Father's Day | Dia dos Pais

This week's prompt for Watercolor Wednesday is "Father's Day." So I decided to bring this little fellow back for the celebration.

Esta semana o tema para o blog Watercolor Wednesday é "Dia dos Pais." Decidi então trazer de volta este amiguinho para a comemoração.

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

From France comes a delightful series of books written by Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vigno and illustrated by Olivier Tallec. The first two books have been published in the U.S. by Chronicle Books with more to come. Yipeee!

It's Rita's birthday, but she's not happy. None of her presents seem right (too big, too small, too medium) until one of them starts to jiggle and bounce off the floor. Out comes a charming little dog, with as much personality as our little heroine. They are bound to become great friends!

The illustrations are deceptively simple, but absolutely adorable and engaging. Pencil lines and just a bit of orange against a white background, and they're off!

Learn more about them in this nifty video and look for the books at your local library and bookstore!

Illustration Friday | Unfold

And where exactly ARE the folds, you might ask? Look closely at the long scarf! :-)
I did the sketch for this little illustration a while back, as an idea for a Christmas card. I came across it the other day and finally finished it for this week's theme. The colors didn't translate very well, though -- sometimes I have a really hard time with my scanner. It's hit or miss!

Last weekend I attended the Illustrator's Day 2009 Conference, sponsored by the SCBWI-PA. It was a great experience, and I got to meet Carli Moua in person! I met a lot of really good illustrators with different styles and techniques, and got some good feedback on my work. I'm planning on attending more of these events this year, they are a great way to learn and network.

Mid-America Bully Breed Rescue

The Mid-America Bully Breed Rescue is having a Boarding Donation Drive.

Stacey Hsu, the gifted artist from Three Red Trees is participating by donating 100% of all June profits from her Etsy store to help with this fundraising effort. This is a wonderful opportunity to get some beautiful and original artwork from Stacey and help with a very worthy cause.

You can also donate directly by clicking on the widget at the top right. Every amount helps and goes 100% to the dogs!

Thanks, everyone!

Zime's Giveaway and Etsy store!

The multitalented Zime has opened an Etsy store, Mininas, filled with the most adorable art miniatures.  And to celebrate the grand opening, she's having a lovely giveaway.  Visit her blog to learn the details and participate! 

A multi-talentosa Zime abriu sua loja na Etsy, Mininas, cheia de objetos arte em miniatura muito charmosos.  E para celebrar, ela está tendo um grande sorteio.  Visite o seu blog para aprender mais e participar!

No time! | Sem tempo!

I haven't been posting lately -- I've been busy at work and I've been preparing for Illustrator's Day 2009, sponsored by the SCBWI-PA in Philadelphia. I registered late for this event, then took my (wonderful!) two weeks vacation in Brazil in May, and now I'm trying to get the assignments done. This illo is one of them, for the nursery rhyme "Good night, sleep tight."

Not sure if this happens to you, but whenever I work on an illustration for a long time, I start having issues with it. It's a bit annoying! :-)

Ultimamente não tenho tido tempo de postar -- tenho estado ocupada no trabalho e me preparando para Illustrator's Day 2009, uma workshop patrocinada pela SCBWI-PA na Filadélfia. Eu me matriculei tarde para este evento, aí tirei duas semanas (maravilhosas!) de férias no Brasil em maio, e agora estou tentando terminar os deveres. Esta ilustração é um deles, para a rima "Good night, sleep tight.'

Não sei se isso acontece com vocês, mas sempre que trabalho numa ilustração por um tempo longo eu começo a ter problemas com ela. Isso é um pouco irritante! :-)