New Book Cover

Do you ever wonder how animals sleep?
Coming in June 2011

Free Gift Tag Printable Sheet

If you head over to my personal blog, I have a gift for all of you diner readers! I created a printable gift tag sheet. I printed one out myself and used a nice thick gloss paper and they turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself! Have a look at what you could be attaching to your gifts this year. Enjoy!

{Finished Tags, 2010}

{Printed Sheet, 2010}

Join Us for the Twelve Days of Christmas

The Doodle Diner is serving up a double dose of doodle goodness and some caroling on the side!

Starting on December 13, 2010 the  Doodle Diner will be presenting their own version of the Twelve days of Christmas. Check back each day for a new illustration of an old classic!

Tomie dePaola Award

Beginning in 2011, the SCBWI is taking over the permanent funding of The Tomie dePaola Illustrator Award, which will be given yearly to an illustrator of promise chosen by Tomie himself. The award consists of a $1,000 gift certificate for art supplies, plus full tuition, transportation and accommodations to the New York Winter Conference held in Manhattan. The winning piece of art will be featured at the exhibition in New York.

The Tomie dePaola Award competition is open to all SCBWI members. Each entrant is to produce one illustration, any size, any medium, that is based on a text supplied by Tomie. The text for this year’s illustration is from Johanna Spyri’s classic Heidi. Entries are due no later than December 15, 2010. Final art will be electronically submitted and Tomie will announce the winner on January 3, 2011. The winner will receive the award at the New York Conference held January 29-30 at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan.

Tomie says that he wants to see an image, a style, a vision, that he’s never seen before. Good luck to all illustrators. We’re sending you inspiration for this prestigious and generous award.

A Handmade Halloween Costume

{Candy Corn Costume, 2010}

Photo Credit: Metromix Des Moines

I sewed my own costume this year because I get tired of the limited (and normally very skimpy) options in stores. My costume didn’t turn out perfect but I was pleased with it and really enjoyed making it! The Diner is servin’ up Candy Corn this Halloween!

Have you Rippled today?

Do you want to make a ripple?

Kelly Light and her daughter have created a blog called Ripple where you can purchase an Artist Trading Card. Each sketchcard on the blog is $10.00. The $10.00 is a donation to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Every penny is donated. The two Non-Profits that are benefitting are The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and The International Bird Rescue Research Center.

Check it out! Every little bit counts!

Shiver Me Timbers!

Ahoy Maties!

This will be my new promotional postcard… Fingers crossed!

Promo stuff

Finally putting my money where my mouth is (whatever that means) and am diligently knocking out some promo materials. Here is what I’ve come up with so far for my business card… a real live “illustrator” business card. Imagine.

I’m also, almost done with my first ever promo postcard. I’ll post that soon, see what y’all think. Oh, and I am also feverishly trying to update my portfolio… pant pant pant.

Be gentle… I’m new.

Meet Orin

In a dimly lighted room,     In a scruffy beat up chair,
Orin sat amongst the memories…. and wished that she was there…

stay tuned…..

Jerry Pinkney wins the Caldecott Medal

In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney’s wordless adaptation of one of Aesop’s most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted. After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he’d planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher’s trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes.

Congratulations Mr. Pinkney!

Jerry Pinkney’s website