyone else that I forgot to mention! There are way too many memories to start writing a book here, so I will let the photos speak for themselves :)

Finished large mural - 96ft x 15ft

Finished small mural - 25ft x 15ft

On my morning walk to work ;)

The artists from CreatOne. Worked on Graffiti mural next to my piece

My trusty assistant Julian Fernandes! He helped make the small mural come to life!

Off on another fun adventure. Cheers to 2012!

2011-12-27T19:15:00.000-06:00

I know it is a bit early to be ringing in the new year, but with my trip tomorrow to Mumbai, India, this might be my last post of the year. First off, Happy 2012 to all of you who have been with me over the last year and those new to Studio McCann. I know I haven't had the chance to blog as much as I would like, so here's hoping to renewed effort for the new year in bringing you some decent posts ;) Along that line, I am very excited and anxious for my next adventure which begins tomorrow and runs the first couple of weeks of January. I will be heading out to Mumbai, India to work on a large wall mural on the campus of IIT Bombay as part of their Techfest 2012. Having most of the major players in the technology field along with Nobel Laureate's, Robot Wars, and many more fun activities should keep the 2 week venture in high drive. I definitely look forward to sharing with you the results of the mural and wish you and your families the best for the start of 2012! Cheers!

The creation of a PopUP Park

2011-12-20T17:27:00.002-06:00

Well, having worked on a number of other interesting art projects, I share with you one of the most recent. This summer, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts asked if I could help in the creation of a PopUp Park this coming winter to create a space that was a retreat from the elements that typically spring up in Minnesota, ie, SNOW! That being said, we decided to create a tropical feel to the space that is the main lobby outside of the museum shop and arts cafe. Having nearly 2200 square feet posed both a project of immense size but also creative placement since we have thousands of visitors that will be interacting with the space on a daily basis. With that, the final plan was drawn and we are now in the build phase of the project. Once I return from my overseas adventure, the MIA's PopUP Park will be installed and will be accessible to all! I can't wait to show you the final images of the park and will let you know of the opening night festivities when they are set. Until then, here are a few teaser images of the "build" phase and more

Workin on some new drawings

2011-12-13T21:58:00.000-06:00

As you can probably tell, the posts have been a little sparse lately. I am hoping that starting the new year will allow me to do some more posts. Having a hectic schedule and some really fun projects coming up is making for a little bit of craziness! But I won't complain as it is good to be busy and out of trouble. So as the year begins to wrap up here, I have been doing a fair amount of charcoal drawings lately. Having not done them in over 5 years, i have been reinvigorated to keep working on new drawings. This one above is a self portrait that i did recently. The other image is of my grandmother. With each new one, it is getting a little bit easier getting back into the swing of things with the charcoal. Plus, it is just another reason to get messy in the studio :)

Sarasota International Chalk Festival

2011-11-15T19:18:00.001-06:00

The full piece. 30'x40'

Anthony Cappetto with the AR birds!

Thought I would post an image of my and Anthony Cappetto's most recent street painting "Visions of Cambodia". At 1200 square feet it was definitely a huge amount of work but one that was definitely worth it! Plus, we were the first street painters to include augmented reality in the piece. More information about that here

"Open Canvas" Milwaukee

2011-11-10T18:56:00.001-06:00

After a great trip to Sarasota the last week and a half (post about it soon), I am excited to head to Milwaukee this weekend to paint, have fun with great friends, and raise some money for scholarships. Having attended the Open Canvas in White Bear Lake a number of times in the past, I am looking forward to attending the original location in Milwaukee! The details on the event are as follows

"Open Canvas" Milwaukee

Saturday, November 12, 2011
Pritzlaff Building
333 N. Plankinton
Milwaukee, WI

Times 6pm to 11pm
website: click here

"The Sick Bug Goes to School" wins a Moonbeam Award!

2011-10-16T20:52:00.001-06:00

It is with great excitement that I share with you that my recent book titled "The Sick Bug Goes to School" was awarded a silver MoonBeam award this past week. Susie and I are honored that the book was chosen amongst so many other wonderful books. Presented by Jenkins Group and Independent Publisher magazine, the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are designed to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. Awards are given in 38 categories covering the full range of subjects, styles and age groups that children’s books are written and published in today.

WAMdemonium!

2011-10-03T19:23:00.001-06:00

My view of the Weisman building!

With a crispness in the air, another fun time was had street painting this past weekend. This time it was for the grand reopening of the famous Frank Gehry designed Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis. With the museum having been closed the last year for an addition on the building, there was lots of excitement in the air as the gala arrived Sat night! This piece is a 3D stylized image of downtown minneapolis and its riverfront. The image is on two separate planes and in total was 10'x16'

Great time at Target Children's Book Festival

2011-09-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came out last weekend for the Target Children's Book Festival at Hyland Park in Bloomington! It was great seeing everyone come out (even though it was super hot) and support both Susie and I with out book. It is really wonderful to have such great friends and family! Here are a few shots from our time on stage!

Pastel study with amazing new surface!

2011-09-04T21:15:00.001-06:00

After many years working in Pastel outside for street paintings, I have decided to bring it into the study and work with the medium smaller scale. It has been a rather interesting process since most of the times I do not create images in pastel that are smaller than 10ft x 16ft. So doing studies with pastel at 18"x24" is quite a change of pace. But, I am enjoying it with an amazing product I found called "Unison Gator Premium Pastel Board" made by Richeson Art. It is a great surface that comes either on heavy duty watercolor paper or applied to a acid free gator board. It seriously is like painting on sandpaper and is fantastic. The image I did here is a hour and a half study of "Boreas" by Waterhouse and loved the way the pastel took to the board and the effect it had. It really held a lot of pastel and still is very workable. I would highly recommend it if you are into pastels

Here's the finished sketch. About 2.5 hours worth

Target Children's Book Festival-Bloomington

2011-08-30T18:39:00.000-06:00

Coming up on Saturday September 10, 2011 join myself and many wonderful authors and illustrators as we bring fun and excitement to Hyland Park in Bloomington, Minnesota. With a day worth of activities, it will be a great time to bring the family out for some wonderful readings and drawings! I am honored to be one of the featured illustrators and will be on stage from 2:35-2:55 with my fellow cohort Susie Bazil as we present "The Sick Bug Goes to School"! For more information, you can visit the Target Children's Book Festival website here Hope to see you there!

Painting done for Minneapolis Institute of Art's "Art Perchance"

2011-07-23T19:14:00.001-06:00

Well, another month seems to be flying by and before you know it, August will be here. The great thing about that is coming up on Thursday, August 18, will be this years "Art Perchance" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Friends of the Institute hold this annual fundraiser to help raise money to bring kids to the museum and other worthy causes. I am proud to say that I will again be joining the ranks of artists who have been juried into the show/fundraiser. The piece that I will be donating is the "Arizona Blooms" piece that you see below (Of course it will be framed though by then). Until then, I hope if you happen to be in Minneapolis that Thursday night, you will stop down to see some amazing work that will be auctioned off and won, and help support a worth cause!

DETAILS

"Art Perchance"

Thursday August 18, 2011

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

6-9pm

2400 3rd Ave South

Minneapolis, MN 55330

Website

Come and check out the many wonderful artists that have donated pieces to help out with this great fundraiser

MNSCBWI summer workshop

2011-06-12T18:17:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone. I hope your summers are off to a great start so far. I wanted to let you know about a workshop upcoming that I will be co-teaching with Andy Hueller this coming weekend in Eden Prairie, MN in conjunction with the Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The info is as follows and hope to see you there!

Everything You Wanted to Know About Portfolio and Manuscript Prep (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Date: Saturday, June 18, 2011
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Place: Star Bank Community Meeting Room, 250 Prairie Center Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Fee: $25 members, $35 non-members. Registration will be at the door and includes light refreshments.

The National SCBWI Summer Conference, Minnesota SCBWI Fall Conference and annual Mentorship program will be here before you know it, so it’s time to get those manuscripts and portfolios ready! Featuring presentations by author and writing instructor Andy Hueller and illustrator Shawn McCann, learn how to properly format your manuscript and illustrations. Attendees will have the opportunity to present their manuscripts or portfolios for an informal critique. This workshop is excellent for beginners and those looking to refine their work.

For more information, please download the flyer here

Artisphere 2011 in Greenville, South Carolina

2011-05-17T21:12:00.000-06:00

Had another fantastic time in Greenville, South Carolina this past weekend at Artisphere! Here is my piece that I recreated of artist Michael Madzo's "The Secrets that we gather" which was the festival poster image used. Not only did the weather cooperate for the weekends piece, but was amazed how many wonderful people stopped by during the course of the festival. Some of them even remembered the piece I created at last years event! Thanks again Greenville for a fantastic time!

SEI Street Painting in Scottsdale, AZ

2011-05-17T21:10:00.000-06:00

Had a great time in Scottsdale, AZ recently on a fun 3D street painting titled "Think Growth". Not only was there perfect weather, but my brother Cory finally was able to see me working on a street painting live. I am sure it was as exciting as I told it would be :) He is pictured below with me on the finished piece! More info on the piece here

Illustration Friday: Bicycle

2011-04-22T19:11:00.001-06:00

This is an illustration I did titled "Plane-in-the-sky-cycle" from a poem about all types of bicycles!

The Worth of What You Do

2011-04-17T11:12:00.000-06:00

Reading an article this morning, I noticed a post that mentioned a candidate slamming another candidate because they were "worth" 10 times less. I understood that they were strictly talking about wealth(money), but is that "worth" simply based on wealth? In todays world where most are concerned simply about themselves, it is refreshing to see how many people view their own wealth as what they do and not what they have. To be able to help out in small ways, we often find they go the farthest. For me, I don't have the money to be supporting all the causes or fundraisers I want, but thru things like projects with a purpose to simply having a conversation with an eager student who is interested in the arts, it is the simple things that you can do to make that difference.

This difference was also noted as I was preparing to do a short speech at my alma mater's(MCAD) scholarship luncheon this last week. As I reflected on what it meant to me to receive the scholarship that allowed me to continue to study art, I was taken aback by all the people who have made a difference in my life that didn't provide financial support, but rather providing the knowledge and encouragement to pursue what I love. To be able to have that network of people, both people you know and those who simply pass thru, provide the wealth of what they know and do is to me worth more than any amount of money could be. Sure having cold hard cash is always great and you can do some amazing things with it, but in the end, money can not buy the happiness and "worth" that makes a person great. I know I usually don't get into discussions or posts like this on my blog that often, but thru my career so far, I have been blessed to work with so many wonderful people that are making a difference with their personal "worth" that I felt it necessary to speak up. As I end this, I will leave you with a project that I am extremely proud to be apart of, "Gregory's Paper Airplane". A project where a young boy named Benjamin Sherman is not concerned about achieving the personal "wealth" that many people seek, but a "worth" of helping others. May we all have the same drive and commitment to make us truly wealthy in life!

Grapevine Faith School Visits and Dallas Trip

2011-04-03T20:02:00.001-06:00

Ben and I at the book signing at Mardels

Wanted to share some of the fun times I had when I recently went to Texas for some school visits and book signings recently. During my trip I had a great time not only at Grapevine Faith Elementary school but also the Middle School. Thanks to Mrs. Mitchell and Ms. Brewer for allowing me to visit the classes! As you can see by the pics, there was lots of fun! The trip itself was surrounding the book "Gregory's Paper Airplane" and the amazing author Benjamin Sherman(who is published already at the age of 9!). I can't thank Jeff and Paige Sherman enough for the hospitality and fun time over my 5 days!

A few of my books were on display at the library!

Kids looking at some of the original Illustrations

A fun little Friday night project added images to Joe's closet Doors

To Dallas and beyond!

2011-03-22T19:31:00.001-06:00

Well, it is hard to believe that we are only a week away from April, but with todays wintry mix, I am definitely looking forward to getting rid of winter for good. With that though, the schedule has become a little bit hectic, which is good. From School visits to books signings and more, the next month and a half should be a fun whirlwind of an adventure. For those wondering where in the world to find crazy man Shawn, here are a few of the upcoming activities. Ohh and lake season is sooo close! I can't wait to get out there and do some fishin and relaxing as well!

In the Dallas area from Wednesday March 23 thru Sunday March 27, 2011

Thursday, March 24
Location: Faith Christian elementary school all day with "Gregory's Paper Airplane"
   Book signing from 3-5pm after classes
   Colleyville, TX

Friday, March 25
Location: Faith Christian Middle School all day
   Colleyville, TX

Saturday, March 26
Location: Mardel
   Book signing from 2:30-4pm with "Gregory's Paper Airplane"
   Hurst, TX

In Minnesota April 6-8, 2011

Foley, MN Artist in Residence
   Will be working with the students in Foley Elementary and St. Cloud schools in some fun art!

In California April 30-May 1, 2011

LA Times Festival of Books on the campus of USC Sat. April 30 and Sunday May, 1. Our stage time is on Sunday if you can make it! More info at LA Times FOB website

Illustration Friday-Stir

2011-03-11T19:43:00.000-06:00

A fun image from "The Sick Bug" I did a little while ago. Here the bugs are down in bugland stirring up the sickness's!

"The Sick Bug Goes to School" is headed to the LA Times Festival of Books!

2011-02-07T19:13:00.000-06:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce the selection of "The Sick Bug Goes to School" to this years lineup of the LA Times Festival of Books to be held in April on the beautiful USC campus. It is even more of an honor to be featured along with industry giants as R.L. Stine, Mo Willems, and Jarrett Krosoczka. The full details will be posted soon at the LA Times FOB website soon, but until then, I will be anxiously awaiting the sun and surf!!!!!!!

New Book "Gregory's Paper Airplane"

2011-01-04T20:16:00.000-06:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce another children's book that I have illustrated. "Gregory's Paper Airplane" is an inspirational story of one boys hope to help children in Cambodia. Written by Benjamin Sherman, the story is one of heartfelt love for others and the desire to help. I know that may seem like every other story, but one major fact I left out is that Benjamin is only 9. Having started writing at the tender age of 5, it is amazing what he has accomplished at such a young age. To say that Benjamin is going to have impact on this world is an understatement, and I am proud to have illustrated his very first book. Not only is the story great, but the purpose behind the book is wonderful as well. Please take the time to learn more about this wonderful project and help spread the word! Plus, if you order the book from the website, you will get it signed by the author himself!

"Gregory's Paper Airplane"

Here is a little overview for the book is as follows:

An inspirational children’s story... ...written by a child... ...to help other children. After learning about underprivileged children in Cambodia, Gregory's heart is troubled. He decides to take action and help in the best way he knows how... A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards Agape International Missions (Agapewebsite.org), a not-for-profit organization who’s mission is to prevent child sex trafficking in Cambodia and to restore hope to its victims through holistic aftercare; and to International Justice Mission (IJM.org), a not-for-profit human rights agency that secures rescue and justice for victims of slavery and other forms of violent oppression, and helps them heal within their own communities in Cambodia and other countries in the developing world.

Thanks to you 2010!

2010-12-30T19:09:00.001-06:00

Well, I guess it has come down to tonight and tomorrow for the last hurrah for 2010. I have to say that I have been very blessed this year with wonderful work both in the illustration field and also the street painting. I know I have kind of slipped on the blogging lately, but am hoping to make a new fresh start of it in the new year! So with that, I hope everyone has a magnificent start to 2011 and look forward to what the new year has to offer!

Sarasota International Chalk Festival

2010-11-06T18:25:00.009-06:00

Art For After Hours Final Street Painting "Skullduggary"
by Artists Shawn McCann, Anthony Cappetto, and Michael Macaulay

Its hard to believe that it has been a week since I was enjoying the beautiful weather and friendly atmosphere of the Sarasota International Chalk Festival. Having been my first time to a major chalk festival, it was a bit overwhelming to have so many street painters all in one location. I wish I had had more time to visit and watch so many talented people work, but we had our own street painting to create and so was kept quite busy with our huge 20' x 45' street painting. With the help of fellow Art for After Hours street painters Anthony Cappetto and Michael Macaulay, we worked over the course of 4 days to create a halloween themed "skullduggery" that was both intense and delightful to the visitors. Along with our piece, there were a total of 2 other exhibition pieces (large group paintings) and over 250 individual pieces. The following images are just a taste of what so many talended and amazing artists brought to the streets of Sarasota, Florida! Also there is special thanks that must be given to Denise Kowal for all of her hard work and dedication to make this years chalk festival such a huge success!

Tracy Lee Stum hard at work!

Edgar Muller working on his piece

Anthony, Michael, Shawn, and Rod from Art for After Hours

"The Sick Bug Goes to School" and Sarasota Chalk Festival

2010-10-26T12:16:00.005-06:00

It's hard to believe that fall is in full swing already, but that is good news for a lot of fun things going on in the studio and beyond. The first bit of news that I am happy to share is the soon to be release of my newest children's book titled "The Sick Bug Goes to School". The second book in the series, "The Sick Bug Goes to School" deals with the things kids face when going to school and illness. As this little snippet shares, I think you will quite enjoy the second book from Susie and I.

The Sick Bug returns in this outrageously silly sequel to the award winning children's tale "The Sick Bug". In the charming follow-up, the Sick Bug has his sights set on an elementary school classroom where he and his bug friends take advantage of some ideal germ-spreading opportunities! It will take one observant student and his clever teacher to help the other children foil the Sick Bug's plans to spread! Combining engaging dialogue and eye-popping illustrations with everyday classroom-appropriate hygiene lessons, "The Sick Bug Goes To School" is destined to be another hit in schools and at home!

The book itself is to be out by next week (first of November) and we are looking forward to the release party which is happening on Wednesday November 17th at Mama's Happy in Mound. Here is the full info

"The Sick Bug Goes to School" release party
Wednesday November 17, 2010
6-9pm
Mama's Happy
2217 Commerce Blvd
Mound, MN 55364
www.mamashappyonline.com

Secondly, if you happen to be in the Sarasota area in Florida over the next week, be sure to come by the first international street painting event in the US! The Sarasota Chalk Festival is going to be a blast and I am so excited to be one of the featured artist working together with Anthony and Michael to create a huge 20' x 40' street painting! Pictures will definitely be posted as the work is being done! For more information go to Sarasota Chalk Festival website

Thanks and hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!!!

Illustration Friday: "Transportation"

2010-10-10T07:15:00.004-06:00

Sometimes we run a little late for our transportation to school! As for this illustration, it is from my forthcoming childrens' book titled "Gregory's Paper Airplane"

Illustration Friday "Beneath"

2010-10-01T19:54:00.005-06:00

This is an illustration from my book titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle". This image is of Staarabu down beneath the ground with his brothers and sisters!

********Profits from the sale of "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle" will be dedicated to a homeless shelter in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Simpson Housing Services.

Minnesota SCBWI Conference

2010-09-19T18:50:00.002-06:00

Image by Sharon Wagner

For those of you who have not signed up yet for this falls Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustators, the time is running low as the event is in a mere two weeks time! I know it is a little bit of money to attend, but it is totally worth the investment to be around such like minded and career valuable information. If you are interested in attending, the information on the conference is below. Also you can click here to get the information and registration form from the MNSCBWI website.

Conference Fees
Register postmarked by September 17:
$125 SCBWI members, $125 nonmembers
Register postmarked after September 17:
$150 SCBWI members, $175 nonmembers
Students (I.D. required at check-in): $50

Keynote Speakers
Jay Asher has lived most of his entire life either in Los Angeles county or on California’s central coast. He’s worked at an independent bookstore, a chain bookstore, an outlet bookstore, and two public libraries. But before that he worked at a shoe store, a trophy shop, and an airline. His very first writing award earned him a free fruit smoothie every day for an entire year. Mmmmm.... He is the author of Thirteen Reasons Why, a New York Times best-selling young-adult novel.

Susan Marie Swanson is a poet and picture book author fascinated by the place where her understandings about poetry, children’s own writing, the lives of children, and children’s literature converge. Her awards include fellowships in poetry from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board, as well as the McKnight Artist Fellowship in Children’s Literature. Her book, The House in the Night received the 2009 Caldecott Medal.

Scheduled Speakers
• Jay Asher, Author
• Heather Alexander, Editor
• Kristin Ostby, Editor
• Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, Agent
• Susan Marie Swanson, Author
• Anne Ursu, Author
• Jordan Brown, Editor

Street Painting shots!

2010-09-19T18:44:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't been the most keen on keeping up with the blogs lately, but hopefully will keep them up to date a little bit better upcoming. So, if you have been wondering what has been going on lately, here is a sneek peek of some of the past events that I have been fortunate to be apart of! The first image is from the 3D Street painting I did at Deluxe Corporation in late July. It was for their Social Media event and was a blast! The other two images are from the 3D street painting I did at Bismarck's Capital A'Fair in August. The weather was hot, but everyone there made it another wonderful event! Hope you like the shots!

Projects Galore!

2010-07-18T18:49:00.005-06:00

Well to say that my posts have been a little sparse lately, would be an understatement. The good news is it is not due to a lack of interest, but rather a lack of time to do so. The month of July has definitely been one that seems to be disappearing faster than I am typing this message. The good news is that many wonderful things are going on and couldn't be happier with the direction everything is going.

So lets start off with the street painting. It has been the best summer by far for my street painting ever since I got hooked up with Art for After Hours out in NY. They have really been able to provide some really exciting street painting opportunities. If you were not able to check out my posts on Facebook and Twitter about the Taste of Minnesota street painting that I worked on over the July 4th weekend, I have posted a few pictures here. Along with this project, I am anxious for a the number of upcoming street paintings that will be here before I know it!

In other studio news, I am continuing to work on a couple of childrens books and am hoping to finish those by the end of next month. Can't wait to show you the results!

And to finish off this post, I have to mention the great time I had at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Bike Night last Thursday night. The weather was fantastic and it was so much fun seeing how much everyone enjoyed the 2 huge 8 ft by 9ft bike backdrops that I created just for the night! There are a couple of pics of the finished pieces at the front of the post, but the best images are from the Flickr site that the MIA has for the event. You can check them out here

Thanks and look forward to sharing some more pics with you soon of the upcoming street paintings and childrens books

Taste of Minnesota Street Painting kicks off

2010-07-02T05:39:00.000-06:00

Hard to believe that the 4th of July weekend is upon us already. However, with it being here means one thing, the 4 day street painting at the Taste of MN is here as well. Over the course of July 2-5, I will be creating a 3D street painting down by the river at the festival. If you happen to come down, stop by the north end along the river right next to where you get the paddleboat tickets! It is going to be a blast and am hoping for wonderful weather!

For more info on the Taste of MN, check out there site here

My new children's book is out!!!!

2010-06-16T19:28:00.005-06:00

After a long wait, I am happy to share the news that my new children's book I illustrated titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle" is now out on the market!!!! The official release was last Friday the 11th, but didn't get a chance to post about it until now. The book was a blast to work on and am very excited to see the book in person tomorrow to see how the illustrations came thru in the printing. If you are interested in picking up a copy, you can get it here.

Here is a little blurb about the book:

Staarabu Was Wise, Anana Was Gentle is beautifully illustrated and cleverly written in verse. It tells the story of two young animals on the African plain. Their families are facing homelessness due to a life threatening drought and they decide to solve the problem. Although they are inexperienced and afraid, they find the courage and display the creativity necessary to restore water to their homes. In the process, Staarabu and Anana experience an exciting journey; one that leaves them much more confident in themselves.

Free childrens book event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts tomorrow

2010-06-12T21:06:00.003-06:00

Needing something to do tomorrow (Sunday?). Come on over to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for the free family day "Cover to Cover". This fun day of activities will focus on the art of bookmaking and will be a blast for sure. The museum is open from 11-5 and there will be fun around every corner.

And if that is not reason enough to come over, then swing by the reception hall from 11-4:30 at the MIA to catch my free childrens book class for kids "Art making: book illustration". We will be creating our own little foldable books that you can take home and enjoy! There is no age limit and you can spend as little or as much time as you have to create your own little masterpiece!

Hope to see you there!!!! Details below

"Cover to Cover" Family Day

Sunday June 13, 2010

11-5 pm

Minneapolis Institute of Arts

2400 3rd Ave South

Minneaplis, MN 55404

612-870-3000

www.artsmia.org

Event detail click here

A great time in South Carolina and a book soon to release!

2010-05-16T21:17:00.007-06:00

Sorry for my absence on the posts lately, but things have been very busy lately between the children's books and the street painting. Fortunately, I am back in the studio for a little while so I should be able to catch up on things now, ie, blog posts! So, the first fun little tidbit that I will share with you is the great time I had at Artisphere International Arts Festival in Greenville, South Carolina last weekend. It was such an amazing experience and the people couldn't have been nicer down there. Blog now did a post about it that you can check out as well by clicking here. As you can see by the pictures below, it was such a hard time being in such a beautiful location right down there by the river. Hearing the rushing water and the ducks and geese really made for a difficult working experience :) Now if I could just move my studio down there, things would be great!

The other image that you can see above is the cover of my forth coming childrens book titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle". I am really looking forward to the release of this book and should start seeing it in stores within the next month I believe! Until next time, hope you all have a great start to your weeks!

Koi Pond street painting at Minneapolis Institute of Arts

2010-04-30T19:52:00.007-06:00

Well another Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts has come and as you can tell by the pictures attached, I was asked to create another street painting for their Preview party fundraiser. What a gorgeous day it was on Wednesday to create the Koi pond that you find below. Thru the course of 8 hours, the concrete slowly changed from the boring grey that we are all accustomed to to a fun and engaging image. The street painting itself was 10 feet wide by 13 feet long so was definitely a chore to get all prepared for the big night! But it was worth every moment to see the reaction of all that came by. Even MIA employee had a great time scouting for the koi! Special thanks to Charles and Amanda of the MIA's Visual Resources department for a number of these photos!!!!! For more information on how to get your own street painting created, head on over to Art for After Hours website and give em a call!

Pics from the LA Times Book festival

2010-04-27T19:21:00.005-06:00

After an amazing trip out to LA for the LA Times Festival of Books this past weekend, how can one describe such a wonderful time. Not only was the weather beautiful, but the size and scope of the festival was breathtaking. Over the course of two days there was over 150,000 people on the campus of UCLA for the love of books! From all regions and avenues of books, one could delve into and meet some pretty amazing people. As a children's book illustrator, being invited in the first place was a huge honor and was a little intimidating with other children's book presenters such as Henry Winkler (The Fonz), Carl Reiner, Jarrett Krosoczka, Petter Yarrow, and John Carter Cash. But what an honor it was to be there! As you can see from the pics below, Susie and I had a great time and hope you like the pics. I think they best describe how it went and what the event was like.

Let the fun begin

2010-04-22T18:22:00.004-06:00

After much waiting, the LA Times Festival of Books has finally arrived. With the last few items being packed at the moment, I am looking forward to my short three day trip to LA for this wonderful event. It is such an honor to be asked to appear at the festival and am anxious to meet many wonderful presenters and the all the people that will be coming out for the two day event. If you happen to be in the LA area, here is the link for the festival and my stage time will be at: For more info click here

Target Childrens Stage

11:15 AM followed by an hour long signing

LA Times Festival of Books

Sat April 24 and Sunday April 25

405 Hilgard Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90025

In other news, I will be creating a 3D street painting next Wednesday April 28 at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for Art in Bloom . If you are near the museum, swing on by and say hi. I will be there all day from 8-5. I will be doing another post for this so no worries if you need more info. You can go here if you can't wait till then! So with that, hope all of your weekends go great and will be back in a few days with some pics of the events!

Illustration Friday: "Linked"

2010-04-10T09:35:00.004-06:00

Linked to family. This illustration is from my forthcoming book titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle"

CBIG opening tomorrow night

2010-04-07T20:10:00.005-06:00

My new illustration "All Hands Hoay!" for the CBIG exhibit at MCBA

If you happen to be in the downtown Minneapolis area tomorrow night, stop on down to the Minnesota Center for Book Arts and check out the new gallery exhibition from the Minnesota Children's Book Illustrators Guild (CBIG). The show "Exploration and Creativity" opens tomorrow April 8 and runs thru June 20, 2010. There is also a reception tomorrow for the opening from 6-8pm and is free for all to attend. Here is a little info about the show and CBIG

"Exploration and Creativity: An exhibition from the Minnesota Children's Book Illustrators Guild"

When: April 8 - June 20, 2010

Where: Minnesota Center for Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55415
612-215-2520

Opening Reception: Thursday April 8 6-8pm

Members exhibiting:

Barb Bjornson, Sara Weingartner, Franklin Haws, Alicia Schwab, MaryBeth Hinrichs, Chris Dyrud, Sharon Wagner, James Powell, Shawn McCann,Beth Wilson, Christina Rodriguez, Lorrie Gibson, Nina Crittenden, Vicki Deutsch, Linnell Esler, Tessie Bundick, Eileen Matro, Dawn Schreiber, and Anne Adix Fabie

For more info, click here

Foley Elementary

2010-03-28T18:05:00.004-06:00

Another great school visit in the books! On Friday of last week, Susie Bazil and I were fortunate enough to visit the 2nd graders from Foley Elementary. We were there to share The Sick Bug!!!!!!! We started the sessions with the 2nd graders off with some show and tell, some sketching and then went into full scale sick bug production. Using nothing but newspaper and colored vet wrap, the kids created some amazing 3d Sick bugs! The truly took the project to heart and left quite a mess for the media center afterwords. But all together, it was an amazing visit and look forward to bringing the new book "The Sick Bug Goes to School" back to Foley next year! Check out these amazing sick bugs that the kids created!

School visit and upcoming CBIG exhibit

2010-03-25T19:50:00.003-06:00

After a few weeks of not posting, I am back! Hard to believe how fast the month of March has gone by, but with the summer looming ever closer, i am not going to complain. Hopefully April will slow down a bit as there is much to be done. Between the two books The Sick Bug Goes to School and Gregory's Paper Airplane that I am currently working on, there is the upcoming CBIG exhibit at Minnesota Center for Book Arts, the LA Times Festival of Books, and some fun streetpaintings that will kick off with Art in Bloom at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

To kick off the next three months of craziness, there will be a school visit tomorrow to Foley Elementary in Central Minnesota. Susie and I are looking forward to visiting with the kids and helping them create their very own sick bug sculptures. With the second edition of The Sick Bug book series titled The Sick Bug goes to School, I am thinking that the upcoming school year might be a busy one with visits to the schools. So, I will be sure to post about the visit to Foley in another note when we get back! Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend and keep Thursday April 8 in your memory bank, as that will be the opening reception for the CBIG exhibit at MCBA. I will do a separate post about that soon!

Exciting news......

2010-03-08T20:32:00.005-06:00

It is with great pleasure that I announce an amazing new adventure that I will be partaking in with my street painting. As many of you know, I have been increasingly producing street paintings for the last couple of years and have come to love the thrill that comes from creating such ephemeral pieces of art. To be able to create these rather large street paintings in front of an ever changing audience has created a thrill that I can not shake!

It has been hard the last month or so not to post about it, but am happy to say that I will be joining Art for After Hour's as one of their professional Madonnari (street painting artist). Having the opportunity to learn and work with some of the industry's best Madonnari will be a joy to say the least. Not only will it be great to work with these artists, but also the diverse clientele and locations that come from this wonderful avenue of art. Many thanks to Art for After Hours President Anthony Cappetto and Marketing Director Wendy Stum for bringing me on board. I look forward to the fun that is to come! To check out Art for After Hours visit their website or you can directly link to my artists page.

So to leave you with a few images, here are some of my previous street paintings.

Burnsville Jazz Festival 2009

Minneapolis Institute of Arts 2008

Minneapolis Institute of Arts 2009

Upcoming MN Children's Book Events

2010-02-27T17:42:00.002-06:00

This was such a great post by my fellow children's book illustrator Christina Rodriguez, that i had to repost it here!

Attention children’s book and YA writers, illustrators, librarians, readers and enthusiasts: you’re in luck if you live in or near the Twin Cities! You wouldn’t believe how many awesome events are coming up this year for folks like us. There is at least one children’s literature event nearly every month from now until October! I’m very proud of my state for being so supportive of its talent!

Mark your calendars:

Saturday	February 17	8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference
Saturday	March 13	9 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Children’s Literature Network Publicity Workshop
Saturday	April 17	10 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Minnesota SCBWI Spring Workshop
Saturday	April 17	6:30pm – 9pm	Minnesota Book Awards Gala
Saturday	April 24	12 p.m. – 3 p.m.	Kerlan Award Luncheon and Lecture
Sat.-Sun.	May 1-2		The Loft’s Children’s and YA Literature Conference
Saturday	May 15	Details TBA	Minnesota SCBWI Spring Fling
Fri. – Sat.	May 21-22		Children’s Literature Network School Presentations Workshop
Saturday	June 12	10 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Minnesota SCBWI Summer Workshop
Mon.-Tues.	June 21-22		St. Cloud Children’s Literature Workshop
Saturday	July 10	10 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Minnesota SCBWI Summer Field Trip
Saturday	Sept. 11	12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.	Anderson Center’s Celebration of Children’s Literature
Thurs. – Sun.	Sept. 30 – Oct. 3		Northwoods Children’s Book Conference and Writer Retreat
Not included (because we’ve not “officially” set our date yet): The Minnesota SCBWI Annual Conference. This will take place sometime in September or October.

Please note that all of this information is subject to change. Be sure to check out each event’s page often for the most accurate updates.

Sun Path Elementary School Visit

2010-02-11T21:45:00.003-06:00

One of the great joys of being a children's book illustrator is when you get to go and visit schools. There is nothing like the excitement that the kids can bring and bringing back memories of my own school days. Well, last Thursday I had a great time when visiting the kids at Sun Path Elementary in Shakopee. The energy and excitement they had for "The Sick Bug" was by far the best Susie and I have seen. Not only did they create their own sick bugs, but they decorated the entire media center just for our visit! How awesome was that!!!! Thru the course of the day we were able to visit with over 500 kids from K-3 and couldn't have had a better time. Thanks to Bob for the memorable visit! To show you what we encountered when we arrived, here are a few images of the amazing works of art the kids did. Hope you enjoy.

Minnesota SCBWI 2010 Winter Workshop

2010-02-06T11:56:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Christina for the post!

Do you think you’re ready to start submitting your manuscript or artwork to publishers? Learn how to put your best foot forward at The Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ Winter Workshop: How To Stand Out: Preparing A Manuscript Or Portfolio For Submission.

Listen as award-winning author John Coy talks about the steps involved before submitting a story to a publisher and ways to stand out when you do. Learn from illustrator and designer Marieka Heinlen as she shares tips from her experience as a creative director to create eye-catching art samples, effective personal branding, and a strong portfolio.

Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their manuscript or art samples and portfolio for critique. This is a great opportunity for all writers and illustrators to get fresh feedback on their work before submitting to publishers.

Date: Saturday, February 13, 2010
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Place: Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Cost: $25 members / $35 non-members

Registration will be at the door and light refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there!

Illustration Friday: "Muddy"

2010-02-05T21:43:00.002-06:00

Owl sits on a branch covered in dirt. Made for quite the muddy situation!

Illustration Friday: "Focused"

2010-01-31T11:02:00.003-06:00

This is an illustration I did from a book titled "The Path to Forgiveness". Trying not to stay focused on the past will lead you to the a happier place!

So you want to be an illustrator?

2010-01-26T20:42:00.003-06:00

So you think you want to be an illustrator? Well, look what my world has turned into! I know, it looks bad, but this is actually a good thing(those little chunks of paper are what I use as a collage and texture base for my illustrations). I know I haven't been too attentive to the blog, but please be patient as I get a few things done so that I can get back to the blogging on a more consistant basis.

So you may be wondering what I have been up to lately, well I will tell ya. Currently I am in the midst of finishing two books up that will be off to the design stage in the next week or two. I am also excited to be starting "Sick Bug 2" which will be a really fun project to work on. I just got the final manuscript on Friday and am hoping to get started with that book by next week.

Also, if you haven't seen the note in the post below, there is an exhibit of children's book illustrators from the Minnesota Children's Book Illustrators Guild at University of St. Thomas. I have two illustrations in the show and there are many other great illustrations from friends such as Nina Crittenden, Christina Rodriguez, Betsy Leplatt, Sharon Wagnor, Linnell Esler and more! So if you happen to be in St. Paul before the end of Feb, stop by and check it out.

Well, that is about it for now. Back to work here and will hopefully start posting some more fun images in the next couple of days!

"Minnesota Made" at University of St. Thomas

2010-01-06T19:46:00.004-06:00

Happy 2010 everyone. Hard to believe it has been almost a month since my last post, but am hoping to get back on track with some new and fun posts upcoming. With that, I wanted to announce an exhibit that will be opening up in the next couple of weeks that i will have two illustrations in.

"Minnesota Made : Through the Eyes of the Children's Book Illustrators Guild of Minnesota" will be opening up on January 22, 2010 at the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Lobby Gallery at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. An artist reception will be held on January 24 from 2-4pm. I look forward to seeing you there! Here is all of the information for the show!

"Minnesota Made"

O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Lobby Gallery

University of St. Thomas

2115 Summit Ave

St. Paul, MN 55105

651-962-5560

www.stthomas.edu/arthistory/exhibitions

Another illustration from "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle"

2009-12-08T20:16:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post tonight as it is another working night in the studio. This is another image from my upcoming book titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle". Also am working on a list of books that have been done by members of The Children's Book Illustrators Guild (CBIG). I am hoping to have that done in the next couple of days and will be doing a post about it. Stay tuned.

A sneek peak at my new childrens book

2009-11-30T21:12:00.004-06:00

Well it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone, but the one thing I know is it is great to have a reason to be thankful. Without all of the wonderful friends, colleagues, and family, I know I wouldn't be where I am today. So a special thank you to all that I have come to know and will continue to enjoy being around for many years to come! So enough of the mush, and time to give a little sneak peak at a new book that I have been working on the last few months. The title of this book is "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle" written by Daniel Haugen. I have had so much fun with this project and can't wait to show you more. But until then, here is an image from the book. PS, Staarabu is the mouse. Hope you like!

Illustration Friday: "music"

2009-11-20T20:26:00.002-06:00

Thought this would be a fitting piece for this weeks topic of "music"

My upcoming book signings at Barnes and Nobles

2009-11-19T20:45:00.006-06:00

With the holidays here, there is nothing better to give as a gift than a personally signed children's book for your little ones or others you may know. To that note, here are some upcoming book signings that I will doing and where you can come and visit and say hi! If you can not make the events but would still like to get your personalized signed book, just drop me a line and I will be sure to get them to you.

Saturday Nov. 21, 2009

Barnes and Noble Minnetonka

10:00 am

13131 Ridgedale Drive

Minnetonka, MN 55305

Saturday Dec. 5, 2009

Barnes and Noble Fargo

3:30 - 5:30pm

event details here

1201 42 St SW

Fargo, ND 58103

Sunday Dec. 6, 2009

Barnes and Noble Apple Valley

1:00pm

14880 Florence Trail

Apple Valley, MN 55124

Thursday Dec. 10, 2009

Barnes and Noble Minnetonka

Time: 4-8pm

13131 Ridgedale Drive

Minnetonka, MN 55305

Book Launch Party Thursday!

2009-11-11T20:51:00.008-06:00

Happy Wednesday everyone. It is with exciting news that I bring this post of a book launch Party tomorrow night (Thursday) in Apple Valley. Michele Deville is hosting a launch party for our new book "The Path to Forgiveness" at Enjoy! Restaurant in Apple Valley from 5-8pm. We would love to see you there!

"The Path to Forgiveness" book launch party 5-8pm

Enjoy! Restaurant

15435 Founders Lane

Apple Valley, MN 55124

click here for map

Are you a Twitterer?

2009-11-03T19:46:00.005-06:00

If you haven't noticed already, the different social media options out there are being used by many members of the Children's Book Illustrators Guild. As a member myself, I have found it to be a very valuable tool to keep up with everyone in the group whether it be via Facebook, blogs, or by twitter. Since most of you are already familiar with the facebook and blog accounts of CBIG, I thought I would let you know about some of our members Twitter pages. If you happen to be a member and find yourself not listed, let me know and I will be sure to add you to the list!

@NVCrittenden (Nina Crittenden)

@carrie_hartman (Carrie Hartman)

@Mixologist (Christina Rodriguez)

@CERodriguez (Christina Rodriguez)

@studiomccann (Shawn McCann)

@Schwab_Alicia (Alicia Schwab)

1 month to go

2009-10-26T20:35:00.004-06:00

Well, it has come, the final month on the deadline for my newest childrens' book. I've got a lot of the color added in already on the illustrations and will be looking forward to finishing all the details soon. The book is titled "Staarabu was Wise, Anana was Gentle" and will be excited to share with you more about the book when I can. I know the book will be out in the spring, but not sure of the exact release date yet. Till then, here are a few sketches from the book. Hope you like

Illustration Friday: "Fast"

2009-10-23T21:02:00.003-06:00

UMN Kerlan Collection celebrating 60 years!

2009-10-21T20:02:00.005-06:00

One of the treasures that the University of Minnesota houses and we are fortunate to have in our backyard is the Kerlan Collection. Regarded as one of the worlds best children's literature research collections, the Kerlan offers a rare glimpse into the world of children's literature like none other. Whether it is a manuscript, drawings, original illustrations, or correspondence between editor and author, the Kerlan is a treasure trove of magic waiting to be discovered. Having visited the Kerlan a number of times, I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves children's literature or who wishes to learn more about it.

With that, I wanted to pass on the news that the Kerlan is celebrating their 6oth Anniversary with an exhibition that runs thru the end of Dec. Here is the info and hope to see you there! PS, if you click on the Elmer Anderson Library link, it will give you more visitor info.

60th Anniversary Exhibit

Elmer Anderson Library Gallery

University of Minnesota

222 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis

Dates: November 12, 2009 to December 31, 2009

Opening Reception w/special guest Leonard S. Marcus

November 6th 2pm

Great things brewing at CBIG MN

2009-10-14T20:48:00.003-06:00

Between the show in Red Wing at the Depot, and numerous books that have come out lately by members of CBIG MN, there is no better time to check out their blog than now. Having been a member now for a number of years, it has been great getting to know all of the wonderful artists behind some of your favorite books. So if you get a chance, swing over there by clicking here and leave a note to say hi. I know everyone would love to see you stop by !

Illustration Friday: "Flying"

2009-10-09T15:30:00.003-06:00

Don't you ever wish your bicycle could fly? This is an illustration about just that. Created for a poem titled "Two-Wheeler", this piece is called "Plane in the Sky Cycle"

"The Path to Forgiveness" on Reading Minnesota

2009-10-08T17:46:00.004-06:00

There are many great blogs out there dedicated to the art of books, but one that I recently came across was not only exciting for it's content, but the fact it was solely about books created by Minnesotans. Reading Minnesota features adult and children's books written by Minnesota authors and illustrators and celebrates Minnesota Bookstores, reviewers, publishers and libraries. This wonderful site is the work of Beth Solheim, who herself is an author of the Sadie Witt mystery series. Thanks go out to all of her hard work and dedication in bringing the many talented authors and artists that reside in the state to her blog! To learn more about Reading Minnesota, click here or you can visit Beth's website here.

With that, I am also thankful that Beth has chosen "The Path to Forgiveness" written by Michele Deville and illustrated by myself to be featured on the site. You can check out the post here

Illustration Friday: "Germs"

2009-10-02T21:45:00.005-06:00

click for larger image

In this Illustration, the sicknesses are brewing away in bugland! From the book I illustrated aptly titled "The Sick Bug".

"Walk for Thought" Street painting

2009-09-26T14:51:00.004-06:00

Well it was another successful day street painting today. Was a little worried that the weather was going to hold us out, but it turned out to be a perfect day of temp and sun! The event that I was chalking for was the Minnesota Brain Injury Associations annual "Walk for Thought". There were tons of great people around and the conversations were lively! Too bad the event had to end and all, but it was great seeing everyone, hearing their comments, and also getting to work with my coworker Mike McCann(who strangely enough isn't related). So with that I wanted to share some pics. The first one is of the finished 8' x 8' chalking. The theme of mine was achievement and how their are often many who help you achieve your goals in life.

And then this was I think the best part of the whole event. Seeing the kids have a blast with the individual chalk boards and then seeing them create a mosiac of images. I think they turned out great! A special thanks goes out to Lori Peterson of the Brain Injury Association for the invite to this wonderful and worthwhile event!

Illustration Friday: "Pattern"

2009-09-25T19:02:00.003-06:00

This is an illustration from one of my books titled "The Sick Bug". In it, Tess is constantly comforted by her favorite pajamas with the striped pattern!

"Walk for Thought" this Sat.

2009-09-23T20:30:00.008-06:00

Happy Wednesday evening. Sorry it has been a little sparse lately with posts, but things have been in crazy mode with three different book projects going on at the same time. Insane I know, but I like it that way! So with that, you may be wondering what I am doing in my free time :) Well I will tell ya. I am going to be doing a street painting this weekend for the Minnesota Brain Injury Associations "Walk for Thought" in como park on this coming Saturday the 26th. If you happen to be in the area on Sat. morning, stop down and check out the festivities. We will be going till about noon. Special thanks goes out to Lori Peterson who was kind enough to invite me down there for this very worthwhile event!

Event Info

"Walk for Thought"

Sat. Sept. 26, 2009

8am -12pm

Como Park

Also, I wanted to mention that you should check out the newly redesigned Children's Book Illustrators Guild blog. With the help of Nina Crittenden, we hope that the blog will become a great place to get updates with all that is going on with CBIG. Stay tuned for more information soon.

"The Path to Forgiveness" available to order!

2009-09-13T14:08:00.003-06:00

Happy Sunday everyone. Hope you have been able to get some good things done this weekend so far. I wanted to start this post off with the good news that "The Path to Forgiveness" is available for sale now and if you go and order it from the website link above, it will also get signed! Other places that the book will be available will be Barnes and Noble and Amazon to name a few. This book not only makes a great gift for friends and family, but for your own families as well. With that, many thanks goes out to Michele Deville for a great collaboration.

In other news, Susie and I had a great time yesterday with a day long book event at the "Jesse James Days" in Northfield. Having never been there, I was surprised at how huge of an event it was with events and activities all over the city. We had a great time there promoting "The Sick Bug" and many thanks to Northfield Urgent Care for asking us to come down for their sickness awareness area.

Illustration Friday: "Welcome"

2009-09-11T17:36:00.003-06:00

Seeing the outline of the cathedral in the distance was a welcoming site. I knew I was getting close to home

MNSCBWI Fall Conference

2009-09-08T19:42:00.004-06:00

Well it is hard to believe that September is into full swing already and the "Minnesota SCBWI" conference is this weekend. If you haven't signed up already, I would definitely urge you to. The conference is a great opportunity to meet fellow children's book writers and illustrators and also learn about the industry. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this year due to a book event in Northfield that day, but know that all my friends will be having a great time over there in St. Paul! Do check it out

Date: Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location: University of Minnesota Continuing Education Center, 1890 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108
Fee (Early Registration): $100 members, $125 non-members, $50 students

Illustration Friday: "Strong"

2009-09-05T09:16:00.005-06:00

Often times it is hard to forgive someone. You have to stay strong and let yourself be the better person. This is an illustration from my upcoming book titled "The Path to Forgiveness" written by Michele Deville. Only a little more than a week till it is out!

Illustration Friday: "Magnify"

2009-08-29T11:33:00.003-06:00

The sounds were magnified in the stillness of the night

Illustration titled "Blues before Sunrise"

Target Street Chalking

2009-08-26T16:04:00.004-06:00

Thought I would show you a pic of another street painting that I did recently. This one was for Target Corporation and was a 10 foot by 10 foot piece that was completed in a little less than 5 hours. Not too bad for the time! Hope you like

click image for a larger size version

Progress on "Reno the Palomino"

2009-08-24T20:49:00.003-06:00

Well I am back after not posting for a few days. Things have been pretty crazy around here with projects going on and a short trip back home to North Dakota to help paint my grandparents garage and front porch. It was great time seeing everyone and now am back in the studio working away. With three books being worked on and some chalk events coming up soon, things will surely be hectic. But that is a good thing. So with this short little post, I am going to leave you with a progress shot of an illustration from "Reno the Palomino"

Street Painting at Burnsville Jazz Festival

2009-08-15T18:27:00.003-06:00

Well another great day provided for a fun street painting at the Burnsville Jazz Festival. It was my first time at the festival and really had a wonderful time. Fortunately I was able to get the street painting completed before the rain set in. Unfortunately this piece is already gone. Oh well, that is what makes the whole process so worth while. The entertainment and the excitement of watching peoples reactions to the event and knowing that it is only temporary. The good news is that the festival director loved it and will be sure to return next year! Here are the pictures of the progress of the painting and also the finished piece.

Street Painting this weekend at the Burnsville Jazz Festival

2009-08-10T20:12:00.005-06:00

One of the many things I enjoy with art is when I get out of the studio and do some street chalk painting. This weekend will allow for that at the Burnsville Jazz Festival where I will be creating another chalk street painting. If you are in the area, stop by on Saturday from 12-7 and check out the progress of the piece. I will also have some chalk available for the kids to create some street art of their own! The festival details are below and hope to see you there

Burnsville Jazz Festival (Art and All That Jazz Festival)
Saturday August 15
Nicollet Commons Park
12550 Nicollet Ave So
Burnsville, MN 55337
952-201-3507

Schedule of performers

12-1:30 The Penguins
2-3:30 Steve Clark and the Working Stiffs
4-5:30 Davina and the Vagabonds
6-7:30 Brian Simpson
8-10 Mindi Abair

Reno

2009-08-08T07:19:00.003-06:00

Happy Saturday everyone. Looks like it is going to be a productive one today with all the rain out there. That's good though since there is much to do. One of the things that I am going to be working on today is cleaning up some of the images that I am working on for the book with Hoofbeats and Heartbeats. "Reno the Palomino" has been a great book to work on so far and visiting the horses out at the farm has been wonderful as well. Now to get the images cleaned up enough to start the actual illustrations. To give you a sneak peak at the project, here are a couple of sketches for your viewing. Wishing you all a fun and happy weekend!

Interesting article

2009-08-03T20:20:00.003-06:00

As a person who works in an art museum, I found this to be a very interesting article about what we truly are looking at when we visit a museum. "At the Louvre, Many Snap but Few Focus, and Mona LIsa Smiles On" from the New York Times.

A quick sketch

2009-07-26T12:39:00.002-06:00

Often times I am bound to work in the studio for many more hours than I would like, but when there is work to be done, you just have to get it done. When this happens and there is a shortage of "playtime", then often I will look over and find my studio mate just chillin and keeping an eye on my next move towards the door. So last night, I thought I would do a quick sketch of this relaxing and share it with you. The good thing is that she stayed there for a few minutes before realizing I was looking at her more than usual and went upstairs.

In studio news, there has been a number of great things happen lately with some new projects that are beginning and others that are going to be starting up soon. I look forward to sharing more information with you as it allows, but at least you know I won't be wandering around with too much time on my hands. Until then, best wishes for a fun rest of the weekend

"The Path to Forgiveness" is off to Press!

2009-07-19T20:37:00.011-06:00

Happy Sunday evening everyone. Saw some exciting news today that my newest book that I have illustrated is off to Press. It is scheduled to be released the end of next month and am excited to see it in print. You will have to check out the new site that Michele Deville, the author, has put together with the help of Scott Pete. I think it turned out great. You can see the site at "The Path to Forgiveness". Below are a few spreads from the book.

Free Drop in Drawing Class at the MIA Thursday

2009-07-15T20:50:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone. Another great "Third Thursday" is scheduled tomorrow at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from 6-9pm. One of the fun activities that will be happening is a class I will be teaching where you can create a Vintage Bike Poster! And the best thing is the class is FREE! The theme of the Third Thursday is "Tour de Force" and will have many great activities throughout the museum and some great giveaways as well. So stop by and visit my class, and enjoy some great art throughout the museum!

Sketches from Como Zoo trip

2009-07-12T14:51:00.005-06:00

Well another great Como Zoo sketch trip occurred yesterday. What beautiful weather we had and a great turnout of artists and an author as well. Thanks to everyone for a great time and am already looking forward to the next one! So with that, I have attached a number of my sketches I did yesterday. Hope you enjoy!

*To see larger images click on the pictures

Minnesota SCBWI Como Zoo trip

2009-07-06T17:56:00.004-06:00

Well here is a repost from "Christina Rodriguez" who is the illustration coordinator for "Minnesota SCBWI" It looks like it is going to be another great time at the Como Zoo for the annual Zoo Sketch. Here is the info and hope to see you there! I know I will be.

Date: Saturday, July 11, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, MN 55103
Registration: FREE (Voluntary donation to Como Park Zoo is $2)

Pack a lunch, your art or writing supplies, and some sunscreen! We’re going to spend the day gathering inspiration from the various creatures and activities that the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory has to offer. Sketch, paint, write a children’s poem, come up with a new character or story idea, or practice a creative technique….Go WILD with your imagination!

Meet at the Como Zoo Entrance at 10am. It is located at the Visitor Center. We will share our work and maybe even do some brainstorming when we break for lunch. This is a great chance to mingle with some of your fellow Minnesota SCBWI members!

For Como Park Zoo directions (including a map), visit the Como Park website. We hope to see you there!

Taking some time to study the greats

2009-06-29T18:52:00.003-06:00

Between work and the ever enticing summer weather, I have found myself doing more and more studying. I know that sounds a bit strange, but it has been a really relaxing and beneficial activity. In particular, I have been looking at a lot of 18th and 19th century drawings. After looking at many a line work, it is amazing to see each individuals expressiveness come through in the simple line. To see how that simple drawing becomes a complex dance between paper and pencil, is mind numbing sometimes. From predetermined paths to the erratic and unexpected. Drawings, though often overlooked, can become a wealth of information and inspiration.

With that, I will leave you with happy wishes for your July 4th celebrations. I will be enjoying my holiday out at the lake and hope you find some fun activities yourselves. See you after the 4th!

Art Soup Street Painting in Elk River

2009-06-21T21:28:00.000-06:00

Well, another successful street painting occurred this weekend in Elk River, Mn at the Annual Art Soup Festival. Since the festival happens on the banks of the Mississippi River, I thought it would only be fitting to create a street painting of one of the rivers paddle boats. Below you will find some of the shots and the finished images.

Twin Cities Live and Art Soup

2009-06-19T18:59:00.004-06:00

Hello everyone. Here's hoping all of you have a great weekend planned. I know it will be a busy one here with Art Soup tomorrow in Elk River. So as you know in the previous post, I was fortunate enough to have been featured on "Twin Cities Live" yesterday. It was definitely a great experience and really appreciated the hospitalityof both the producer Christian Unser and reporter Melissa Specken. Also a big thank you goes out to Allison Dent who helped set up the segment in conjunction with "Art Soup" this saturday in Elk River. So below are the results of the taping that went on yesterday. They are the two main segments that were on the program yesterday. Just click and enjoy! Below them are the two images that were created as well.

twincitieslive.com - Sidewalk Chalk

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twincitieslive.com - Sidewalk Art Results!

Shared via AddThis

This is the one that I created during the segment

Here is Melissa Specken and her "Henry"

A first for everything and a free drawing class

2009-06-17T21:26:00.006-06:00

Just when I thought I didn't have to get too nervous or anxious about what I do as an artist anymore, I got a call the beginning of the week to appear live on Channel 5's "Twin Cities Live". With a little bit of luck for nice weather, I will be appearing tomorrow at 3pm on the show. Scary I know! I usually do pretty good with groups and such, but that is because i have done similar things before that I knew what to expect. But with the show tomorrow, it will be an entirely new experience. If the weather holds out, it will be an interview in the studio sometime at the beginning of the show and then I am to go outside and do a quick 40 minute street painting that they will keep checking in on. It shouldn't be too bad, but what happens if I freeze when the cameras go live!!!!! Anyways, if you happen to be bored tomorrow around the 3-4 pm timeframe, feel free to check out the show and let me know what you think.

In other fun news, tomorrow night I will be teaching a free drop in drawing class at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts from 6-9pm. In conjunction with "Third Thursday", we will be having a night of free drawing. No need to worry about paper, pencils or anything, just come on down and visit the Wells Fargo room and say hi. We will also be having a couple of 30 minute excursions to draw in the galleries as well. Hope to see you there!

PS, this is a little study I did to see how large the boy on the high dive would be if I were to make it an 8' x 9' streetpainting or Rockwell's image. Even though I think this could be a great one to do, I think I have found a different one that I will be posting about when I am at the event on Saturday.

Decisions, decisions

2009-06-14T19:38:00.003-06:00

Coming up this Saturday the 20th, I am going to be creating a large street painting for the Art Soup festival in Elk River. After many many weeks of going back and forth about what to recreate for this event, I am still at the same stalemate that I was at before. At question is the image I am going to work on over the course of the 10 hours. Currently it is between Norman Rockwell's "High Dive" and a couple of other images. I have attached them for your viewing and would love to see what you think. The only thing I worry about with the Norman Rockwell image is its two color domination of blue and gray. Anyways, what do you guys think?

A new book has arrived!

2009-06-09T20:48:00.003-06:00

After many many months of hard work and then waiting, I am excited to share with you a new book that I illustrated titled "Come Sign with Us: The Adventures of Potts and Friends". Written by Marsha Peterson, "Come Sign with Us" is a teaching resource for young kids to learn the skill of sign language through stories. As Marsha states:

"My son was born with Down Syndrome and later diagnosed with Autism. He started special education services at 7 weeks of age. When he was a year old, his teacher told me that we may need to learn sign language. As a single parent, I had no time to attend classes and I didn't want to use videos. I started reading to my son and found it to be a wonderful experience. He would snuggle next to me and give me his full attention. I decided that teaching sign language through stories would be an excellent way to learn and to teach him. It also provides an activity that teaches others that care for him so they too can communicate. Today my son knows over a 1000 signs and behaviors are controlled without speaking a word. I hope you will love Talking with Baby."

Having worked with Marsha over the course of the last year, I have really come to respect and love what she is doing and I really hope that you will pass this great book onto people in your lives that may have difficulty communicating with their little ones or who simply want to teach their kids sign language. This first book is actually two stories in one. The first story deals with Breakfast time and the second story deals with Bath time, two of the most important aspects of your little ones day! So with that, I will leave you with a couple of images and hope that you will try Talking with Baby when the book launches on June 28th!

Illustration Friday: "Craving"

2009-06-05T16:48:00.003-06:00

This is an illustration from my upcoming children's book titled "Come Sign with Us" where baby is learning the signs for the activities surrounding breakfast. Here, baby definitely has a craving for some cereal!

Meet Reno

2009-05-31T18:07:00.003-06:00

Happy Sunday everyone. Hard to believe the weekend has come and gone already, but at least it was a relaxing one for a change. Yesterday I actually got a chance to finally clean up the studio and found a nice pair of scissors that I had misplaced a few months back. If only I had moved that pile of crap it was under weeks ago!

Another fun activity that I got to do this weekend was visit Hoofbeats and Heartbeats to get some reference material for the new children's book project i am working on. With that I wanted to introduce you to Reno, the soon to be star of the book. Linda was kind enough to bring Reno in from the back and got him all saddled up for some shots. Here are a few of him

The funniest thing of all though with the visit was all the other horses who were wondering what kind of mischief Reno was getting into(or what kind of treats he was getting more likely). They were all over the back fence area but as soon as Reno went inside they had to take turns looking in to see what he was doing. Nosy I tell ya! I know I am really going to enjoy this project and am going to be anxious to show you more updates as they come! Until then, you will just have to think of all the fun Reno could get into.

An end and a beginning

2009-05-27T20:06:00.004-06:00

Over the last couple of weeks, things here in the studio have been quite hectic. One on hand, I was finishing up with a book project, and on the other I was gearing up for another. The good news is that I am done with the one book and have sent the final scans to the designer. It is always such a great feeling to pass the illustrations on to the designer knowing that the final step of the book is near. And then off to the printer once they are done with it. Hopefully I will have some info soon about the final production date of when the book will be out, but it should be late summer/early fall some time.

So, with that out of the studio, I have a great new project that I am going to starting. The children's book that I will now be working on is going to be a fundraising venture for a wonderful non-profit named Hoofbeats and Heartbeats. They are a therapeutic riding and teaching center for individuals and kids with emotional and physical disabilities. Linda Lewis who runs the center is going to be great to work with and has an amazing dedication to not only her horses, but all who come to ride and learn. To get the project kicked off a little bit, I have attached some sketches for "Reno the Palomino". I look forward to sharing more info about this very important project!

Illustration Friday: "cracked"

2009-05-22T22:19:00.002-06:00

The door was left cracked a bit..... This is an illustration I did from the children's book titled "Catch the Wind"

Good news Friday

2009-05-15T11:12:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday everyone. Hope you have some fun plans for this beautiful weather we have been experiencing. I wanted to end the week on a little bit of good news. I just received word that "The Sick Bug" has just won its 4th award! How exciting it is. It was named a finalist in the Children's Picture Book category for the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award. One of the great benefits of winning this award is that now the book is going to be promoted at the Book Expo America show out in New York later this month!

In other news, I am down to the last few days on my current children's book and am excited to be getting so close to the end! I can't wait to see what the designer does from there and then of course the book coming out later this year! I will keep you posted when I have some more info on the release date. Until then, have a great weekend and will be back beginning of next week!

Illustration Friday: "Contagious #2"

2009-05-15T11:01:00.000-06:00

Isn't happiness Contagious. This is an illustration from my upcoming book "A Path to Forgiveness" to come out later this year!

Illustration Friday: "Contagious"

2009-05-15T11:00:00.000-06:00

Thought this was a fitting image. It is from a children's book I illustrated titled "The Sick Bug".

Recycling an old painting

2009-05-09T11:49:00.003-06:00

Often in my studio work, I will decide to do some painting and realize that I have many unfinished starts to paintings lying around. I know I should finish these pieces, but when it comes down to it, some of them I just won't ever get the excitement back into it. So what to do with these paintings that have started, yet never been realized. Well, today I re-energized one of the them and started a new painting right over the top! What better way to recycle and reuse than to paint over existing work! As you can see by these two images, the image has drastically changed from one of a landscape to a closeup of some of the flowering cacti that I came across a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why these cacti have kept my attention, but for some reason I have to paint them. So look for updates in the next few weeks as the progress on these continue. Now I just have to decide if it is going to be a chunky painting done with a palette knife or a work with brush. PS, the first image I had already started sketching a couple of lines when I decided to take the picture, so sorry I don't have an image of the old piece without any new lines over it.

Mo Willems on NPR

2009-05-06T15:28:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite author/illustrators out there in the land of children's books is the multi talented Mo Willems. You might recognize his name from a number of award winning series of books which include "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" and the Knuffle Bunny Series. Recently he did a wonderful interview for NPR dealing with "Getting Adults to Draw" and the reasoning behind why they don't anymore. It is really a wonderful listen and would suggest you check it out here. Also a fun link is to his website. Hope you enjoy and get back to doodling!

Art in Bloom Street Painting

2009-05-04T19:20:00.004-06:00

This years "Art in Bloom" at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts was a mix of beautiful spring weather and lots and lots of people. I had the joy of recreating Cy DeCosse's "White Lotus" for the Saturday festivities. Given the fact I only had a little more than three hours, I think the piece turned out rather well. This street painting measured 7' x 7'. Also, I have decided to start a blog with my street painting images. The reason behind it is to allow for a quick and easy way for people to check out the work that I have done at festivals and events more easily. Just for your sake, the post on there now is actually the same as here, but is fun to check out the new link anyways! I just started it so it only has a few posts, but I will be sure to get more of the images I have done over the years up on the blog soon. You can get there by clicking here

Some great news for "Catch the Wind"

2009-05-01T19:54:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday every one! What a Friday it was. One of the great things as an illustrator of books that happens every now and then is the recognition of a book that one has worked on. In the recent past, the news has usually focused around a great project I was involved with titled "The Sick Bug". Today's email that I received though was focused on another fun book I illustrated titled Catch the Wind which was a project by Mortenson Companies on Wind energy. To my surprise, "Catch the Wind" has won not one award, but three! You can imagine how excited I was and couldn't hold in the news much longer. The good thing here is I won't have to take up three separate blog posts to announce them, just this one. But there is a definite congrats that goes out to all involved in the book and a toast to boot! So here are the recent awards for "Catch the Wind"

1. A silver medal in the MIPA awards

2. A Silver Nautilus Award

3. And a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award

Thanks again to all of you who have helped support this great venture and hope that this is just the beginning of more news to come!

Art in Bloom 2009

2009-04-30T22:05:00.005-06:00

Spring has officially arrived here in Minnesota. It is that time of year for the annual "Art in Bloom" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. With 4 days to discover the beautiful art and floral arrangements that were inspired by the art itself, it is sure to be a great time. And if that isn't enough to get you to come down to the museum, I will be doing some chalk street painting all day Saturday. What better way to spend a Saturday? So come on down, say hi, and wander the galleries. It is sure to be a great time. With that, I will leave you with this Art in Bloom inspired sketch of my own. You never know what the floral arrangements might truly be inspired by!

As for the location of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, it is at:

2400 3rd Ave South
MInneapolis, MN 55404
"Click for Map"

illustration Friday: "Theater"

2009-04-24T20:13:00.004-06:00

This is an illustration I did for a memior called "On the other side of the Ocean". It is of opening night at the theater!