![]() When I became an empty nester, I decided it was time to strive for my own dreams and seriously work toward publication. The journey involved a great deal of patience and perseverance – not my biggest strengths. I have ‘wanted’ to write books for kids since college, but I didn’t take serious steps to make it happen until about 8 years ago. When did you know you wanted to write picture books? I have always lived in Michigan – I love it from May through October, but the rest of the year, I question my sanity. The characters swim in my mind and it would be good for me to finally work on it! The idea has not let me rest and I will stop in the oddest of places, to write down a new scene for it. I won’t say too much about it, but I even took myself to Paris, France, to research the Eiffel Tower. I am excited to work on a picture book draft that I began in 2017. Currently, Dan Santat has been a great inspiration in how I plan a picture book layout. There are too many to mention, but some of the earliest inspirational author/illustrators are both Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner for their realistic and detailed style. Once I’m in the groove with these things, I am lost in my work and time does not exist.Īny authors and/or illustrators who inspire you? A good chunk of time is important, too! If the kids or daytime is too chaotic, I will work late into the night for the best focus. Sometimes a podcast or a movie playing in the background are good enough. I tend to forget going into a new piece that it will be a mess for a while before it looks good! An upbeat music playlist is a must. Recently, I started posting “trust the process” on my worktable or easel. I require focus, music, and quiet space to create. Other objects in the same illustration are used similarly to pattern the triangle shape.Īnything you can’t live without while you write/draw? With three dogs as my subjects, I placed them on the page to mirror this design dynamic. When I was studying Renaissance art history, I found it fascinating how artists used the triangle in their compositions. It was a very long project, but I loved almost every minute! Adding layer upon layer of acrylic, each painting took roughly 40 hours to create. ![]() From scratch I would lay out a perspective drawing, adding in elements for the scene- a tractor, a truck, a piano, and a lake. With my first book, I created some illustrations and then put to words, in poetry, the perspective of three rowdy dogs and their adventure on the farm. Ideally, my process is to create a manuscript and then add the illustrations. ![]() ![]() All the while, I continued to prune and polish what would become Escape to Play.Įscape to Play was unique, in that, as my first picture book, I learned a great deal in the process. In addition, I frequented Twitter writing communities, submitting to critiques, and creating multiple picture book manuscripts. I spent years learning from industry experts, authors, and illustrators in the Central and Southern Ohio chapter of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (). However, I needed to learn how the publishing industry worked to make that dream come true. I felt this could be a great idea for a picture book. Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?Īfter completing that silly painting of my dogs, I made another, then another. That was the beginning of my debut picture book, Escape to Play. I gave myself permission to create a silly, whimsical illustration of my dogs in the bathtub. After graduation, and moving to Delaware, Ohio, I began to paint for myself instead of for an assignment. I graduated with an art degree but didn’t quite know what I would do with it. There, I fell in love with fine art and especially illustration and art history. In high school I focused on marching band and playing the clarinet, but art came back into my life at The Ohio State University.
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