digging for ideas

thumbnail sketches for a potential book project

grinding away

random little girl character sketches

little girl, big slide

August 12, 2015
little bitty brave one loves the big slides

little entrepreneurs

August 12, 2015
inspired by some neighbor boys' lemonade stand last weekend.

tiny fashion statement

August 12, 2015
a new favorite. tiny girl in hat and boa, pushing her bear in a wagon.

August 11, 2015
rough sketches I'm not too happy with, but there they are.

August 6, 2015

August 6, 2015
girls in glasses and a butterfly girl

practice makes perfect, right?

August 5, 2015
And then I practiced hands and feet because I find them so frustrating!

not an eraser-related incident, just frustration

August 5, 2015
Thinking about book characters. I love little girls in cute dresses with Peter Pan collars and Mary Jane shoes. Poor little book-balancing girl is my favorite but I cannot get her arms right, so armless she remains.

where does inspiration end and imagination begin?

August 5, 2015
Random girl character sketches. The right one seems a bit too Seuss-inspired for some reason.

And the dog… Maurice Sendak never gets out of my head apparently.

tiny sketches

August 4, 2015
I actually really like this dog. 
And I love the concept of the tea cup girl, but obviously needs some fine-tuning.

sometimes I really dislike my sketches

…but I sketch away anyway.

man's best friend

a few dogs for the dog-days of summer or something like that.

searching for personality

study of people inspired by mid-century illustration

ladybugs

July 15, 2015
study in ladybugs

sisters

July 2, 2015
pretty much sums up their relationship right now

all about the seagull in this one

sketching for a potential chore chart and a random, yet memorable seagull from our California trip

sketch of an awesome lady on the bus

Some people are just made for sketching. When I saw this sweet woman on our crowded bus, I could not resist sketching her this afternoon. I hope I am this awesome when I am grown up.

quick character sketches

Inspired by a dude on the agents' panel at SCBWI.

and a lady character on the panel.

quick sketch: Jo and her Abby

Drawn in pencil while listening at SCBWI conference.

Self-promotion Valentine cards

So excited about these self-promo cards I've created, particularly for the SCBWI conference this weekend. The back has a To: and From: and my contact information. Inspired by the style of vintage Valentines and the ones I used to get in grade school.

After-school reading program poster

Quick poster created for a new reading program I'll be helping with in the South Bronx.

52 Books a Year

I'm crazy to try this and I know it. But I desperately need to knock some books off of my every-expanding reading list. Here's to 2015! You can see my list and progress on goodreads and see each book reviewed on my bookshelf.

Jo's Christmas wishlist

Here is a quick, silly doodle of my daughter's Christmas list. She loved it. Ironically, she received none of that!

tragedy of the realized object

quote for a new little notebook

July 14, 2014

Tired Monday = boring, safe sketches

July 11, 2014

Did you ever see the youtube video of the raccoon stealing a rug through a dog door? I think it is hilarious and constantly want to draw something along those lines.

July 10, 2014

Fitting in some sketchbook time during the baby's nap. Got a picture book on my mind with a bunny character in it.

Daily Sketching - May 21, 2013

May 21, 2013
Rough sketches for project. Really rough. Oh, and a fox in a striped shirt. Love him.

Daily Sketching - May 10, 2013

May 10, 2013
Working on a personal project.

bandits

I think there might be a story to these guys.

May 1, 2013

May 1, 2013
Happy May Day!

daily daughter sketch

Educational Diaper Change
Hoping to do more of these daily sketches of life.

Easter images

Easter marketing at its best.

a pig, a bunny, and a guy playing sax

April 9, 2013

Character Studies

Trying to get some characters out of my head. They never look like what I'm thinking.

3.14

Happy pie day!

Storytime Poster Creation - March 13, 2013

Storytime Poster - St. Patrick's Day Theme
Really happy with this one. Did research on symbols and fonts and created this without inspiration.

Daily Sketching - March 13, 2013

March 13, 2013
Final pieces for the poster puzzle.

Daily Sketching - March 12, 2013

March 12, 2013
Some more pieces for a storytime poster. Guess the theme….

Daily Sketching - March 11, 2013

March 11, 2013
The beginnings of another storytime poster.

Daily Sketching - March 8, 2013

March 8, 2013
The pieces of my evening. I'm rather fond of my Rosie "rug." Unfortunately her Kong toy (upper right image) looks like something else dog related. 

p.s. It looks like I skipped some days, but actually my only noteworthy sketches from those days were for a secret commissioned piece. Will share if able once it is completed!