One deadline met!

Huzzah! I met a deadline. Shipped the paintings (for Denise Dowling Mortensen‘s BUG PATROL) to NY, NY yesterday. Insured the heck out of that package, let me tell you. And here’s a sneak peek of one of the spot illustrations (not the best photo, but you’ll get the idea):

New floor!

10 years ago, I painted my kitchen cabinets. Today I finally got a floor to match. Huzzah! Below are pics of the cabinets, and then a pic of the new floor.






HUZZAH!

Book Announcements Galore!

Goody goody. My Fabulous Agent has announced these upcoming books, so I can, too.

Rabbit and Robot in The Sleepover. Published by Candlewick Press. It’ll be out in 2012! Rabbit invites Robot to his house for a sleepover. Rabbit has a list of things he thinks they should do. Rabbit insists on doing the things he thinks they should do. But things don’t work out they way he thinks they should. Thank goodness he has Robot to help him loosen up a little.

Bug Patrol by Denise Dowling Mortensen. Illustrations by moi. Published by Clarion. Out in 2012. Join bug policeman, Captain Bob, as he monitors his fellow bug citizens during a typical day on the job. Cute rhymes, and (hopefully) cute illustrations, too.

And finally, Crankee Doodle, by Tom Angleberger and me, too! Published by Clarion. Out in 2013. Pony wants to go to town. Crankee Doodle does not, and is not afraid to say so. Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

Even more Sock Monkliqué

Two more squares made while on holiday at Fairy Stone State Park!

More Sock Monkliqué

But wait! There’s more! And in case you’re wondering, the rule is that I can’t go out and buy any new fabric for this project. So I’m ripping up my clothes to get what I want. (Not really. But it sounds good… and kinda like something Sofia Loren would do say in the movies: “Buster, I’m ripping up my clothes to get what I want!”)

And one more…

Sock Monkliqué

When I’ve met my deadlines for the time being, I like to go back to the projects that I do just for fun. Here’s a quilt square for a Sock Monkey quilt. About four years ago, I received a bunch of cool portrait-style Sock Monkey drawings from an elementary school class. I traced the drawings and am turning them into the squares for my quilt

Happy Halloween!

The best Itty Bitty review yet… with pictures!

I recently received a package in the mail from some folks I’ve not met before, but would love to some day: Jack and his mama. Here’s what the letter said:

And here are some of the drawings that Jack and his mama sent:

My personal favorite drawing:

Plus more:

Thanks, Jack and his mama, for one of the best Itty Bitty reviews yet!

OK, it’s not an illustration, but…

it is a lovely review of Bee-Wigged from amazing author illustrator Niamh Sharkey in the Irish Times. Ms Sharkey says: “Cece Bell’s ink and acrylic illustrations perfectly capture this kooky tale.” Coming from an illustrator of Sharkey’s caliber, that’s good stuff. Thanks, Ms Sharkey! You can read about Sharkey’s other great picture book picks if you check out the article in full.

In the meantime…so, there’s no illustration this week. Chalk it up to a. summer laziness, b. an actual paying job, or c. summer laziness. Option “d”,” if there had been one, would also be summer laziness.

Illustration of the Day to become Illustration of the Week

The main reason I started the illustration of the day is because I was feeling sorry for myself. It felt like a long, long time had passed without me selling any new books. I wasn’t excited about drawing anymore — and I love to draw. So I came up with the Illustration of the Day to give me something fun to do, and to get me out of the doldrums. Those of you who have been faithful followers know the drill: I pull a slip of paper out of the “adjective cup,” and another slip of paper out of the “animal cup,” and then I have to draw a picture to go with whatever I pull out. I post the results on Facebook, on my online portfolio (www.cecebell.carbonmade.com), and on this website.

I gave myself a few limitations: the drawings must be done quickly (1.5 hours is ideal, definitely no more than 2 hours), all the pictures have to be the same size (5″ x 8″), and I can use only 2 colors of my choosing, plus black and white. I’ve been pleased with some of the results, disappointed with others. But the point was that I was drawing something new everyday.

The project has done a lot for me. It got me out of my feeling-sorry-for-myself funk. It’s given me new ideas for books. It’s shown me that a limited palette not only works, but is often more successful than my usual way (crazy colors, and all of ‘em). It’s proven to me that even though my life often feels overwhelmingly busy, I can still find at least one solid hour to create something new, every day. And best of all, the project has helped me reconnect with old friends, and helped me make new friends as well. Thanks to everyone who has sent me animals and adjectives to draw.

So, why am I stopping the dailies and moving to weeklies? I FINALLY SOLD A BOOK. And I need that one hour a day that I’ve carved out for the daily drawings to get to work on this book. There’s so much to be done. Plus, a much Bigger Project looms on the horizon….

I’ll miss the project a lot, except for lugging around my scanner on trips and vacations. I’m also a little disappointed that I didn’t make it to 365. But 106 drawings in 106 days is pretty good…and someday the weeklies will add up to 365, and we can all pretend that I did them all in the course of a year!

So, check in every Friday. I’ll have a new picture for you then. Same rules, so keep sending in your words. It might take longer, but it’ll still be fun.