Painting....

I'm painting finals for a book I've been working on all year. It's been a loooong journey, and it's nice to be in the home stretch at last!

Américas Award Event

After a loooong train ride we arrived in DC for the Américas Award ceremony! Most of my photos came out a bit blurry, so here are the best of them:











It was lovely to meet fellow authors and illustrators Margarita, Sean and Jennifer. Many family members and friends attended as well, including my wonderful Mom! My husband was awesome as travel guide - taking charge while I tried to not be nervous about my speech.

The organizers did a lovely job, VERY special thanks to everyone involved in making this a lovely trip.

When I saw all the honor books set up on a table at the Library of Congress, I was awed. So many beautiful books! I'm very, very honored to be part of this.

Josias, Hold the Book - Américas Award

My book, "Josias, Hold the Book" written by Jennifer Elvgren has been awarded the Americas Award!

Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP). The award winners and commended titles are selected for their 1) distinctive literary quality; 2) cultural contextualization; 3) exceptional integration of text, illustration and design; and 4) potential for classroom use. The winning books will be honored at a ceremony (tentatively October 6, 2007) at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Américas Award Winners JOSIAS, HOLD THE BOOK by Jennifer Riesmeyer Elvgren. Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell. Honesdale: Boyds Mills, 2006. 32 pgs. ISBN 1-59078-318-2

Toni Trent Parker Multicultural Children's Book Festival!

On Saturday, May 5th from 10-3 at the University of Connecticut, Stamford!

Along with Kevin Clash, Tonya Bolden, Gloria Pinkney, Javaka Steptoe, and MANY other cool people, I'm going to be there, too!

Reading, signing, drawing for kids, whatever sounds like fun!

Hope to see you there!

Updating

It's getting close to that time of year again...my agent's March mailing! As with any promotions I do, it's always very hard for me to choose which pieces of art to include.

The purpose is to attract new buyers, remind previous buyers that I'm around and interested in doing new work. The art is supposed to be my best, and is supposed to show what I can do, what I do well, and what I want to do.

It's recommended that I show children and adults of different ages, ethnicities, engaged in a variety of different activities, emotions, settings. This is always so hard for me! I often think my work is not good enough.


And then there are some pieces that I'm not allowed to show until they appear in the print publication, sometimes all the way into 2008! By then, I definately won't like it anymore, and will probably (hopefully) have improved significantly enough that I wouldn't want to show it. I think. Maybe.

Anyway...back to work!

More drawings

Fun!

Drawing for fun. I'd like to do more of that! It's a long weekend and I'm all caught up on deadlines, so I think I will!

Tatnuck Bookseller on Sat. Aug. 19th!

I'm going to be at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westboro this Saturay at 11:00! I'll be doing a booksigning, reading, and watercolor demonstration. Should be fun!

Eric Carle this Saturday!

I'll be at the Eric Carle Museum this Saturday July 15 reading and signing my new book Josias, Hold the Book! There will be coloring pages for kids, a little bit of "show and tell" and maybe even a drawing demo!

Visit http://www.picturebookart.org/

Eric Carle on June 4th!

Bagels and Books with Local Illustrators! I am honored to be part of this group appearing at the Eric Carle Picture Book Museum. There will be a panel discussion moderated by none other than Patricia MacLachlan, author of "Sarah, Plain and Tall" among many other wonderful books. I wonder if I should bring my copy for her to sign??

http://www.picturebookart.org/

Here's a page from my new book "Jammin', Rockin', Toe Stompin' on the Rooftop" I recently finished painting for a New Zealand company. It was challenging and fun. I'm not overly fond of cities, being a country girl, but I brought out what I liked about cities and what I liked about the story, and this is my favorite picture of the bunch.

Upcoming Events!

On May 27th (that's a Saturday!) I'm going to be signing at the Barnes & Noble in Lincoln Plaza in Worcester, MA! From 11 to 12. Please come & see me, even if you already have a copy of my new book. Bookstore owners love to see crowds, and so do I.

Magazine work!

I finished some work for a magazine and wanted to post some of the pieces here. I'm very happy with the results! I LOVE the way the watercolor came out. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of watercolor.

And the young man in the picture came out a lot like my friend, D! Um...sorry, D, I was told to make the caregiver young & fun, so I thought of you!

Also, I just finished reading Grace Lin's Year of the Dog, and put the little girl on the right with her very own "Year of the Dog" tee shirt as a tribute to Grace's wonderful novel.

WMIG Show!

Wish I had a picture to post...oh well. This weekend I finished the prep work for the Western Mass Illustrator's Guild group show coming up in Amherst in May. It took a loooong time to decide which paintings to include, and in which order. (They asked us to order them in case there wasn't room for some). Making art decisions like this are very hard for me! So I chose two from Josias, Hold the Book, one from Fatuma, and one from Lights Out.

Michael's had a frame sale, so I got the frames there, and cut the mats myself. I hate cutting mats. It requires patience and precision. I usually ruin two for every good one I cut. Good thing the mat board was also a bargain! Then I agonized over the labelling of the artwork, making sure there wasn't any dog hair trapped between the glass and the art (boy their fur gets positively everywhere) etc. I feel incredibly priviliged to be in a show with such talented folks, and really want my art to look good (without breaking the bank!)

As for selling the art...well, this is a gallery show, so I'm expecting folks to look, not buy. I have a hard time selling originals - it takes a lot for me to part with them. Some folks I just can't say no to... my brother, my father, my friend Dain from college...my mom of course. :)

Show opens May 6th...my birthday!

Here's a black & white ink project I did recently. It was short, fun, and didn't take long. There are 7 drawings altogether.

Here's a picture I did while I was working on a ballet piece for Scholastic Magazine. It wasn't part of the project, but I loved those two figures I saw from looking at dance troupes online. The spotlights kind of look like a heart, too. It would've made a nice card, if I had been motivated enough to produce valentine's day cards. :)

This month is going to be busy! I have two school visits at the end of the month, plus several new book and educational projects in the works!

I'll be at the Olive Tree Bookstore in Springfield, Mass on April 22 for a booksigning of Josias, Hold the Book! Hopefully more will be scheduled in Central Mass very soon, as I've been in touch with area bookstores. Meeting people who love books is always fun!

Phew! I spent all weekend printing high-quality inkjet prints on photo paper of the above image. This is for my agent's group mailing which goes out in March. As usual, it's agony for me to choose a design. I brought this and several other images (many as pencil sketches) to my artist group and most folks chose this one. It's a story concept based on my experiences as a child in Texas, very much embellished! "Slimy Green Shorts" refers to the time my sister and I went down to the culvert because we wanted to see tadpoles. We weren't allowed there, because of the danger of flash floods, but we snuck down there anyway. We slipped and fell in the tunnel, getting our white shorts all slimy-green. Think Mom will notice?? We got in big trouble, of course. :)

Too dark

Here's the one I talked about earlier. It's too blue...too dark. Not to mention the drawing isn't right, either. I ignored proportions in favor of capturing the melancholy mood.

Ballet

Here's the image I'm using for a new Winter/Valentine's mailing my agent is doing. I have a really hard time choosing or making art for my portfolio, because I want it to be perfect and put too much pressure on myself. This one I painted just for fun a few weeks ago, when I was working on an educational project about kids going to see a ballet.

Me

This is me!

My blog is called Chocolate Luck because of this little drawing.



What I like best about my artwork is that it is kind of loose and lively. This is the first ink drawing I did where I was able to relax and get a nice result without feeling like I had to make every line perfect. It also combines two things I'm interested in drawing: fantasy and children of color. And chocolate...well, that is my absolute favorite thing to eat. And luck? Can't talk about it, I might jinx it!

Josias, Hold the Book

I've recently received copies from my publisher of my newest book! It will be released in March. The book is about a young boy in Haiti who grows a small plot of vegetables for his family. When the beans don't come up, he begins to worry. Find out how he solves his problem and learn a bit about Haiti by reading the book!

First Blog!

Well here's my first post!