Tres De Mayo or Daisy at El Mercato

El Mercato

   Now...
the marinating and percolating have come to an end, just today...
eventually one simply must stop ( as in enough already!!! ) and leave the realm of the mental and put pencil to paper and continue on that way.
When I begin a new book it becomes a character in itself...underneath it all, beneath what "happens".  This new book is whispering about gratitude, being safe and loved.....which is a lovely place from which to start.
  For me painting is an anodyne, it relaxes me and allows my mind to drift while I play with colors. Drawing is the work, the heavy lifting, a stimulant demanding focus and muscle.
  I just finished this watercolor. It goes with the previous post, more Daisy the cajeta colored dog in Michoacan. This painting is Daisy at the market...following her nose and the roasty toasty smell of tortillas.

   Now drawing.

Springtime

     It really is hard to believe that here it is Springtime.....April Fool's Day, in fact......and I am finally writing my first blogpost of 2011......I am certain I should be embarrassed or horrified, but I've just been busy with the business of painting and the two projects that I've been so busy with are done and dusted so I can peer out for a moment, sniff the greening air and write something...quickly, as I am about to start something new.....painting Gardens and Garden-y Stuff which are perfect to paint right now.
     I've been painting about a million bunnies......which is appropriate considering it is the Year of the Rabbit.....which has nothing to do with it but is fun anyway.

One Rabbit

Two Baby Rabbits

Mommy +1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 Bunnies

 

 

                                                            
                                                              and 26 dogs, here:

Mutt

  
         Also, I am really excited and pleased to say that my second fabric collection, Alphabet Soup, is out and in shops now. I had such a blast working on this group!

Soft Book/Quilting Panel A is for Alligator and.....

Alphabet Soup group, panels, prints, stacked animals!

Alphabet Soup Quilt Project

        And lastly....I am so pleased and delighted to mention that Bartholomew's Gift by Diane Dignan, one of my last picture-books was a Mom's Choice 2011 Gold Medal recipient! Thank You, Mom's Choice!  Lucky book gets to go to the London Book Fair!

Bartholomew's Gift, Mom's Choice Award/Gold

    Now I'm going to order some paint...Blockx Burnt Sienna Light and Deep and Burnt Umber, I LOVE these browns, they use glycerin and honey as binders, and are a joy to work with. Also Imperial Purple, Garnet Genuine and Black Tourmaline from Dan Smith...swoonworthy colors.....and new brushes ( pure heaven! ) and paper!!!! Nothing is as inspirational as new art supplies, I'm so excited.
More  news soon.....W

Winter Wonderland & St. Nicholas, Snow!

 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Mysterious and Lovely Solstice, Delightful Snow and general best wishes for It's a Wonderful Life, for everyone.

New Cover for "The Baker's Dozen"

       "The Baker's Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale" is back in print --
just in time for Saint Nicholas Day! A paperback 15th Anniversary Edition is available in the U.S. right now at Amazon.com and BN.com, and also for special order from your favorite bookstore. Over the next few weeks, it should become available on other Amazon sites worldwide.
        The new edition has a brand new cover and the lush, vibrant colors ofthe original. You'll also find one very nice addition: a bonus cookie recipe and pattern for Saint Nicholas cookies. The pattern was
contributed by the book's illustrator, yours truly, while the recipe comes from Gene and June Wilson of HOBI Cookie Molds, as modified by Anne L. Watson, the wife of the author, Aaron Shepard, for her new book "Baking with Cookie Molds."
   I am thoroughly delighted that this book is back; alive and well in the world as, of the books that I have had the honor of illustrating, this is one of my favorites.

    Happily, there has been more praise from others for "The Baker's Dozen":

    "The goodwill of legendary Saint Nick resonates in this tale about the origin of the term "baker's dozen".... Shepard's easy-to-follow retelling has an appropriate Old World flavor"- Publisher's Weekly

" A particularly nice holiday story accented by paintings full of detail"....Well-paced and a good length for groups or individuals, this is right on target for audiences. Edelson's artwork is filled with marvelously-alive characters who almost step from the pages"- Ilene Cooper, Booklist

"A lush new version of a traditional tale....A treat for the holiday season"- School Library Journal

" A story with a message to be heard during the holidays and all year long"-Children's Book Review

  American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
  Trumpet Book Club selection

click to see me larger

........and a Winter Woodland painting......

   and

and

   May your Holidays be beautiful and filled with Love and a sense of Wonder, love Wendy

Going to The Dogs....or It's a Dog's Life....or something about Best Friends

 "The dog is man's best friend,
He has a tail on one end.
Up in front he has teeth,
And four legs underneath"
     Ogden Nash  ' An Introduction to Dogs '
   
 Not too terribly long ago, I was a unacquainted with dogs and had only given my heart to a series of Maine Coon cats, including my current Coon, Stella Carabella.
My heart was stolen one day in Elmore State Park in Vermont by a beautiful golden wolf hybrid who had run away from someone, somewhere and adopted me, who I grew to love and named Daisy and who's death put a sad hole in my heart. After Daisy, I adopted Baci, the iconoclastic floppy ear-ed, fluffy, tricolored Corgi, who spends his days in my studio with me and his night curled up on my bed.
I am now an official Dog Person.
 Right now I am taking a break to paint bunnies, lots and lots of bunnies, Virginia Bluebells, ferns and violets and Spring mushrooms and pussy willows but I have been busy busy busy painting dogs.......and will go back to them again soon, then more bunnies, then more dogs, then bunnies

"Bulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been sat on."
- Colette

Henry the Eighth and his Yorkie

Portrait of Gracie, a Chihuahua-Poodle cross

"When a dog wags her tail and barks at the same time, how do you know which end to believe?"
- Anonymous

 Dog - a kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world's worship.

Ambrose Bierce

          If you think you might like a portrait of your dog, I'd be happy to hear from you and talk about what you have in mind! Please see my Pet Portrait blog Love Unleashed for more dogs......and cats.
          Thank you for visiting & I'd love to hear from you, don't be shy!

Two New Books! (and a Golden Moonbeam....and more!)

They've finally arrived, two boxes of books!

    What a lovely way to end the Summer, with two brand new picturebooks.....they are:
     Bartholomew's Gift
        Written by Diane Dignan
             Published by Ferne Press
                 July 2010
Little Bartholomew is bestowed with a unique gift at birth - an ability that his loved ones do not possess or understand. There is excitement and wonder when, as a child, he discovers the meaning of his gift and wishes to share the joy it brings with others. Misunderstood, he withdraws and denies his experiences until the gift disappears forever. Or does it? This story is for anyone who searches for wonder in everyday life.

  Purchase Bartholomew's Gift here or here

       and.....I am thrilled and honored to report that I have been awarded the Gold Medal in the Best Illustrator category of the 2010 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards for my illustrations for  Bartholomew's Gift!
 “The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. The Awards recognize and reward the best of these books and bring them to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians – and to children themselves.”

       Thank you to everyone who has been involved in honoring my work in this way, and thank you to Diane for writing this book.....without which, of course, these pictures would never have been created.
        Sometimes, working long, l o n g hours through the night, one wonders, when the project is finally finished and pushed from the nest and published, if anyone else will care about the characters and the paintings that have become ones friends and family. 
      The true Gold is awarded when someone tells you the work has moved them to tears or a child decides that this book is their favorite and pours over the pages...but a shiny gold medal and golden stickers for the book cover are sweet reminders of those things in solitary hours.

   and I am humbled to add that Bartholomew's Gift was just chosen as a Finalist in the BBAs, the Best Books 2010 Awards for both Best Cover Design and Best Childrens Picture Book, Hardcover, with Audio categories ! 
     I am beyond grateful.
                                                        

Pobble's Way

Written by Simon Van Booy
Published by Flashlight Press
        July 2010
A perfect bedtime story, this gentle tale follows Pobble and her father as they stroll through the snowy woods near their home one evening and, in Pobble’s imaginative and unique way of looking at things, nature transforms: a winter mushroom becomes frog umbrella, a floating leaf turns into a butterfly boat, and a feather is a tickle stick. In the excitement of imagining worlds transformed, Pobble does not notice when her pink mitten falls from her pocket. Soon the woodland animals gather and begin to wonder whether the soft, pink addition to the forest is cotton candy, a mouse house, a wing warmer, or a fish coat. With luminous paintings and lyrical language, this picture book celebrates family, nature’s beauty, and the power of imaginative thinking.

 

  Purchase Pobble's Way here

      I hope you enjoy these books!
    Thank you from the bottom of my heart to both Diane and  Simon

Squirrely Sneak Peeks/Lavori Recenti

Oh I AM buried in drawing and painting between now and the end of the year at least.....I'm really not complaining.....I just keep thinking I should have more diverse interests and get out more. It does seem as though I post here or visit a friend for a few hours and then get back to work, only to look up and find a week, or more, has gone by. I have found some Italian language CDs and am boning up on la bella lingua, I can do that at least, while I paint.......I worked so hard at becoming fluente and sadly......it seems all my conversational skills, in any language to be honest, have become a bit rusty from lack of use!
I have grand plans to get out more..... licensing shows? Bologna? La Citta Eterna, Rome, again....? surprises!.....

 mi sento come questo: mi dispiace di continuare a chiacchierare incessantemente ma sto lavorando senza sosta tutti questi giorni! Punto e basta.....

lavori recenti.....new work:

and

Divertiti e ciao, have fun, bye ........