"Enough" Finished

Here's the finished painting for "Enough." This time no ink, only watercolor and pencil. Thanks to everyone who left a comment on the post below, when this illustration was still halfway done.  I'm not 100% pleased with it, I have to say, but it's part of the learning process after all.
My family is visiting me from Brazil (Yeeyy!) so I haven't been able to participate in IF this week, but I hope to come back soon.
Thanks again!

Aqui está a pintura "Enough" terminada. Desta vez não usei nanquim, somente aquarela e lápis. Obrigada a todos que deixaram comentários no post abaixo, quando a ilustração ainda estava semi-pronta.  Tenho que admitir que não fiquei 100% satisfeita com o resultado, mas afinal faz parte do aprendizado.
Minha família está me visitando do Brasil (Oooobaaa!) então não tenho tido tempo de participar do IF nesta semana, mas espero voltar logo.
Mais uma vez, obrigada!

Illustration Friday | Enough

Well, my idea was to say one can never have enough books, but it seems I won't have enough time to finish this illustration on time. :-)
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy a look at the partially finished piece. I'm thinking of using just watercolor and pencil on this one, we'll see. I'll post the finished illustration once I get it done!

Bem, minha idéia era dizer que não é possível ter livros suficientes, mas parece que eu não vou ter tempo suficiente para terminar esta ilustração. :-)
Ainda assim, achei que gostariam de vê-la. Estou pensando em usar somente aquarela e lápis, vamos ver. Colocarei a ilustração final quando terminá-la!

Watercolor Wednesdays

Another post for the new Watercolor Wednesday blog. Stop by and see some of the other artists' lovely illustrations. This week's theme is: "This little piggy..."

Outra ilustração para o blogue Watercolor Wednesday. Visite e veja os lindos trabalhos dos outros artistas. O tema desta semana é: "Este porquinho..."

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

If you're a fan of picture books, I'm sure you've heard of Melissa Sweet, a very talented and prolific illustrator. Her style is very whimsical and fresh: bright and clean watercolors, pencil lines and collage, all mixed together to create wonderful images and stories. Her most recent book, "Tupelo rides the rails" is no exception -- a story of a brave, adorable stray in search of her forever home (by now you must have noticed that I have a thing for books about animals in general, and about dogs!)

A special website was created to promote the book and help support shelters and rescue causes. Click here and meet some the characters in the story, the Boneheads (Benevolent Order of Nature's Exalted Hounds Earnest And Doggedly Sublime.) You can be sure my dog Constance will be joining this pack!

Illustration Friday | Foggy

"Oops, sorry... It's hard to find beehives in the early morning fog. Please go back to sleep now."

Well, this was a different piece in the sense that I added more of a background and struggled a bit with the "fog" part. I ended up using white goauche, but I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions. How would you do it? Thanks for visiting and for your comments!

"Oh, mil desculpas... é difícil encontrar colméias de manhã cedo quando tem neblina. Por favor, pode voltar a dormir."

Bem, este foi um trabalho diferente: acrescentei um fundo na ilustração e tive um pouco de dificuldade na criação da neblina. Acabei usando goauche, mas estou interessada em receber sugestões de como resolver este problema. Como você faria? Obrigada pela visita e pelos comentários!

Award!

I was given one more award!  Alicia Padrón and Tracy have given me this wonderful award, for which I am truly honored.  A big thank you to you both for adding me to your lists!

The rules of accepting are as follows:

1) Put the logo on your blog

2) Add a link to the person(s) who awarded you.

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4) Add links to those blogs on yours.

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

Now, the hard part is always to choose other people to receive the award since so many of you do such wonderful, beautiful and creative work.  Some of you will have already received this award, but I couldn't resist nominating you again.  And if you're too busy, don't feel pressured to pass it along. But I just want to let you know how much I enjoy seeing your wonderful work:  Kelly Medina, Sheree Boyd, SketchedOut, Gina Perry, Zari, Eunice Rosado, Ginger Pixels, and Enigma.

Oops, that's 8, right? Well, there are so many other illustrators out there, deserving of every award that is hard to choose (and to stop!)  Check out their blogs and wonderful work!

Watercolor Wednesdays

I have just joined a new art blog called "Watercolor Wednesdays" and this was my first entry for our very first theme: "It was a dark and stormy night..." So I thought I would draw a little bunny trying to make his way home through a big storm (he makes it safe and sound, everyone!)

Faço parte de um novo blogue de arte chamado "Watercolor Wednesdays" e esta é a minha primeira contribuição para o nosso primeiro tema: "Era uma noite escura e tempestuosa..." Pensei então em desenhar um coelhinho tentando ir para casa durante uma grande tempestade (ele chega são e salvo!)

Picture Book Wednesdays

Some picture books have no text, only pictures. In wordless picture books, the story is told solely through images. Because of this, authors/illustrators of wordless picture books must be especially good not only at telling an interesting story but also at creating expressive, captivating characters capable of holding the reader's attention and fueling their imagination.

One of the best known and most successful author of wordless picture books is David Wiesner, whose most recent work "Flotsam" was the winner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal. I saw him speak about working on "Flotsam" at SCBWI's conference earlier this year and it was truly inspiring!

Here's another wordless book that I simply love: "A day, a dog" by Gabrielle Vincent was published in the U.S. in 1995 and it's still one of my all-time favorites. Telling the story of an abandoned dog using simple pencil drawings on a white background, this is a moving and ultimately uplifting story that stays with you long after you've read it.

Illustration Friday | Sour

Looks like someone is in a sour mood... I guess we all have had days like this.
Here's also the sketch for this very simple illustration, done quickly in pencil. I wish I could keep the carefree looseness of the sketch on the final piece, but that's not easy.


Alguém parece que está de mau humor... Acho que todos nós já tivemos dias assim. Coloco aqui também o desenho desta ilustração bem simples, feita rapidamente à lápis. Eu gostaria de preservar o traço bem solto e leve no trabalho final, mas não é fácil.

The importance of trees | Alicia's giveaway

Here's my entry for Alicia Padrón's giveway. The theme is the importance of trees in celebration of the publication of her wonderful book, "The wish trees." I did a blog entry for Illustration Friday some time ago for "Twist" which showed a little girl playing on a swing. It gave me the idea for this illustration: a tree as a place of play and rest, and also a home.

Aqui está a minha contribuição para a competição de Alicia Padrón. O tema é a importancia das árvores, para comemorar a publicação de seu novo livro, "The wish trees." Fiz uma ilustração para Illustration Friday com o tema "Torcer" que mostrava uma menininha brincando num balanço. Foi o que me deu a idéia desta ilustração: a árvore como um lugar de brincadeira e descanso, e também como um lar.

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

I'm going to start posting weekly recommendations of picture books that have made an impression on me. The fun part about working as a selector of children's materials is that I get to see some really wonderful stuff! But I'll also be mentioning some older books that I've added to my collection and that I really love. I've always loved picture books and children's literature in general, even prior to becoming a librarian.
Here's the pick of this week: "Maybe a bear ate it" by Robie H. Harris, and illustrated by Michael Emberley.

This is a lovely story with very simple text and loose and expressive illustrations -- a perfect combination of words and images. A little cat (in full-body stripped pajamas!) gets ready for bed by gathering his favorite stuffed animals and book. And then, in a moment of distraction, he realizes his book is missing! He proceeds to imagine all sorts of tragic scenarios regarding what might have happened to his book (all of the accounts include one of his stuffed toys, very clever...) After searching for a while he finds his beloved book and can finally go to sleep. Adorable! This book is funny and tender, perfect for storytelling or bedtime reading. Check it out! And coming up next week, suggestions of some neat wordless books.

Vou recomendar semanalmente livros infantis que eu gostei de ler. Uma das coisas divertidas de selecionar materiais infantis é a chance de ver muitos trabalhos maravilhosos. Mas também pretendo mencionar livros antigos que eu amo, e que acrescentei a minha biblioteca pessoal. Sempre gostei de livros e de literatura infantil, mesmo antes de me tornar bibliotecária.
Aqui está o livro escolhido desta semana: "Maybe a bear ate it" de Robie H. Harris, e ilustrado por Michael Emberley.

É uma estória adorável, com um texto simples e ilustrações bem soltas e expressivas -- uma combinação perfeita de palavras e imagens. Um gatinho (vestido de um pijama listrado de corpo inteiro!) prepara-se para dormir pegando seus animais de brinquedo e livro favoritos. Quando, num momento de distração, ele percebe que o livro desapareceu. Ele então imagina cenários trágicos do que poderia ter acontecido com seu livro (todos incluem um dos seus animais de brinquedo, muito bem feito...) Depois de procurar por algum tempo ele encontra o seu querido livro e pode finalmente ir dormir. Uma graça! Este livro é divertido e terno, perfeito para ler em grupo ou na hora de dormir. Procure-o! E na próxima semana. sugestões de alguns livros sem palavras bem interessantes.