This is video of my daughter Antonia speed skating in the 500 meters, along with one of her teammates, Michael — and opening the Olympic Qualifiers at the Pettit National Ice Center. At big events, such as this Olympic qualifier, they usually have young skaters forerunning, ie, skating a distance so officials can test the clocks. Antonia wasn’t required to go all out during the race, but apparently she did and ended up skating a personal best. I’m very proud of her!
Above is an illustration of a King Cobra done for Ferdy Christant over at Jungle Dragon. I’m illustrating a series of twelve animals and insects for the Jungle Dragon website. I’ll share more of them as I get them done.
Also, this evening my kids had some of their art on the walls of a local library as part of an art exhibit through their homeschool group. You may notice that Antonia did a pencil drawing of a King Cobra. It was a fun evening of viewing art from all the students. Corina did a really cool drawing of Wonder Woman, while Armando did an interesting painting of a house using only two colors.
I will have artwork in an exhibit at the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) in Oakland, CA, in a show that will run from May 9 through June 14, 2009. Opening Reception is Friday, May 9 from 2-4PM. Sadly, this venue is too far away for me to attend, but it should be loads of fun as there are a number of illustrators involved with the show, including Don Freeman, author and illustrator of Corduroy. The exhibit will feature a current and childhood piece of art from each illustrator. Seen above is the piece of childhood art I have in the show. I was 10 years-old when I created this Unicorn and Rainbow piece.
Also, I’ll be appearing at South Milwaukee Public Library on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 from 6pm-8pm in celebration of Children’s Book Week. Authors, Janet Halfmann and Gibbs Davis, as well as fellow illustrator Carol Schwartz, will also be in attendance. We’ll be reading, presenting, and signing our books and just having a great time. So if you’re in the area, please come join us. You can learn more about the event here.
David Lance Arneson (Oct. 1, 1997 - April 7, 2009), co-creator of the original Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, passed away on Tuesday, April 7 at the age of 61. The original Dungeons & Dragons RPGs gave me some of my first glimpses of fantasy creatures and environments, and helped inspire me to create my own art in the gaming industry. I owe my art career to people like Dave Arneson. He will be missed.
The Mail Me Art book, featuring 200 of the best pieces of mail art from the Mail Me Art project is now available and can be purchased here (USD) or here (GBP).
The book, lovingly put together by art champion Darren Di Lieto, features the work of some of the most exciting illustrators in the business today, including Jon Burgerman, Dan May, Kristian Olson, Michael Slack, Catalina Estrada and yours truly:-) It even features some of my other favorite illustrators, such as Alberto Cerriteño, Chet Phillips and Ryan Snook!
Check out the MailMeArt website to learn more about the book and project. And make sure to get involved in “Mail Me Art Two.”
But wait, there’s MORE! All of the artwork in the Mail Me Art project is going to be on exhibit at Red Gate Gallery in London. Specifics below:
Red Gate Gallery
209a Coldharbour Lane,
London. SW9 8RU. UK
+44 (0)207 326 0993
Friday 3rd April 2009 (6pm-11pm) RSVP
Saturday 4th April (2.30pm-10pm)
Mon, Tues, Wed: 2.30pm-6.30pm
Thurs 9th April: 11am-5pm
RSVP: Email or Facebook
More information: darren@mailmeart.com
Sadly, I can’t make it to the exhibit because I am faaaarrrr away from London over here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But I hope many of you in the UK can get out to see all the work in the exhibit and support Darren for all his brilliant work with the project.
