new book beginnings ~ db

2013/09/242014/11/08 | kirsti

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Cover Out in Portland

I’m just back from a fantastic, restful camping trip on the beautiful Oregon Coast (see photo above), ending with a 2 night Portland stop-over (in a hotel – which, in my opinion, is the best way to end a camping trip).

While we managed to squeeze the camping into the dry days, our city visit was a little wet. One day, we ducked into Powell’s Books to avoid a downpour and I discovered something familiar in the children’s section:

I also found these and the illustrations were just so beautiful that I couldn’t very well leave them behind…

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Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman, is Illustrated by Rick Allen in many-layered lino prints, and is rich in colour and texture. The night scenes are vibrant and lively, and cheerfully coloured. A Monster Calls, written Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay, is equally exciting for its lack of colour and wonderful deep, dark spookiness; it is the kind of book that I was thrilled to read as a 12-year old.

Just look at this great composition and this lovely figure, so beautifully drawn.

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A Monster Calls also has the added bonus of being nicely designed, and does a fine job tying in a lot of great texture-rich sketchy vignettes and scuff marks.

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This post is part of a series documenting my process of illustrating the picture book Dream Boats (author Dan Bar-el, pub. Simply Read Books). The entire series of posts is archived here.

View a gallery of all the work-in-progress images including first sketches, reference material, mistakes, redraws, and tests, to final art at a much larger size, here.

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new book beginnings ~ db

2013/09/142014/11/08 | kirsti

Upcoming Illustrator Visit at Village Books

I’ll be at the lovely Village Books in Bellingham on October 5, 11am for an illustrator Q&A. Curious about the illustrations in Dream Boats? Curious about my book illustration process? Come on by and ask me some questions. (Or if you just want a book signed, I can do that too): 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, WA.
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This post is part of a series documenting my process of illustrating the picture book Dream Boats (author Dan Bar-el, pub. Simply Read Books). The entire series of posts is archived here.

View a gallery of all the work-in-progress images including first sketches, reference material, mistakes, redraws, and tests, to final art at a much larger size, here.

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new book beginnings ~ db

2013/08/062014/11/08 | kirsti

Dream Boats is on shelves now

So Dream Boats has now arrived in stores in both Canada and the U.S, and has had some very nice write ups from booksellers, which is pretty thrilling, like this one from Brookline Booksmith in Massachusetts :

“I don’t have naps. I have adventures.”

That is the first line in Dream Boats, and once you turn from that first page you understand that anything can happen when you close your eyes. But maybe keep them open so you can see the pretty pictures. Are they ever pretty! Each spread is a kaleidoscope of imagery, as our dreamer’s imagination strings together surreal scenarios: aboard a fishing boat heading to Mumbai, poling down the Niger River, sailing into St. Petersburg, …there is not an inch of this book that isn’t a treat for the eye.

Also, Dream Boats is featured in the Winter 2013 Mountains and Plains Independent Book Sellers Association catalog, which is super cool! So if you’re looking for an independent bookstore in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, or Wyoming, here is a very handy list.

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This post is part of a series documenting my process of illustrating the picture book Dream Boats (author Dan Bar-el, pub. Simply Read Books). The entire series of posts is archived here.

View a gallery of all the work-in-progress images including first sketches, reference material, mistakes, redraws, and tests, to final art at a much larger size, here.