Featured

copyright, Kooje Koene

I am so pleased and flattered to have been featured today by my blog friend from the Netherlands, Kooje Koene.  Kooje is a talented illustrator who, when she isn't drawing her own fun characters, runs an online drawing course, "Just Draw It" and ...  Kooje's blog is a wealth of information for illustrators. Between her "Drawtip Tuesdays" and her 'Inspiration Station" posts, her blog is packed full of info for anyone interested in illustration.

Thanks for the shout-out, Kooje!


http://koosjekoene.blogspot.nl/
http://koosjekoene.blogspot.nl/2013/05/inspiration-station-elizabeth-rose.html

A Trip to France

My friend Anita has one of the most visually pretty blogs going, Castles Crowns and Cottages -- it never fails to soothe the senses and her message is always thoughtful and uplifting   Every year she runs a "link party" focusing on all things French.  Since I am such a fan of hers, I decided to give it a "go" this year.
BUT, this little message is the extent of my participation, since I am trying to limit my screen time this week because of a little medical issue with my eye (corneal tear -- the rippy kind, not the drippy kind ;)  :(  ). The good news is, it's on the mend (gallons of eye drops  etc.) but, as I mentioned, I am trying to minimize total screen time.
So, dear blog friends, I hope you will take a moment to take a trip to France via Anita, her beautiful blog, and her fellow blog friends! Enjoy!  Merci!

 http://wwwcastlescrownscottages.blogspot.com/

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing everyone, where applicable,  a very Happy Mother's Day!

Tribute

"Tribute" (to the founder of Illustration Friday)
The best tribute I can think of to Penelope Dullaghan, who is stepping down from IF to pursue her own illustration career, is to highlight someone who is perhaps my very first "blog friend"--thanks to Illustration Friday. When I started up my blog a few years ago, a whopping three people left comments on my first post. Sarah Melling was one of them, and I'm fairly certain she was my very first "follower."  Here's the image I posted:
The topic was "Swarm"

copyright, 2011, Elizabeth Rose Stanton

I had been to Sarah's blog, so I was thrilled that someone of her talent was now following my blog!
Ever since, I have been an ardent follower of Sarah's. She is a master of colored pencil technique ... you can be sure my scientific illustrator brain lights up big-time whenever I see her work!
Here's a little teaser from her post this week:

Copyright, 2013 Sarah Melling

(so be sure to head on over to Sarah's blog to see more of her exquisite drawings, and the rest of her tribute featuring this gorgeous fuchsia).
To sum it up ...
the following is what Sarah wrote about her Illustration Friday experience under Ms. Dullaghan's watch. I quote Sarah because she says it so much better than I ever could ...

From Sarah Melling Pencils and Paper:
 "One of the reasons that I started blogging a few years ago was so that I could participate in Illustration Friday. For a long time, I was a very consistent contributor—I rarely missed a week! Early on, one of my drawings was even selected to be IF's "Pick of the Week" which gave me lots of exposure and encouragement. But most importantly, I got to know many fellow artists that also participated  in IF regularly. (Once I realized that if I commented on a drawing, that person often commented back, the communication floodgates were opened!) I consider a number of these people to be friends: I still visit their blogs regularly, chat with some on Facebook, and a few of us even check up on one another when we haven't posted in a while. For these reasons, I send my heartfelt thanks to Penelope for her devotion to this website that gave rise to such a wonderful supportive community."

That about sums it up. So thanks, Sarah!  Here's to you, Penelope, and all my talented blog buddies-- past, present and future!  :)

HENNY- Inching Her Way Along

This weeks' EXCITEMENT:  I received the proofs and F & Gs (publishing lingo for "folded and gathereds"- aka a book, unbound, without its cover) from Simon & Schuster!
Before I opened the package, I have to admit feeling some trepidation.  Perhaps it was the irrational fear that maybe something went wrong, or I didn't do it right, or some other gobbledygook that the little dark devil on my shoulder was whispering in my ear.
Well, I promptly flicked the little stinker off his perch upon laying eyes on this:

One more little round of minor "tweaks" and HENNY will be on her way! 

I couldn't have asked for a better process from my editors, Alexandra Penfold and Paula Wiseman, and my unbelievably talented art director, Lucy Ruth Cummins.
Word is HENNY will be up on Amazon soon for pre-order.  You can be SURE I'll keep you posted!
Thank you, dear blog friends, for keeping track of my quirky little character.
Henny and I so appreciate your attention and support :)  Bwwaakk!

Farewell

Quick sketch for Illustration Friday...topic:  "Farewell"

WILD

My Illustration Friday topic planets are aligning relative to the project I have been working on, so this post is doing double duty in that it covers the IF prompt this week, "Wild," as well as the follow-up to the posts I did showing the little bit of "Urban" and the sketches from "In the Works" 
So, as promised, here's the rest of the story--
Our Western Washington SCBWI conference is this coming weekend.  I signed up for the Illustrator Intensive, "Keeping it Fresh--From Sketch to Final Art" with art director Patti Ann Harris (Little, Brown and Company). We were sent two manuscripts with instructions to pick one, and illustrate a two-page spread from it.
The process:
Part 1- develop a sketch and send it to Ms. Harris for feedback. Part 2- produce a finished illustration based on her suggestions (and, presumably, keep it "fresh").  I chose a spread from a manuscript entitled MR TIGER GOES WILD.  It's a simple story about a tiger who, bored with his stuffy  friends, takes off for the wilderness--something he ends up regretting.
Here is the sketch I submitted:

After a few weeks, I heard back from Ms. Harris.  She indicated that she liked the feeling of isolation and loneliness my sketch conveyed, and suggested that for the final I "fill up the page" a little more by perhaps putting the city on a hill, maybe adding some bushes, and turn Mr. Tiger's head a little more in the reader's direction.

So here's my final.  Do you think I kept it "fresh?"

By the way, we had no idea whose manuscript it was...but someone found out that it was none other than  Peter Brown's. The book is due to be released in September, and you can see his version of Mr.Tiger on his blog, Peter Brown Studio.  I'm glad I didn't see it until I was finished, although I don't think it would have mattered . . .

amazon.com

. . . since, obviously, Mr. Brown and I have different visions of tigers ;)  

Flight of Fancy...or Something

I'm doodling a little too much. It's a great way to avoid what I really should be doing.
I wonder how this one's going to end...

Urban

A happy coincidence that the topic this week for Illustration Friday is, "Urban," and I happen to be working on a piece that has a bit of city in it.  What do you think?

Egg

I'm a little late this week for Illustration Friday.  Actually, I'm a little late for everything, of late.
Anyhoo...here is a little something for the topic, "Egg."
It begs the question:  tiny bunnies, or giant egg?

In the Works

These are a couple of studies I did for an assignment for our upcoming Western Washington SCBWI conference. I've got a busy rest-of-the-week, so stay tuned and I will pop back on next week and explain the back story.  It's turned out to be a very fun exercise! Gotta run!
I give you...
Mr.Tiger and Mr. Rhino:

A Little Tour

I was tapped recently or, more specifically, "tagged" by my friend Dana Sullivan to keep the ball rolling on what is called "The Next Big Thing" -- a blog tour aiming to raise awareness of authors and their work. It started in Australia and has now gone international.  
Here's how it works:

Authors answer ten questions about their new, next, most recent picture book/novel/collection/whatever before tagging a few authors who agree to do the same thing one week later. Then author participants spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, and other online venues.

    

The debut of HENNY is still a little way away, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to give her a little shout out. Brace yourselves--when the book IS released (February, 2014), you will all be hearing about it...ad nauseum ;)

So here goes:
Sneak peek at the cover:

(cover design by the inimitable Lucy Ruth Cummins!)

1) What is the working title of your next book?
      um...HENNY?  ;)

2) Where did the idea come from for the book?

      A couple of years ago, I started drawing birds with arms.  I think it all began with Herr Vogel:

     A few months later, my first version of Henny appeared.  She has obviously morphed :)
  I remember at the time, I just thought a bird with arms was funny.  

3) What genre does your book fall under? 

      HENNY is a picture book.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
       Daniel Day Lewis would play everyone.  I think he could handle it, don't you?

  

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
      From the announcement in PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY: "HENNY tells the tale of a young chick who is born just a little different from everyone else in the barn, and learns how to use her special gift to come into her own."  

       

6) Who is publishing your book?
     Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
      This is hard to answer because I think HENNY really evolved over a year or so.  However, when I actually sat down, I think I pulled the first book dummy together in a morning.  My amazing agent, Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary and Media, weighed in with a few suggestions, and then HENNY was born!  

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

      HENNY is a strong character-driven story perhaps in the spirit of the incomparable OLIVIA or Paul Schmid's incredibly beguiling  HUGS FROM PEARL .

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
      Henny did.  She made me do it ;)

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?
       If the reader's interest isn't piqued by a chicken with arms, then I'm not sure what will.  

Now for the fun part--
Here are two talented author/illustrators I've tagged...so be sure and look for their blog posts next week!

Courtney Pippin-Mathur 

Anne Belov 

Whisper

Illustration Friday...
...a little sketch for "Whisper"

watercolor & pencil sketch

These little guys have a cameo in the new book I'm working on  :)

"Storm"

The Illustration Friday topic this week is STORM.   Hmmmm... I wonder why they picked that?  ;)
These critters are picking up on an impending something...

Best wishes to all my snowed-in east coast friends. Stay warm!
 

What a Week!

Greetings, Blog Friends!!
My almost-a-whole-week in New York was amazing!  I left a few days before the conference started in order to see family and friends (definitely NOT enough time for this), and to meet with the fabulous people at Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.  We were originally scheduled to have lunch on Thursday of last week, but my art director, the brilliant Lucy Cummins, decided to go dog-sledding up in the wilds of Canada!  So we had breakfast on Wednesday, instead.  My intrepid agent, Joanna Volpe (New Leaf Literary and Media) joined us-- as well as, of course, my editor and publisher, Paula Wiseman herself :) After a delicious omelette and a much needed cup of coffee (my west coast bio-rhythms told me it was 6 a.m.), we walked over to the S and S offices for a gander at some samples of HENNY.  It was so wonderful to hear all the enthusiasm they have for my dear little bird! It was so exciting to hear that the release date for HENNY is slated for February 4, 2014 AND that she may be ready for pre-order on Amazon.com SOON (could be two weeks, or two months. This seems to work in mysterious ways...apparently we just have to keep checking!).
Here we are at S and S:

l to r: Paula Wiseman, ERS, Joanna Volpe, Lucy Cummins

It was truly a fun and thrilling morning with these gracious and talented professionals!

 

Leading up to the conference, I got to hang out with some family, visit some bookstores, pop into the Society of Illustrators, and had a nano-second to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art--just enough time to take in one exhibit. It was a tough call between the Matisse and the George Bellows exhibits. I chose George. It was stunning! 

Then Friday rolled around, and the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators) conference began. First up was the Illustrator's Intensive--lasting all day and ending with the portfolio showcase in the evening. I am so happy to report that my very talented friend Lori Nichols (Lori is also represented by Joanna at New Leaf Literary) and my fellow Seattle resident and illustrator-extrordinaire, Jessixa Bagley, were honored as portfolio runners-up. Huge congrats to Lori and Jessixa! 

Then on to the main events...talks, presentations and breakout sessions, and in-between gatherings with so many fun and talented people.  

The conference presenters included a star-studded cast of writer/illustrators, including 

(but not limited to):

Shaun Tan

Barbara McClintock 

Mo Willems

Tomie DePaola

David Ezra Stein

The Brothers Hilts

Floyd Cooper

and...believe it or not, Julie Andrews (yes, that Julie Andrews) and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. Who knew?

I also had the great pleasure of meeting Alexandra Penfold, who was my editor for HENNY. Alexandra, seeking more time for her growing family, has moved on to be an agent at Upstart Crow Agency. I was so sad to see her go, but also excited to have Paula Wiseman as both my editor AND publisher!

The conference was as exhilarating as it was exhausting.  I met some fascinating people, got some fabulous feedback on my portfolio, and learned a lot.  I'd say... "Mission Accomplished!" 

So, dear blog friends, those are the highlights :)  

I leave you with a few pages from my portfolio (click on the images if you wish to enlarge). 

I am looking forward to playing catch-up with all of your blogs!  

Thanks, as ever, for stopping by :)

-ERS

Taking Off!!

I have my bags packed, and my little portfolio friends in tow...and am taking off for the Big Apple and the SCBWI Winter Conference!  I'm landing a little early to meet with my publisher and spend a little time with some family and friends.  It should be fun (last year's was), and I will be back next week to fill you in. 

Have a great week, everyone--and thanks for all your kind comments while I was MIA these past few weeks!  :) :)  I will definitely be playing catch-up with all your blogs when I get back. 

I've missed you!

Busy Month

I'm going to be a busy girl this month, so I hope all will forgive my not checking in on all of your wonderful blogs.  I have a manuscript to finish, as well as a portfolio to put together.  I will resurface with some regularity after the first week in February.  

I hope everyone is off to a marvelous and productive 2013!    

Meanwhile, here's a little image to bookmark my departure.

I think they are discussing socks...

;)

Happy NEW Year!

To all my blog friends--past, present and future--

 I wish you all a most happy, healthy, and especially creative 2013!

A Peaceful Glow

Wherever you are, what ever you celebrate, wishing you holiday peace--and a glowing new year.

Snow

Illustration Friday this week:  "Snow"

Piggie wishes he had snow pants.