Oh, what a difference a virus makes!

Under the Sea, part of the Over/Under series

Family Tree (18"x 24")

 Puzzle Me This

Above are a couple of new illustrations for my art licensing agency. They start as ideas that will become puzzles, beach blankets, home decor, murals and more. It's a different process than illustrating picture books, but still relates to kids. I do have more books coming, but it's way too soon for show and tell. Click on each image for an expanded view.

Read Across America

NEA (National Educational Association) launched Read Across America to encourage children to read more books. This began in 1997 and is celebrated on or around March 2, Theodor Geisel's (Dr. Suess's) birthday. It's since expanded to a week long celebration hosted by schools, bookstores and libraries where local celebrities, public leaders, authors and illustrators visit and read with elementary school aged kids. 

I got to visit with kindergartners and first graders at Bauder Elementary in Fort Collins. The kids were wonderful and gifted me a signed copy (signed by them!) of one of my favorite picture books, Little Red Writing by Joan Holub, illustrated by Melissa Sweet.

Read Across America / Dr Seuss Day, March 2 - 6, 2020

 We All Hunker Down at Home

Oh, what a difference a couple of weeks makes. Coronavirus came along and changed our world for awhile as we all hunker down and stay home. I'm lucky to have a home studio to work from. Self isolation is pretty much business as usual for book creators. We're mostly introverts, but still love connecting with kids in our community, sharing our books, visiting schools, museums, libraries, all closed for now.

But book creators are a resourceful bunch. If kids can't come to us we'll come to them, one way or another. Here's a great online resource: The Big List of Children's Book Creators Doing Read-Alouds and Activities - We Are Teachers.

Below is The Big Empty: Drone footage of Denver during coronavirus stay-at-home order by Guerilla Capturing. It was shot and edited by Blake Rubenstein with views of downtown Denver; RiNo, LoHi, Mile High Stadium, Denver Art Museum, among other landmarks. It was shot during lunch hours between Tuesday, March 24th - March 26, 2020. It's eerie watching empty Denver streets, but I feel it's a good reminder that we're all in this together and we should wash our hands.