A few weeks ago, I finished up a book project that kept me busy for a few months. I’ll discuss more about that project once it’s released. As is the case with any project, I have a huge sense of relief once it is all done. I like to reward myself at the end of a project somehow. Maybe I’ll finally play a video game I’ve been wanting to play, or I’ll go see a movie, or just finally catch up on sleep. But this time the reward came right to my doorstep. I finished this book project and the very next day a package had arrived from my buddy, Brian Ewing. I knew what it was because Brian said he would send me a copy of his just released book, Brian Ewing: Don’t Hold Your Breath.

I now had my reward. A killer book by a killer artist that I could pour over for the next week or so. And I did. I’ve known Brian for more than 18 years and I’ve watched his artwork grow and get better every single year. A book collecting his art has been a long time coming for us fans of his craft. And the book doesn’t disappoint. One of the things I’ve always disliked about many artbooks is that the artist never talks about each piece of art, its creation process, concept behind it, techniques applied, etc. Brian, however, gives fans exactly what they want. He has included his own personal notes about almost every piece of art in the book, including preliminary sketches. There isn’t a single wasted space in the book, as it is packed with cool art, awesome tidbits, and really nifty photos sprinkled throughout. You’ll also find quotes from some of the top people in the art and rock fields (Brian must have paid these people hefty amounts of cash to say such nice things about him).

All kidding aside, I can’t say enough great things about Brian. Even though he has risen to the heights of rock poster super stardom, he has remained one of the most down-to-earth artists and friends I know. I suspect this won’t be the only book collecting his work, as he is a non-stop, art-making machine. Thank goodness for all of us!

If you’ve read this far and you don’t know who Brian is, you’re some kind of nerd that’s apparently been living in a cave. Go check out his website, then stop being such a stingy punk and drop a few bucks to buy his book. You won’t regret it.

When you get your first award for writing or illustrating, it’s a big deal. A very big deal. A mega big deal. So you can imagine how proud I am that my daughter won her first book award!

Antonia took second place in the 2010 Wisconsin Association of School Boards’ Write and Illustrate Your Own Picture Book Contest! Her awesome creation, The Mummy Comes Moaning, was judged one of the best among 342 entries state-wide. She competed in the 4th & 5th grade division. Along with a certificate of commendation and a cash award, her book will travel the state to be displayed at the WASB Fall Regional Meetings and the State Education Convention held in Milwaukee in January of 2011.

Toni put so much thought and time into her project. She had to meet strict requirements and deadlines. She created her book from scratch, hand-binding it herself. She wrote and rewrote her story. She sketched and painted and added various media to creatively illustrate each scene. She devoted many evening and weekend hours to turn in the best book she could. In the end, it was a masterpiece, and she’s incredibly proud to see that work rewarded.

My wife, Silvia, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Congrats to you, Toni! Well done!

I just had to take a break from creating art to go water skiing with my wife and kids. We went out on Pewaukee Lake with the Pewaukee Water Ski Club. It was a lot of fun. Silvia and Antonia were skiing like pros! I managed to not look too foolish Corina and Armando also went skiing, but I don’t have pictures of them.

Photos are courtesy of Pewaukee Water Ski Club.

This is me just about to wipe out!

Silvia was amazing. She got up on her skis in one try and then kept wanting to go faster and faster!

Antonia just kept going and going like the Energizer Bunny!

Now it’s back to my dungeon so I can create more art

Here is a piece of art I created for the 2010 Vistas Film Festival, a Latin film festival in Dallas, Texas. Also, I have been hard at work on a project for Scholastic. I can’t show anything from that project just yet, but hopefully I’ll be able to post some teaser art soon.

Hey everyone, my buddy Scott Fischer recently had his latest children’s book released by Simon & Schuster. The book is called JUMP! and is absolutely perfect for little ones from 4 to 8 years-old. The book is full of exciting, energetic illustrations (but then you’d expect no less from Scott, right?). It’s a perfect book for reading out loud and getting your kids to jump along with the animals in the book. They’ll absolutely love doing that! Buy the book from Amazon here.

The popular illustration portal, Hire an Illustrator, has undergone a major redesign. I am proud to have been asked to contribute a background image for the launch of the site. Go check it out now. I also created a second, squid-like creature that may make an appearance on the site. He can be seen below.

Also, I am currently working on an illustration for the the Dallas Film Festival. I’ll share that illustration with you once it is done, which should be soon.