Ink and Tome Art.

 Hello friends! It's been about a year since I've updated the blog but I haven't slowed down on my art related projects a bit! I did take a big step back from social media last year in order to focus on the art for a book that will be coming out in the near future and to welcome our 8th child, born in January! A recent goal of mine has been to work on reviving my old @ink_and_tome IG account into something that is more up-to-date and reflecting my current work. It's kind of a challenge trying to resurrect a long dormant page over there, and the algorithms don't give you much help, but it has been fun slowly reconnecting with other authors and artists and building a nice portfolio of work back up.  One way that my newly active Instagram was helpful recently, was in spreading the word about a local event! I was able to participate in my first ever author fest and wow, what a time! A whirlwind of over 40 local authors, coffee, music, good eats and bookish merch, I only...

 I can hardly believe it, but it's true! My new book, my first ever Author/illustrator work is formatted, downloaded to kpd, and I've held the proof in my hands and poured over the finished pages! Now I finally get to reveal the cover! Publication day is June 10th,  2024! Pre-orders for the paperback was not an option I was given, unfortunately,  but I am releasing the kindle version for pre-order now.  I'm told if the ebook gets enough attention it will help Amazon's algorithm "see" my book and push the physical version out for more people to see. I've actually priced the ebook version as low as it would let me as a "thank you" to those who order before release day! I'm linking that HERE .

My current main project is a children's picture book that is set in the fall, and, while I plan on the release date being next year, I am relishing the chance to lean into creating the illustrations during these glorious October days. Of course,  being a mom, most of my painting is actually done at night, but the daily inspiration isn't nothing! 🍁😍🍁 My goal with this book is to self publish through print on demand, but I am going to try to hold myself to industry standards (such as page count) as much as possible.  I really want to be able to offer a beautiful, professional end product when I'm all done. Something that people would be proud to offer in a book store, or excited to share with their family.    I'm really motivated, but also a little overwhelmed by all the technical stuff. I don't really like computers,  gosh darn it! Sometimes I worry that in an age when so many artists work digitally that I'll be considered a dinosaur before I've even reall...

Sometimes you just need to pick up your pencil or your brush with no agenda and relax.  You never know what you'll end up with.                                      Cheers!  

Jack and Jane, written by my friend Bethany Wallace  and illustrated by me (!) is almost ready for publication!  If all goes according to plan it should be available as soon as next week. To say I'm excited might be an understatement.  Seeing this in book format looks amazing! I can't wait to have a copy to actually hold!       Concept art from working on cover ideas... It's a fun story about a little boy who is very happy in his country home, but feels a little lonely until he meets the most unlikely friends!         Details from the finished cover artwork. Things feel a little surreal right now. Will people like the pictures? I don't know, but Illustrating a book has been a lifelong dream and definitely a bucket list item, and now it's about to be real. Just that one thing makes this experience really special to me.  Making the art for this book changed my mindset about my work in a lot of ways and has taught me that I can actuall...

Mermaids are a subject I come back to on a regular basis. Someday I'd like to put them in a story -  but in the meantime, I populate my sketch books with watery sea maidens.    This was one I posted a few years back on my Instagram and she's still a favorite.  I was so happy with her hair and the pearls and just the general boiency of the drawing. I used metallic pens to highlight, too, but I feel they get a bit lost in the photograph.  Crayon over watercolor here. I have a lot of kids, so I've never fully had the opportunity to fall out of love with a good, old Crayola 🖍 😄. Ah, here's a flash back. I drew this one in 2014. I came across it in Google photos just the other day. I still like what I did with her legs and flippers and finger webbing, but I had a chuckle over my over use of  filters. It was my first tablet, and I had a lot of fun playing with effects over photos my art. These days I generally keep it original when I post.