Illustration Friday | Winter

This illustration was an assignment I did for a children's book illustration class I took a few years ago -- a black and white spread illustrating a poem.  We had several poems to choose from, but this one by Oliver Herford (1863-1935) was my favorite.  As some of you already know, I don't enjoy winter.  The short days and cold weather are hard to take for a Brazilian like me.  But this poem is so simple and so full of hope, I fell in love with it.  Click on the image to enlarge it.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Este trabalho foi feito há alguns anos atrás para uma aula de ilustração infantil -- ilustrar em preto e branco um poema em duas páginas.  Haviam vários poemas para serem escolhidos, mas este escrito por Oliver Herford (1863-1935) foi meu favorito.  Como alguns de vocês sabem, eu não gosto de inverno.  Os dias curtos e o tempo frio são difíceis de suportar para uma brasileira como eu.  Mas este poema é tão simples e tão cheio de esperança, eu me apaixonei por ele.  Clique na imagem para aumentá-la.


Feliz Natal a todos!

Illustration Friday | Mail

Mail the old-fashioned way.

Correio da maneira antiga.

Illustration Friday | Savour

 

Savouring a large cup of hot chocolate.  One of the few things I like about cold weather!

A very quick pen and ink sketch this week.  

Apreciando uma caneca grande de chocolate quente.  Uma das poucas coisas que eu gosto quando o tempo está frio!  Esta semana um desenho rápido a bico de pena.

Illustration Friday | Afterwards

Afterwards, Bunny and Bear were quite pleased with their work.

Depois, tanto o Coelho como o Urso estavam bem satisfeitos com seu trabalho.

Blessing of the Animals

Every year I take my dog Constance to the Blessing of the Animals at a nearby church.  We meet dogs, cats, guinea pigs, ferrets (even one time a fish in a bowl!) and have a wonderful time celebrating St. Francis and his love for all animals.

This year I was contacted by Ginger Berstrom, Family Ministry and Communications Director at The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston, South Carolina.  She wanted to use some of my animal drawings to design a poster and door hangers promoting their Blessing of the Animals service.  I was happy to be able to contribute in a small way to this good cause, and delighted with the end result.  I think Ginger did a great job incorporating my drawings into the materials and I hope you think so too!

Illustration Friday | Spooky

Oops, perhaps a bit TOO spooky?

I haven't been able to participate in IF lately, but this week I couldn't resist.

Opa, talvez um pouco assustador DEMAIS?

Não tenho podido participar no IF ultimamente, mas esta semana não resisti.

Drawn in Brooklyn Exhibitions

The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting a fantastic exhibit of original children's book illustrations by 34 artists who live and work in Brooklyn.

You can read all about it here.

Drawn in Brooklyn runs from September 21, 2010 until January 23, 2011 at the Central Library, Grand Army Plaza.

It's sounds amazing, doesn't it? See you there!

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

Did you know that October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month? Well, it is! So I thought I'd share with you five pictures books about adopting or rescuing dogs. Perfect, right?


We begin with "Let's Get a Pup! said Kate" by Bob Graham (Candlewick, 2001) in which Kate and her parents go to a shelter looking to adopt a new dog. Kate's cat Tiger died the previous winter but now it's summer and she's ready to find a new friend. First they bring home Dave, a puppy full of energy. But at the shelter they also meet Rosy, an older dog that radiates "good intention." What will they do? Can Rosy find her forever home with Kate as well?

Next comes "The Stray Dog" by Marc Simont (HarperCollins, 2001) from a true story by Reiko Sassa. A family out for a fun Sunday picnic in the park meet a stray dog. They name him Willy and play all day. When it's time to go home the dog stays behind, but as the week goes by no one can stop thinking about the him. The following Saturday they're back in the park, but where is Willy?


In "Before You Were Mine" by Maribeth Boelts with illustrations by David Walker (Putnam, 2007) a little boy wonders what his rescued dog's life was like before he adopted him. A truly sweet story, the boy imagines both happy and sad scenarios and we join him in wondering how this loving pup ended up in a shelter. An author's note at the end talks about the benefits of adopting.


In Stephen Michael King's Mutt Dog ( Harcourt, 2005) we meet a little dog living all alone on the street looking for both food and shelter. We follow him on a particularly windy and rainy night as he takes refuge in a homeless shelter. Will mutt dog ever find a home of his own?



Finally, there's "A Day, a Dog" by Gabrielle Vincent (Front Street, 2000), a wordless book that starts with a dog being abandoned by the side of the road. No words are necessary to express his confusion and fear in what can only be described as a powerful story. Although in picture book format, this book is better for older children and adults, but it's one that shouldn't be missed by animal lovers and illustrators alike. An amazing book.

There it is. Do you have favorite books about rescuing pets? I'd love to hear about them!

Illustration Friday | Immovable

"What?! Why are you pushing me?!"

"Que foi?! Por que você está me empurrando?"

2010 Original Art: Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration

Did you hear it?

The super talented Renata Liwska has won the Gold Medal at this year's Society of Illustrators' 2010 Original Art: Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration for her work on The Quiet Book written by Deborah Underwood.

This is a fantastic exhibit! If you're going to be in New York City, it is a must see :-)

The publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is doing a random drawing for a chance to win a piece of original artwork by Renata Liwska. Very cool!! Click here to learn all about it!

Illustration Friday | Star Gazing

This is not a new illustration -- in fact, I created it last year for another IF theme (Infinite). But I have a soft spot for these two polar bears, and think they express perfectly this week's theme. Hope you like them too!

:-)

Esta não é uma ilustração nova -- na verdade foi criada ano passado para um outro tema IF (Infinito). Mas eu gosto muito destes ursos polares, e acho que eles expressam o tema desta semana perfeitamente. Espero que gostem também!

:-)

Illustration Friday | Caged

A quick line sketch for this week's theme.

Um rascunho rápido para o tema desta semana.

Illustration Friday | Diary

Some bears lead very busy lives...

Alguns ursos levam uma vida social intensa...

HUGE News!!! | GRANDES Notícias!!!

I'm jumping for joy!!!

Estou pulando de alegria!!

I'm thrilled to announce that I have a TWO book deal with Nancy Paulsen Books, a new imprint at Penguin Young Readers Group.

The first is a picture book based on the true story of Baltic, a dog found stranded on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland this past January. This incredible story made news all over the world, and when I first heard about it I used it as inspiration for an Illustration Friday post on the theme "Adrift."

From there I began to write the story and work on some possible illustrations. Now, thanks to my extraordinary and very talented agent Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency, the story has found a home and will become my first picture book. The topic of the second book is still to be determined, but needless to say I'm very excited about the many possibilities!

Estou alegríssima de anunciar que fui escolhida para publicar DOIS livros com Nancy Paulsen Books, uma nova editora do grupo Penguin Young Readers Group.

O primeiro livro é baseado na história real de Baltic, o cão que foi encontrado flutuando num pedaço de gelo no Mar Báltico, perto da costa da Polônia. Esta estória incrível foi noticiada no mundo todo, e serviu de inspiração para minha participação no Illustration Friday com tema "Adrift (A deriva)"

A partir daí começei a escrever a estória e fazer mais desenhos. E agora, graças a minha extraordinária e talentosa agente Teresa Kietlinski da Prospect Agency, esta estória vai se tornar meu primeiro livro infantil. O tema do segundo livro ainda será determinado, mas naturalmente estou super excitada com as possibilitades!

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

Author and illustrator Betsy Lewin has a brand new book coming out called Where is Tippy Toes? Published by Simon & Schuster, it follows the adventures of a playful cat from morning to night.

Her latest work reminds me of a lovely book she illustrated back in 1988, written by Maria Polushkin, called Kitten in Trouble. This book is currently out of print, but I was lucky to find a very nice copy at a used bookstore.

.

Betsy Lewin has a wonderfully loose and fluid style. Her characters come to life with just a few perfectly laid brush strokes, which make them seem deceptively simple. I remember when I first came across this book and how I fell in love with Betsy's art.

In her terrific book Show and Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration, Dilys Evans devotes a chapter to Betsy Lewin entitled "Liquid thought." This book is a must read for anyone interested in children's book art!

Ripple

Too late for Illustration Friday, but still in time to help raise money for the animals affected by the terrible oil spill in the Gulf. You can read about this fantastic project by Kelly Light on her blog Ripple.

Muito tarde para Illustration Friday, mas ainda em tempo para ajudar a arrecadar dinheiro para os animais afetados pelo terrível vazamento de óleo no Golfo. Leia a respeito deste projeto fantástico da Kelly Light no seu blog Ripple.

(2.5" x 3.5" ATC ink and watercolor)

Rescue mission | Missão de resgate

"Thank goodness! I thought I'd never get out of there!!"

"Ainda bem! Pensei que nunca iria escapar de lá!!"

What's Raccoon up to? | O que é que o Guaxinim está fazendo?

Just pencil | Só lápis

Quick sketch

A quick sketch of my personal assistant and muse!

Um desenho rápido da minha assistente pessoal e musa!

Bear and Boat | Urso e Barco

Usually I first draw a pencil sketch and then go over it using pen and ink. For this exercise, I drew with the ink pen directly on the paper, and then added a bit of watercolor. I had originally thought of this illo for Illustration Friday's "Dip", but didn't have time to do it. I'm way behind!

Normalmente eu desenho primeiro a lápis e depois passo bico de pena e nanquim por cima. Para este exercício eu desenhei com nanquim diretamente no papel, e depois acrescentei um pouco de aquarela. Tinha pensado nesta ilustração para o tema "Mergulhar" para Illustration Friday, mas não tive tempo de fazer. Estou bem atrasada!

International Reading Association | Annual Meeting Chicago 2010

This past week I was in Chicago attending the Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association.

I had a great time traveling with my colleagues, attending sessions, and seeing the exhibits. It's wonderful to get a peak at some of the new titles

coming this summer and fall. And, even more special, it's an opportunity to hear authors and illustrators speak and get autographed copies of their books.

We were lucky with the weather as well, a bit cool but sunny. Chicago is a really beautiful city!

Here are some of the highlights of the conference for me:

Hearing Kevin Henkes speak about his books and the power of imagination (and getting an autographed copy of "My garden"!)

Meeting Henry Cole, and getting a signed copy of his lovely book, "A nest for Celeste":

And meeting James Howe, Bonnie Becker and Jane Yolen and getting signed F&Gs of their upcoming books, respectively "Brontorina," "A Bedtime for Bear," and "Elsie's Bird" :

Dog Lover Blog Award 2009

© Eunice Rosado

She did it again! The super talented Eunice Rosado from This Nice Dog has created, designed and awarded the Dog Lover Blog Award 2009. And I'm so happy and honored to have been selected! And now I get to pass it along to other blogs of fellow dog lovers.

So without further ado:

Erin from Rapture Pet Sitting Service

Stacey from Three Red Trees

Paige from Fox in Socks

Ginger from Gingerpixels

You're free to pass it along to other deserving bloggers :-)

The Renee Award

Brigitte from Atelier Brigitte and Monica from The Art of Puro have generously presented me with this touching award, created by Ces and Bella for their dear friend Renee -- a loving tribute to their friendship. Many, many thanks to Brigitte and Monica for thinking of me!

I've made many, many wonderful friends online through my blog, but I'd like to give this one to my very dear friend Monique -- we've know each other since college. Here's to long lasting friendship, Monique!

Brigitte do Atelier Brigitte e Monica do The Art of Puro me presentearam generosamente com este prêmio, criado por Ces e Bella em honra de sua querida amiga Renee. Muito obrigada a Brigitte e Monica por pensarem em mim!

Fiz muitos amigos maravilhosos através do blog, mas eu gostaria de dedicar este prêmio para minha querida amiga Monique - nós nos conhecemos desde o tempo da faculdade no Rio de Janeiro. Por amizades duradouras, Monique!

Hi | Oi

Hi, everyone! Abby, Ally and I wanted to say hello and let you know we've been busy with work during the day and an illustration project at night, so we haven't been posting or visiting our friends online as much as we'd like.

But we should be back soon. Hope all is well with all of you!

Olá a todos! Abby, Ally e eu queremos dizer alô e avisar que andamos ocupadas ultimamente durante o dia com o trabalho e a noite com um projeto de ilustração e por isso não temos postado nem visitado nossos amigos virtuais tanto como gostaríamos.

Mas devemos retornar em breve. Esperamos que tudo esteja correndo bem com todos vocês!

Illustration Friday | Rescue

For this week's theme, I couldn't resist using an older illustration I did a couple of years ago and gave to a shelter near our home. Our dog Connie is a rescue, and my husband and I are big supporters of animal welfare organizations and firm believers in the benefits (and joys!) of adopting rescued animals.

Para o tema desta semana, não resisti colocar uma ilustração antiga que fiz há dois anos atrás e dei para um abrigo de animais perto da minha casa. Nossa cadela Connie foi "resgatada" , e meu marido e eu apoiamos organizações em defesa dos animais e acreditamos nos benefícios (e alegrias!) da adoção de animais.

Spring has sprung | Chegou a primavera

Exhibit -- Drawing from a Story

A very cool exhibition of picture book art opens today at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA. You can read more about it here.

I'm definitely planning on going :-)

Pour moi?

For me?

Why, thank you! Honestly, Brigitte, Elisa and Beth, I really appreciate it!!

From Atelier Brigitte and from Elisa Ann Lindstrom

And from Beth Stone:

Check this out!

I haven't been updating my blog lately, but I wanted to tell you about a great one-day event that will take place in Washington, D.C. on June 25th, 2010 as part of the American Library Association's annual conference.

It's called "Drawn to delight: How picture books work (and play) today." Organized by the Association for Library Services for Children, this program is just the ticket for anyone who loves children's books.

Here's the description:

"The ALSC pre-conference will provide a one of a kind look into the world of picture books as art directors, museum educators, and award-winning illustrators will take attendees through the creative and collaborative journey of picture book development."

Read all about it here!

Illustration Friday | Adrift

Did you hear about Baltic, the Polish dog who was adrift on an ice floe in the Baltic Sea for several days? The seaman who pulled him to safety aboard his ship adopted him, and Baltic is now part of the crew. No one knows how he ended up in this terrible situation, but fortunately the story has a happy ending for everyone involved!

Ouviram falar do Baltic, o cão polonês que foi encontrado perdido, flutuando no Mar Báltico durante dias? Ele foi resgatado por um marinheiro que o puxou a bordo do seu barco, e ele agora faz parte da equipe. Ninguém sabe como o cão foi parar nessa situação terrível, mas ainda bem esta estória tem um final feliz para todos!

Abby and Ally and the potted lettuce

Happy Valentine's Day | Feliz Dia dos Namorados

This month the volunteers at Morningstar Therapy Dogs in Colorado delivered Valentine's Day cards during their nursing home visits. Each card was "signed" by a therapy dog and given to one of their elderly friends.

Pam Spears designed this simple and elegant card using one of my dog sketches. She had contacted me to ask permission to use the drawing and I was happy to agree. A therapy dog does so much good and brings so much happiness to people of all ages. I truly admire the volunteers who dedicate their time and effort to bring these wonderful animals to those in need.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Este mes os voluntários do Morningstar Therapy Dogs no Colorado distribuiram cartões do Dia dos Namorados durante suas visitas a casas de idosos. Cada cartão foi "assinado" por um dos cães e entregue a cada senhor ou senhora idosos.

Pam Spears criou este cartão simples e elegante usando um dos meus desenhos de cães. Ela entrou em contato comigo para pedir permissão para usar o desenho e eu concordei alegremente. "Therapy Dogs" fazem tanto bem e trazem tantas alegrias para pessoas de todas as idades. Eu admiro muito os voluntários que dedicam seu tempo e esforço para levar estes animais maravilhosos à aqueles que tanto precisam.

Feliz Dia dos Namorados a todos!

Illustration Friday | Muddy

Introducing, in color: Abby and Ally

Apresentando, em cores: Abby e Ally

As you can see, Ally is a bit timid, but Abby loves adventure!

Como vocês podem ver, Ally é um pouco tímida, mas Abby adora de aventuras!

Character development | Criando um personagem

This month for Watercolor Wednesdays the challenge is to create a character (or two!) and place them in a sequence of events. I've been thinking about these two bunnies, Abby and Ally, and so here they are, in very rough sketch form.

Este mes para Watercolor Wednesday o desafio é criar um personagem (ou dois!) e imaginá-los numa sequência de eventos. Tenho pensando nestas duas coelhinhas, Abby e Ally, e aqui estão elas, num rascunho bem preliminar.

They'll be back soon!

Elas vão estar de volta em breve!

Illustration Friday | Focused

One more for the black and white illo portfolio.

Mais um para o portfolio de ilustrações em preto e branco.