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.

Illustration Friday | Clumsy

That would be me on the left. For some reason, I've always been a bit clumsy with string -- which I'm sure explains in part my difficulties with sewing to this day!

:-)

Sou eu na esquerda. Por alguma razão sempre fui meia desajeitada com barbante -- o que com certeza explica a minha dificuldade com costura até hoje!

:-)

Breaking News | Notícias de última hora

We interrupt this broadcast to bring you the following breaking news: Mônica Carnesi is now represented by Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency!

I'm SO happy to be working with Teresa! With 13 years experience in the publishing industry, Teresa has designed and art directed hundreds of children's books.

Now working as a literary agent, she represents some amazing authors and illustrators. I can't believe I'm in such great company!

You can check out my bio and portfolio on their website and learn more about Teresa as well.

What a great way to start 2010 :-)

Interrompemos este programa para anunciar uma notícia de última hora: Mônica Carnesi é agora representada por Teresa Kietlinski da Prospect Agency!

Estou tão feliz de estar trabalhando com a Teresa! Com 13 anos de experiência na indústria literária, Teresa trabalhou no design e direção artística de centenas de livros infantis.

Trabalhando agora como agente literária, ela representa autores e ilustradores incríveis. Nem posso acreditar que estou em tão boa companhia!

Podem ver minha biografia e portfolio no site deles e conhecer a Teresa também.

Que grande começo para 2010 :-)

We are back! | Estamos de volta!

We are back and we had a terrific time in Rio!

Estamos de volta e nos divertimos muito no Rio!

Happy New Year (belated, from Brazil!) | Feliz Ano Novo (atrasado, do Brasil!)

It's been a while since my last post, but as you can see I'm on vacation in sunny Brazil for a couple of weeks. This picture is from Búzios, a lovely village near Rio de Janeiro where we spent some days with my family.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2010, full of happiness, health and peace!

Faz tempo desde meu último post, mas como vocês podem ver estou de férias no meu Brasil ensolarado por duas semanas. Esta foto é de Búzios, uma linda cidadezinha perto do Rio aonde passei alguns dias com minha família.

Desejo a todos um 201o maravilhoso, cheio de felicidades, saúde e paz!

Merry Christmas | Feliz Natal

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Feliz Natal a todos!

Another pencil sketch | Outro desenho a lápis

One more sketch, this time with my friends Bunny and Fox. It gets hectic at work and at home around the Holidays, but I hope to finish this one before the end of the year :-)

Outro rascunho, desta vez dos meus amigos Coelho e Raposa. Fico toda atarefada no trabalho e em casa na época do Natal e Ano Novo, mas espero terminar esta ilustração antes do final do ano :-)

Pencil sketch | Desenho a lápis

We got a lot of snow here this weekend.

Nevou bastante aqui neste fim de semana.

Spotlight on Books and Illustrators

Now, when was the last time I talked about some of my favorite books? I've been remiss, I know!

So the spotlight today is on Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace series of "Little ..." books, published by Chronicle Books. The stories all share a similar concept, a variation on a traditional family routine -- eating, bedtime, clean-up -- and are totally charming and funny. The illustrations by Jen Corace are just marvelous: ink and watercolor, simple and uncluttered on a white background, but with plenty of carefully planned details.

Originally published as picture books from 2005 to 2009, they are now available in board book format as a box set.

What's next for these two very talented people? I'm looking forward to Amy's "The Wonder Book" with illustrations by Paul Schmid (I can't wait to see his work as well!) I'm also eagerly awaiting Jen Corace's "Mathilda and the orange ballon," written by Randall De Sève. Both books are being published by HarperCollins.

Look for books by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace at your local library and bookstores!

One more from the Art Exchange

©Lukaluka

Now, look at these cool cats! That's the illustration for January in a fantastic 2010 Calendar created by Luka, a very talented artist from Vilnius, Lithuania. You can see more illustrations from her Cat Calendar (and other nifty creations) here.

Thank you very much, Luka! :-)

Illustration Friday | Crunchy

Crunchy acorn, anyone?
A quick one this week
;-)