Illustration Friday: "Gesture"

One of the best things about our dogs is that they are there with a friendly gesture when they know we are hurting....wonderful, even if their kisses smell like dog food.  :)  (Illustration taken from Champ's Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too!, published by Sylvan Dell.)

I received this review of my latest book, Prairie Storms, from Sylvan Dell last night, and wanted to share it with you:

PRAIRIE STORMS (reviewed on July 15, 2011)

A passel of prairie wildlife weathers a year of storms.

In February, “The hibernating ground hog stirs, awakes. It unplugs the door to its den and peers out. Soft billows of fog blot / out the sun.” June sees “Puffy morning clouds build and build all afternoon until thunder clouds tower high. Flash! Boom! The white tailed doe and fawn both flee, helter-skelter toward a tree.” Skunks endure dust storms. A cougar shelters from hail. A prairie chicken digs for roots after a blizzard. Each double-page spread presents a different prairie beast and a different weather event for each month. Pattison’s text is descriptive and refrains from anthropomorphizing; however, it ends abruptly, giving this more of the feel of a list than a cohesive tale. Rietz’s watercolors of realistic animals in various areas of the grassland habitat are a good match. Six pages of activities and quizzes on animals, weather, habitats and seasons follow December’s spread.

Best for classrooms or school libraries looking to plump their science collections. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Here is an exciting sample of an illustration from the book...

Prairie Storms author, Darcy Pattison, is having a give-away over at Goodreads.  Enter between now and August 10th for your chance to win a free copy of our book.

You can also now follow both of these books on Facebook!


And finally...

Check out what's new over at my fine art blog, when you get a chance and are in the mood for something different.

Yoga Coloring Book Winner!

Just after midnite today, I drew the winner of the "ABCs of Yoga for Kids" Coloring Book. The winner is...Kathleen W. of Katydid & Kid! Congratulations. I hope your little one loves coloring and learning the poses!

New Year's Giveaway!

To celebrate the new year and all of my loyal blog followers, I will be giving away a copy of my newly illustrated "The ABCs of Yoga for Kids" coloring book. The book contains pages to color with poses for each letter of the alphabet. It is wonderful on its own or as part of the collection, which includes the hardcover book and the poster. All will be available through the publisher's website, or at Amazon.com.


But if you leave a comment on this post anytime now through January 4th, your name will be entered to win a free copy of the book. I will be giving away only one copy, but the drawing will be random and will take place on January 5th, and anyone can win! Good luck, and Happy New Year!

Spook-a-licious Tiny Tags Giveaway!

©Kathleen Rietz
Ready for one more Halloween giveaway? This time you can win tiny pieces of original art! Each tombstone-shaped tag is 1 1/4" X 1 1/8" (approx. 4 1/2 cm X 3 cm) and is hand painted with a different original Halloween design. Just leave me a comment on this post telling me your funniest or scariest Halloween story, and on Monday the 27th I will randomly draw 2 names from all of the people who have left me a comment. Both winners will receive 5 tags each. Ghoul'd Luck!

FOLLOW-UP STORY:

Congratulations to Meridith and Redheaded Stepchild for winning the Spook-a-licios Tiny Tags in the drawing!!

Thanks everyone else who left a comment with a Halloween story. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. So even though they did not win a prize, I would like to give the following titles to:

Dave: most nostalgic story
Candace: creepiest story
Edrian: best tasting costume
Ellen & Joan: stories most likely to lead to therapy later in life
Ewian: saddest (no Halloween??)

Thanx again everyone! And Happy Halloween!

We Have Winners!

Congratulations to Vickie, Carli and Teri! They left me a comment on Thursday's post and today I drew their names. They each will recive a free Halloween note card.

Also, I have launched my new blog "A Moleskine Journal" to showcase my latest obsession. Check it out when you get a chance.

Autumn's Treats

Today's weather was so beautiful, you'd have to be inspired. It actually got my mind off the world's gloom-&-doom economic crisis, the sadness of the war, the upcoming election and my shrinking investments and how I am going to pay to heat my home this winter....I forgot about all of that for about 5 seconds.

I finally captured this spider with my camera today, something I have been trying to do for about 2 weeks. It lives in a peach tree near my house. It usually comes out after dark, but today when I was out walking, I spotted it having lunch. It eventually dragged the morsel back up its web and retreated into the leaves where it spends most of its time.



I also saw these interesting berries....which I am beginning to think may actually be related to some sort of peppers.


Love the textures of the berries and leaves against the fence.


I saw beetles...


and bees.


I even took Sunshine so that she could enjoy the warm autumn air. There were all kinds of good smells out there today.


And when I returned home, the postman had delivered a package for me today....these Halloween cards and envelopes arrived fresh from the printer!


All of that autumn air has me feeling generous. Leave me a comment on this post, and on October 13th I will draw 3 names. Each name I draw will win a free Halloween card with envelope!

These cards (and 8x10" prints) are also available and on sale through the end of the month at my online shop. If you buy any 8x10" print, you will also receive a free card with envelope while supplies last!

Ghoul'ed luck!

Win a Book!

The FIRST person to post a comment on THIS post gets a *signed* copy of this book I illustrated!