Welcome everyone to this fantastic tour of blogs by amazingly talented authors, artists, musicians, and more.
I was invited by Crystal Collier:
I was invited by Crystal Collier:
Crystal
Collier is a young adult author who pens dark fantasy, historical, and
romance hybrids. She can be found practicing her brother-induced ninja
skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and
impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls
Florida home with her creative husband, three littles, and “friend”
(a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world
domination and a bottomless supply of cheese.
❀Unleashing the dream world, one book at a time ❀
And now for my part of this wonderful tour:
1.What am I currently working on?
I am currently working on several projects simultaneously. I get bored rather quickly! These projects include: revising a children's book (titled Moon Trees), writing my first draft for a YA Paranormal (no title as of yet), and illustrating two final spreads to submit to an agent at the end of the SCBWI-Carolinas Picture Book Dummy Challenge hosted annually by SCBWI.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I believe my artwork style is different and unique than other artists. I enjoy experimenting with different mediums, but my passion is the intricate style of pen and ink. I just released my first children's book titled Alphabet Wildlife A to Z using this style of art. I've been told that my style of illustrations are unique (that's what I'm aiming for!).
Hopefully, one day (if I ever finish my first draft!) my writing will be unique and go hand in hand with my art.
3. Why do I write/create what I do?
As an obsessively creative person, I feel writing and illustrating is as important as the air I breathe. I constantly read and listen to audio books of genres that I would like to write, and this inspires me to conjure a world that exists within the walls of my head. My personality is more laid back, I listen and soak in everything around me. For me silence translates into written words and art. Oh, and I must not forget the music! I paint to whatever pops up on my Pandora...if the song is bad and I've used up my skips for the hour then the illustration will be just as bad! So, yes, good music equals to good art.
4. How does your writing/creating process work?
First, comes the idea/inspiration, then lots and lots of paper! sorry trees! In my backpack I carry a composition book, pen, pencil, eraser and a sketchbook. Inspiration can pop up at anytime! driving, sipping coffee (tons of coffee), or sleeping-dreaming (I really should keep a notepad near my bed, but always forget. For my watercolor illustration process, I secure the paper (I use cold-pressed watercolor paper because it has a slightly
textured surface, somewhere in between rough and hot-pressed paper) onto a hard surface so that it won't buckle when soaking with water. My watercolor process is fairly loose, colors are allowed to bleed into one another (mingle...lol). Once dry, I add pen and ink to add depth, and most of time crazy amounts of cross hatching and lots and lots of doodling. The loose style rendered for the book cover of Alphabet Wildlife A to Z (was illustrated with my non-dominant hand...because earlier this year I fractured my dominant wrist, then to make matters worse a month later ruptured thumb tendon (not fun!) and while in a splint (lot's of pain!) I discovered that I'm ambidextrous!). The animal drawings for each letter were illustrated before the nightmare and rendered solely with pens. (lefty and righty have their own distinct styles! eh?).
Now I’m going to pass the blog hop torch to two more artists – who will participate next Monday, August 11th.
Catherine Johnson
Now I’m going to pass the blog hop torch to two more artists – who will participate next Monday, August 11th.
Catherine Johnson
Catherine Johnson is a British Ex-pat living in Canada with her
family. She writes poetry for kids and is enjoying dabbling in drawing and
painting. She has two poetry books for children Weirdo Zoo and The Everglades
available on Amazon and Catherine enjoys blogging about poetry at http://catherinemjohnson.wordpress.com
Bobbie Dacus
Bobbie Dacus is the illustrator of Saving Emma which is the charming historical fictional tale set in Alexandria, VA in the 1700’s. Designing
and illustrating fashion comic books for teenage girls was Bobbie's
favorite pastime at age 12. Her love of drawing led her to study graphic
design at University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi University
for Women and she received her BFA at Arizona State University. Bobbie
has worked in the field of Visual Merchandising utilizing her creativity
in window display and winning numerous awards. She also worked in
advertising corporate graphic design, freelance design, medical graphics
and art instruction. It was after Bobbie's children, were born that she
was drawn to children's book illustration. With bright colors
dominating her palette, she creates her illustrations in acrylics, oil
pastels, oil alkyds and frequently combines digital painting with traditional.
Blog:http://artsyteapot.blogspot.com/
Bobbie Dacus
Blog:http://artsyteapot.blogspot.com/
Theresa Milstein
writes MG and YA, and is a member of SCBWI and a volunteer for the New
England chapter. Her short pieces are included in small journals and
anthologies. She works part time as a Publishing Editor’s Assistant at Vine
Leaves Literary Journal. Her day job
is spent as an aide in the Belmont Public School system, which gives her ample
opportunity to observe tweens and teens in their natural habitat.
