This is a sneak peek at the cover and an interior piece for a new picture book I just finished for Harper Collins. I love working in that fast watercolor style. The ink line is with a ratty old brush that is very hard to control, and that makes some exciting results...

This is my new book published by Holiday House, "ONE TRACTOR" written by Alexandra Siy. My scanner bed is too small to fit my name on the bottom of the cover, but I really am the illustrator.
This book was so fun to work on, thanks to the freedom allowed me by my editor. A wild band of tiny pirates and a flying mouse join a little a little boy and his toys in this counting book.
Here is the cover, an interior page, and a detail of one of my favorite alter egos....

This is a watercolor....gotta get those goblins in wherever I can....

Here are three portraits of siblings I painted in oil. I just finsihed them last week.

I parked myself on some stone steps on a bend in the canal, charmed by the late afternoon light. The pigeons were curious observers. I took a photo of the spot too, and later, back home, I marveled at the difference between the photo and the painting. Because I had sat there for an hour plus and studied what was in front of me...the texture of the bricks on the left, the glassy play of the water and the reflections, the cascade of the greens on the right coated on top with hot sun. I could go on and on, my point being that the slow and careful study of a scene while painting leaves a long lasting memory, far better than the snap of a photo.

On a recent, fabulous trip to Italy with my Dad and his wife, I pulled out the traveling watercolor set, and tried to capture a very busy scene while sitting on a really uncomfortable window sill...

Gotta make an entry!!! Last day in August! So, this is a sample I did for a very young board book I am working on right now. It was one of those ideas that arrives in the middle of the night, to use an opaque paint on a dark paper, and let the space between the color be the line work. I really like the possibilities with this, and can't wait to use it on a project.

Almost to Canada, Glacier Nat'l Park is a spectacular place. Great camping and hiking. I did get a ticket for leaving my cooler out on the picnic table while we went for a hike....that is big bear territory. Didn't see any, but while on a hike, I saw a path that looked like a steam roller came through. Flattened and broken bushes and plants! Whatever it was...it was BIG...

Same trip, traveling north we stayed with dear friends in Montana, at the south end of Flathead Lake. That was some kinda COLD water.

This was a fabulous trip 2 summers ago with my girls. We rented a car in Salt Lake City, and meandered our way up the Rockies....

Another watercolor from that same day...

This lovely day in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I hiked with my dog and camped at a nearby family campground. I would paint with watercolors on the trail and then head back to the campsite and paint them in oil. It is a real drag to carry a wet oil painting around with you while you are hiking...