Glazed Bowl

©Kathleen Rietz
Hhhhmmmm....I'm thinking need to put these on a seperate "moleskine" blog....

A Lovely Pair

©Kathleen Rietz

Look Again

I visited the nature sanctuary again today, probably for the final time this year. These critters camouflaged themselves so well....I would have completely missed the praying mantis if it had not scurried as I walked past it. We seemed to have startled each other.


praying mantis (the colors are amazing!) The praying mantis was about 5 or 6 inches (approx. 13-15 cm) long.



grasshopper (I see you!)

It was nice to break away for a little while....I took Leon with me after hitting the gym. I am working at home on the children's book illustrations and a small side project this weekend. I am hoping to find a little bit of time to draw in my Moleskine tomorrow. My growing interest in nature photography and my new Moleskine have been great outlets to help me to relax lately.

Illustration Friday - "Strings"

©Kathleen Rietz

Lots of "strings" here!

Prints and cards of this image are available and ON SALE through the month of October at my online shop . Plus, buy any full-size fine art print and receive a free Halloween card with envelope. Check it out!

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!

Sketch Buddies

One of the last warm afternoons of September, my friend Joan and I took our sketchbooks to Starbucks and spent a couple of hours sketching and getting caffienated. Later that night I bought my first Moleskine, and what a difference (as you can see here)! Joan's drawing convinced me to give one a try. My sketchbook paper had too much "tooth". I was not very happy with my sketches during this session.


The pencil sharpeners are actually ones I still had from when I was in gradeschool!


Joan drew my purse. You can see more of her drawings here.

Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits!

Well, I have some items worth sharing today. The book designer is currently working on designing the cover of the children's yoga book I am illustrating, so I will be able to post the finished cover soon, and you will be able to pre-order the book before it is actually released! Watch for more about that. You KNOW I will be promoting the book as much as I can when I am finally able. It is like waiting for the last day of school, though...I am SO antsy! This is the illustration that has been chosen for the book cover!



Remember these ribbons I designed for j.caroline creative ?

(photo courtesy of Caroline Devoy)
Caroline emailed me yesterday to ask me if I had a logo for my design work because she will be showing the ribbons at the International Quilt Market at the end on October in Houston, TX. So the logo design I came up with will be printed on stickers which will go on the ribbons at the show. I think that's pretty neat!


You can buy the ribbons here at j.caroline creative's online store , along with ribbons and fabrics created by a fellow blogger and designer I admire, Jessica Jones of "How About Orange" .

Also, I was recently interviewed by fellow illustrator John Blackford. Check out the interview on his blog right here (mine is about half way down the page), along with interviews of other illustrators. And take a look at John's fun illustrations, too!

Prints and notecards of my illustration "Happy Halloween" are now available and on sale through the month of October at my online shop ! Please go check them out, and see the other prints available. More will be added in the upcoming weeks as I get the shop ready for holiday shoppers.

©Kathleen Rietz

Finally, I wanted to show you a few of the photos I took while Joan Yoshioka was staying with me.


One thing I love about living where I do is that right outside the world-class city of Chicago, you can still find the beautiful prairie. It truly is an amazing place to live.

I took these photos at the Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary here in Schaumburg, IL.

Joan and I took hundreds of photos, so I am trying to weed though them and figure out the best forum in which to show them to you.

I will likely display more here and on our collaborative blog Potluck Sunday , and then put them all on Flickr.

Leftovers

©Kathleen Rietz
..in my moleskine....I am finally "okay" with the fact that I am very VERY diverse as an artist. I enjoy a quiet evening lost in my new moleskine as much as I enjoy drawing whimsical images of children in my "children's book" style. I also enjoy cutting stained glass and grouting to create my own mosaic projects, primitive silversmithing, and creating textile patterns on my computer in Photoshop. Go figure. I always thought I had to pick one and skill/style and stick with it to create a "brand" for myself. But I don't care anymore, really. This blog is to showcase my creativity APART from my professional website, so this is what I drew last night and wanted to post today. : )

Illustration Friday - "Sugary"

I thought these both fit the topic well this week:©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz
Have a sweet weekend everyone!

Aloha from Chicago!

Happy Friday everyone! Here is a little pic of my blogger buddy and fellow artist Joan Yoshioka and me in the city last week. In just a few hours I will be driving Joan back to the airport and she will be heading back to Hawaii. We are both sad to say good-bye. It was so fun to have her come and stay with me at my house. These past 2 weeks was like a mini vacation for the both of us because we got to go exploring like a couple of tourists in my very own city. I'll be posting more photos soon. For now we just wanted to say "Aloha"!

The Moleskine

©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz
©Kathleen Rietz

Fellow blogger and good friend Joan Yoshioka has been visiting from Hawaii and staying at my home in Chicagoland. We have so much to post about...it has been a vacation of sorts for us both. But tonite I am finishing up some sketches for the children's yoga book I am illustrating, so we are taking a little break from our adventures.

Today was grey and cold...the first real nip of autumn in the air. I bought this Moleskine sketchbook last night while we were out, and today we decided to have an afternoon of sketching at my kitchen table. Now I understand why artists become obsessed with their Moleskines....they are just so "different" from any other sketchbooks out there. It was nice just to do some sketching, free of deadlines and pressure. I guess there is still this fine artist living inside of me, set free on the pages of her new Moleskine.

Illustration Friday - "Packed"

Always good to read lables to see what kind of nutrients are packed into your food.
(This is another educational illustration I drew for a client earlier this year. About half of my work is this type. It certainly helps to pay the bills and I must admit that sometimes it is fun to work in graphite.)

The Full Cover Illustration

Here is the full cover spread for my latest book illustration project "Little Black Ant on Park Street" published by Soundprints for the Smithsonian Institution! It is scheduled for release in Sring 2009. Please click to see the image in a larger format!

And here is the catalog shot!

Illustration Friday - "Clique" & "Little Black Ant" book cover!!!

Here are examples of "cliques"....these 3 pencil illustrations were educational illustrations I did for a publisher earlier this year.

Please also take a look at the last illustration...I just recieved this catalog image sample of the book cover I illustrated for the Soundprints book "Little Black Ant on Park Street"!!! This is the book that will be sold through the Smithsonian Institution. I am thrilled. I worked all weekend on the thumbnails for the inside illustrations. I am trying to get a file of the entire cover layout, since the illustration actually wraps around the front and back cover.

All of these illustrations showcase my "soft realistic" style. I am also working on a book in my "whimsical" style, which many of you are probably more familiar with. I will post illustratiosn from that upcoming book, too, as soon as I am able.





"Little Black Ant on Park Street" will be released in the spring of 2009, published by Soundprints.

A Fabulous Friday

Hello Everyone! I miss being able to post sketches, so here is a little morsel for you.

In about 12 hours from now, my blogger buddy and fellow artist Joan Yoshioka will be landing at O'Hare airport and staying with me for a while. So hopefully I will have some photos to post from our excursions, and maybe even some sketches if we get a chance to sketch together.

I was recently given this award by the queen of virtual cupcakes, Diana Evans! Thanks Diana! Be sure to pop by her blog for some no calorie sweetness.



Happy Friday everyone!

Betcha Didn't Know....

I rarely post any of my design work here, but since I am adding these to my surface design portfolio on my website, I thought I might give you a taste. You can check out more of them as I post them on my website.

Yep, I do a little of everything.

Illustration Friday - "Clutter"

Here is an illustration I drew for a classroom textbook assignment earlier this year.

If you haven't read my new article in the SCBWI-IL's The Prairie Wind, click here. It's all about surviving the dreaded professional "dry spell" freelancers face. I am now officially a regular contributor to "Illustrator Tips".

another TINY sneak preview

I finished the painting for the book cover for Soundprints today, and it is now making its way safely to Connecticut. I photographed it first, and emailed the photo to the editor. She was ecstatic! I could practically hear her jumping up and down through the phone! I am so excited. The painting took 3 weeks. But the cover sells the book, so it was time well spent. Here is another little sneak preview of the painting I have decided to post for you (this section is maybe 3" wide, and the painting is over 25" wide altogether). I should be able to post the entire layout with the title in place as soon as it is approved and goes to catalog.....in a week or so. I will also post my preliminary sketches and maybe some earlier pics of the painting as I was working on it. Soundprints has been great to work with, and I look forward to continuing on with this project and completing the book.

In Line

©Kathleen Rietz

...waiting...

Read my new article in the SCBWI-IL's The Prairie Wind. It's all about surviving the dreaded professional "dry spell" freelancers face. I am now officially a regular contributor to "Illustrator Tips".