Summer stuff

Too many Monsters; A Halloween Counting Book is nearly done- here's a sneak preview. It's been a busy month. I did an entire issue of In Character magazine- a small journal put out by the Templeton Foundation (Sir John invented international mutual funds) that devotes an entire issue to a single virtue- in this case, wisdom. It's a collection of terrific essays by notable scholars. We liked it so much, we subscribed. I'm showing a wise doctor looking "inside" a patient. I usually draw my wife, Dr. Ruth, in these situations, although I gave her a haircut here. The piece was written by one Dr. Groopman .
The last drawing was for Slate- about Twitter and how an influential (irate) Twitterer can slam a product or service...

While I was looking up Dr. Groopman, it occurred to me how lucky I am to be able to work with such extraordinary people. Back when Slate was owned by Microsoft, we'd have these semi- lavish weekend retreats at resorts in Washington State. I volunteered to drive from the Seattle airport deep into the interior mountains of Washington (mountain driving is one of my acquired skills)- anyway, I had Emily Yoffe, her husband John, their young daughter , and Robert Wright in my car. The conversation was so interesting that I missed the turn and drove us all the way to Canada, where the Canadians politely turned us around. We drove through mountain passes and an avalanche that crossed the road. Arriving hours late, Mike Kinsley asked me what kept us. Always nervous in the great scholar's presence, I told him that my main goal was to keep the car between the white line and the yellow line, and not to miss a word. He was horrified.

These are spreads from "Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth" by Sarah Weeks from Simon & Shuster due out in November. I love how the drawings came out and I especially love how Lauren Rille, my art director, did the type.

No agenda today. I've been out planting with my wife. We carved a small lawn out of the woods just off our patio. Didn't cut any trees, just underbrush. Continuing work on Wow! Ocean! and a special project that I'm not talking about yet. Got my editor's and art directors comments back on "Too Many Monsters". Very helpful, but it's always a bit of a shock, since I don't always agree with them and have to process it for awhile- then decide what to incorporate and how to improve upon the suggestions that I don't think work. That's kind of the secret with working with all ad's and editors whether it's a book, an editorial assignment, an ad, a movie poster, whatever. Supply your own thinking first, always. Then take their ideas and make them better. I'm just going to post what's on the hard drive today, starting with a moose. We've been getting lots lately. Yesterday we had this female in the morning, a juvenile male in the evening (my wife, Ruth, said his little downy antlers were really "cute") and this morning we found tracks from a big mom and a baby that passed through last night. They're quite dangerous if you get close, by the way, especially a mother with young, so don't try petting one. We stay in the house when they come by. For the rest of today's post, here's a financial piece for Forbes about the states trying "Stupid Budget Tricks", a Slate piece on shock therapy for computer addiction in China, (homage to R. Crumb), and a sketch... R.

I got this beautiful link from a little fan, Vivian, so I had to update the blog and include it. It's been really busy since we got back from Costa Rica. It's my everyday illustration and editorial work for Slate that finances the books. Making a living just doing books is hard, and takes years to establish. I was a presenter at a recent writer's conference with Shannon Hale, and someone asked her what her life was like now after "Princess Academy" won the Newbery. She instantly said, "You mean before the helicopter? And the butler?" The joke is that life is pretty much as always....
Here's a drawing for Consumer reports and a president's dog from the L.A. Times. I'm including a few spreads from "Too Many Monsters", a board book from Little Simon. I took a short break from "Wow Ocean" to do the sketches for this and it's a good thing- tackling " Wow Whales" and "Wow Tidepools" is going to take energy and inspiration. With fans like Vivian, it'll be easy.

The girls and I have just returned from Costa Rica. We stayed at the Lapa Rios eco lodge on the Osa Peninsula. I must say, it was fabulous. The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Cana Blanca Wildlife Sanctuary where we met Sweetie, a juvenile spider monkey. I got some ideas for Wow! Ocean! - we need a Wow! Tidepools! spread- and it also got me thinking about a rain forest book down the road. We shot over 800 pictures (don't you love digital?) and here are just the first few that I got downloaded, resized, and etc... My wife, Dr. Ruth, always travels with a full medical kit, sutures, local anesthetic, every pill imaginable- and she treated three patients while in the jungle. A little boy who got rolled over rocks by surf (no stitches, just derma bond), a man with a high fever, and a girl with an infection... she entertained the idea of just moving there, being the village doctor, working for free, or being paid with a few eggs or a chicken...
I'm working away on sketches for "Too Many Monsters - a Halloween Counting Book", a new board book for Little Simon and winding up the sketches for "Ocean". In the meantime, "The Great Dog Wash " should be released any minute now! (Simon & Shuster) Nothing new to post on the books now, so I'll make d0 with some recent images from Slate.com.

Here's the Cherios box with "Great Dog Wash" inside...

I've been working away on Wow! Ocean! these last few weeks. The family and I are going to Costa Rica for a much needed vacation/surf trip/jungle adventure in June, so I'll get a little research in. I'm getting lots of great feedback from "The Great Dog Wash" Cheerios project- seems like with a million and a half out there everyone who eats breakfast got one! Thanks. Here are some of the pencil sketches for Wow! Ocean! And, because the vertical format goes so well on the web, a drawing I did this morning for New Jersey Monthly as well... R.