Little Red Riding Hood and other stories:the making of a picture book

Hi everyone! I thought I would tell you about a show I'm going to participate in this summer. A while back I took an illustration course at Emily Carr University for picture book illustration with Lisa Cinar. One of the assignments in the course was to illustrate parts of Little Red Riding Hood. I've always wanted to illustrate a classic children's story but it can be tricky to come up with something fresh for a story that's been illustrated so many times. I suppose that was probably the point of the exercise.

On June 15th-June 29th you can view how many different ways good old Red can be depicted by current and previous students of the Picture Book Illustrating course. The opening reception will be on Jun. 15th at 2:00pm at the Granville Island campus.

Below are the two pieces that I will be showing. They are both digital "linocuts". Yup, that's what I'm calling them. I've been creating digital works recently using the same reductive methods that I use in printmaking. There's the huge advantage of the "undo" button though and that's why a well cut and printed traditional linocut will carry more weight with me. What do you think about the merging of the technologies?

Going back to school

Now that both the kids are in school full time ( 2 days), I've been busy as a beaver. I would like to say that I've spent it all in the studio but I haven't. I can easily see how the housework and errands can take up the entire day now that I don't have to worry about anyone else being bored with the tasks. I'm at the start of my work week so I will have to wait to get back in the studio again.

On Sunday's though I have started taking a Children's Book Illustration course at Emily Carr University and I'm hoping that the course will give me the confidence and push I need to approach publishers. For years I've said that I'm not ready or skilled enough to submit my work but that's just fear talking. My instructor, Lisa Cinar, graduated from Emily Carr ten years (!) after me which doesn't do much for my fear that I'm too old to pursue this career. Why have I waited so long and let so much time pass? I fear the rejection and the criticism. That I don't have what it takes. You can't fail if you don't try. I also fear that I may not enjoy the process of illustrating a book. Sometimes the fantasy is more enjoyable than the reality. But I really don't know the reality of being a children's book illustrator because I haven't done it. I do know that I have a deep affection for children's illustration and it's a genre I always come back to.
The truth is that I want my art to be in books that are cherished by children and fondly remembered by them when they are adults. I want my art to inspire future artists just like the illustrations that I loved and that spurred my desire to create.