Landing a Cover with Harper-Collins

I can finally share some exciting news! I landed the cover of a novel with Harper-Collins! I had to wait until the book went through the approval process before I could share the news but it's all officially a go and I'll be receiving my galleys (and check!) in the mail shortly! The book is called "Kind of Kin" and it's the latest novel by Rilla Askew, scheduled for release in January 2013. Working with a big publishing company was great. They pay you for not only the hardcover run but also the paperback run and every country it's released in also has to license the image and pay me as well. It's a lot better financially than working with a self-publisher which is how my first book cover was done! And, you get a photo credit in the book too! Here is an image of Rilla's new book "Kind of Kin" featuring my image "Red  Road to Nowhwere":

You can pre-order your copy on Amazon here: Kind of Kin by Rilla Askew

Now, a little bit of info about my image they chose to use on the cover:

Red Road to Nowhere

This image was taken alongside my favorite stretch of highway in the Midwest...Hwy 283. From Dodge City to Oklahoma City, this two-lane highway is through the countryside, small abandoned towns, fields of sunflowers and farms featuring not only cattle but buffalo. Red Road to Nowhere was taken while on a day trip along this highway with my friend and fellow artist Missy Trent. We were hunting Bigfoot who has been spotted in Oklahoma around the Ada and Turner Falls area. We made funny videos about the search which you can see on this old blog post as well as the original, unprocessed image. The above image is a process called HDR, where you take three exposures: one underexposed, one overexposed and one with a perfect exposure. Then, using a photo-editing program you merge all those shots together. The result is a very detailed image that is sharp across the tonal range. I don't do those kinds of shots very often, but when I do I usually love the result. So, there you have it! A little history on the image. Now, go buy the book! :)

Gathering Knowledge at the Art & Soul

I just returned from a long trip to Virginia and North Carolina. Here's a tip: Don't take a late flight on the night of the time change. It's really messed with my sleep rhythms!

The purpose of the trip was to attend the 2012 Art & Soul Retreat in Virginia Beach. I went with my friend and fellow artist, Phoebe Ford Reid. We took different classes, meeting for lunch and taking peeks in on each other to see what each was learning. Since I am so far behind on my blog, I'm just posting a snippet of what I learned from two of my favorite classes.

I had so much fun in Wabi-Sabi Wax taught by Serena Barton. She was a great teacher and the class was full of really fun personalities. We learned how to paint with Encaustic medium...beeswax mixed with oil paint:

 Memoirs of Japan

Mixed media on wood

Preservation of Nature

Mixed media with natural elements on wood

Another class I enjoyed and totally fell in love with was Cathy Taylor's class "Finding Your Creative Spirits" where we learned to make our own background papers using the pages of old National Geographic magazines. Once dry, we could then paint on top of them with FW Acrylic Inks (love these inks!) or collage them onto mixed media pieces. Here are some of my results, taken into Photoshop and enhanced with additional elements:

 Forest Tree in Winter

 Left Afloat

Seabed

And a mixed media piece I did after I returned home using one of my big-eyed dolly drawings:

Promise
Mixed media on paper

Of course, there was plenty of time for Phoebe and I to enjoy photography as well! We went to Colonial Williamsburg and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I've posted all my pictures on Storie which you can see here:
 
I've come back completely exhausted but excited about having the whole Spring and Summer ahead to indulge in all my crafty and artsy pursuits! I'm ready to tackle it all: Digital Painting, Photography, Mixed Media, Watercolors, Sewing, Gardening and even getting back to working on my miniatures.  The whole world of art awaits and I've got my wings on ready to fly!

Sketchbook Project 2012

I had grand plans for this years Sketchbook project...it was less pages and I signed up earlier which meant more time to make it a work of art. Ha! The little book got shuffled aside, buried under mountains of other, more important papers, ignored for other projects until I just had two weeks to finish it before the deadline. When I had originally signed up with my theme "Travel with Me", I planned on only using ink and colored pencil. In the end, I resorted to watercolor because it was a faster way of slapping color onto the page even though the pages aren't really made for wet media. I did still manage to use ink but instead of thoughtful, detailed drawings, I went for the free-flowing scribbleness of quicky lines.
Still, I liked it. Because it's mine. And, I put little "travel secrets" throughout the book. I mailed it off to the Brooklyn Museum of Art with just a week to spare. Whew! (wipes brow and sinks into the couch for a nap).

Cover Page

 This is the intro page.

 I love this picture because it shows just how much I love to travel

 despite whatever weather I may be facing.

Paris

Places in Paris I love. ♥

London

 Feeding the pigeons in Hyde Park.

 Rome

 Bavaria

 Hallstatt, Austria

The C2C

Hadrian's Wall Trail

The Herriot Way (I had lots of help on this page by the kitten walking into paint and then onto my page! Not to mention constantly trying to chew the corners up and eat the pens)

 Cumbria Way

Rio de Janeiro

Somerset

Stonehenge

Venice

Closing page

I will sign up again this year because I proved this time around that with even just two weeks, I can get something onto the page. :)  As always though, my hope is I will have lots of time to work on it. :)

The Paths of Life

We all take different paths. At different times in our lives, these paths may be lined with thorns, obscured by fog or blocked by a raging river. We may be frustrated by our obstacles and yet they are not there by happenstance. Could it be we put them there with our choices? Or could it be that the universe is sending us a sign, to tread onward through the hardships for a life lesson, or perhaps, to turn left or right and choose a different way? It takes us all a while, perhaps years even, to get onto the right path and to find our purpose. And when we do, we find the path to be beautiful. Dappled with sunshine, scented with flowers, easy-going and smooth as silk.
That happy path makes all the others we had to tread worth it in the end. :)

Back home and a long list of "to do's"

There is no place like home. Except when you realize just how long the "to do" list is. Opening a teetering pile of mail, paying bills screaming for attention, returning long-unanswered emails and phone calls, tackling a mountain of laundry, tending to a sorely neglected garden, cleaning up messes made by both human and animal, restocking the emptied fridge, processing hundreds of photos from two different adventures, blogging so the world knows I'm still alive and trying to find the time to create art, start a watercolor journal and resume a gardening & wildlife journal. Did I mention that exercise needs to be added in there somewhere?
ah heck. It all can wait while I take a nap. :)
In the meantime, enjoy these photos taken on day 2 of the Cumbria Way. My favorite day of the trek.

Chesters by the River

Where we stopped for tea, lattes and scones!

Happy Girls!

These were without a doubt the BEST scones found during the trip.

Magical Latte

Wooden Reflections