St. Patrick's Day- Happy Go Lucky!

© Holly DeWolf

I Love Words!

© Holly DeWolf

They Draw and Cook Contest

Got an email from They Draw and Cook...another contest is under way! The contest details are here.

All Hail, Fine and Hale!

I'll be attending the Western WA SCBWI Annual Conference again this year. After reviewing the guest speaker line up, I decided to check out any picture books by the authors or illustrators that I haven't read yet. So glad I did, because I just read Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale that was absolutely fabulous. His writing is spot on and was a delight to read. "Yadda yadda, hippity-hop."

Snoring Beauty
Written by Bruce Hale and Illustrated by Howard Fine

Howard Fine, the illustrator, is inspiring. Love his masterly expressions and varying points of view. Very talented guy and a perfect pairing to Bruce Hale's fairy tale.

A must read in my book!

New info for a new year!

Hi Guys,

I found these links a couple of weeks ago and found them really informative-- especially the parts regarding website structure and how to get going creatively... they are a couple of years old, but hopefully still as helpful to all of you as they have been to me!-- (working on that website!...)

http://www.n8w.com/wp/552

http://www.n8w.com/wp/1937

Enjoy!

-Randi

Christmas Card 2011- Let Your Heart Be Light!

© Holly DeWolf

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Let Your Heart Be Light! 

Awesome Illustrator!

Cover: The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
by Chris Van Allsburg

Insert: The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
by Chris Van Allsburg

Just read this book to my girls and love-love-LOVED the illustrations. So detailed and crisp...looks like pencil, so it's all black and white. A very talented artist, indeed. I've not read anything else by Chris Van Allsburg, although most are familiar with or have at least heard of his Caldecott winners, Jumanji and The Polar Express.

This story, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, is good but what really held my interest were his spectacular illustrations. Chris Van Allsburg won a Caldecott Honor for this book.

Revisiting the Birds

"Feeling left out."

I took the advice I received and dulled the white birdhouses so they didn't compete for attention with the birds. I also added some shimmering red berries to the tree and bush in the opposite corners, hoping to counter the strong diagonal line between the two birds.

I scanned the image in two passes and in Photoshop stuck them back together. I hope this helps show the true color palette.

I'm busy working on illustration #3. I have layered the background with letters from my grandmother and am waiting for it to dry. I'm having lots of fun with this! I've saved piles of letters over the years and it's nice to pull them out and turn them into art materials.

The Scowling Mermaid

"It meant so much."

Another traditional collage piece fresh from the studio. The scowling mermaid is meant to hang in my bathroom so I wanted a quote that was about water...but when I came across an old greeting card in my memorabilia stash, the words "It meant so much" printed on the inside really spoke to me.

Thoughts, critique? Would love to hear it as I move forward in my exploratory phase.