Conoce Tu Parque

Here is the cover of a series of coloring books I am working on for the National Park Foundation, through Environment for the Americas.  The coloring books are geared toward introducing Latino children to our national parks.

Free "Explore Our National Parks" coloring page!

Today in the Midwest it is definitely a "snow day".  So here is a free coloring page for your kids to download and color, and a reminder that there are warmer days ahead.

"Prairie Storms" book launch and GIVEAWAY!

Head over to the blog of well-respected children's book illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba for a chance to win a FREE copy of my new book, Prairie Storms.  Also, be sure to read the interview with the book's author, Darcy Pattison, and myself, about how the concept for the book and the illustrations all came together.  You can also watch a book trailer there, to preview this exciting new book!

Illustration Friday: "Midsummer Night"

Here is a preview illustration from my latest book, Prairie Storms, set for release in just a couple of weeks.  The book was written by Darcy Pattison, and published by Sylvan Dell.  We have a follow-up book, called Desert Baths, which will be coming in 2012.  It has been wonderful working with both Darcy and Sylvan Dell.  In this illustration, an earless lizard shimmies to find shelter from a dry, crackling lightning storm in the middle of an August night.  You can download a free coloring page version of this illustration here.

"Prairie Storms": August coloring page

To help launch the August release of my new picture book "Prairie Storms", written by Darcy Pattison and published by Sylvan Dell Publishing, I will be making available FREE coloring pages drawn by me!  Each coloring page features a month with a scene which coordinates with a scene from the book.  Just click the image, then either download the coloring page, or drag and drop it to your desk top.  Be sure to print the image in a "landscape" format on your printer.  The image size is 8.5" X  11".  I would love to see your child's finished, colored page when they have finished coloring it.

This week I am featuring the coloring page for the month of August: an earless lizard searches for shelter as the sky crackles with heat lightning.

Read a NEW Interview with Yours Truly!

I was interviewed by writer Karin Cameron over at her blog, "Karin Won't Stop Talking".  Go take a look and find out how I got my start as an artist and children's illustrator, and what advice I can give to others in the biz.  Be sure to leave a comment and tell Karin you stopped by.  She is a marvelous host and an awesome writer.

Here is a rough sketch I made for the upcoming book "Prairie Storms", due out in August 2011!

Illustration Friday: "Chicken"

Two different illustrations for the topic "Chicken".  

The first illustration is for the current children's book I am illustrating for Sylvan Dell, titled "Prairie Storms" (2011).  It is a prairie chicken, also known as a prairie grouse.

The second is a coloring page I created, called"Chicken Dance".

Illustration Friday: "Early"

"Early in the morning, the little black ant pokes up through the ground, eager to hunt for its food."


This is a spread I illustrated for the book "Little Black Ant on Park Street", part of the Smithsonian's Backyard Books series from Soundprints Publishing, 2010.

Illustration Friday - "Perspective"

It's amazing how different life appears through someone else's perspective.

This is the cover art from my latest children's book from Soundprints, "Little Black Ant on Park Street", written by Janet Halfmann.

Little Black Ant on Park Street

After several delays, the new release date for my illustrated book "Little Black Ant on Park Street" (Soundprints Publishing) is December 2009. I took these photos of the spreads with a pocket camera, and will repost them when I get actually high quality scans. But I was so excited I just had to show you now! It was hard to choose only 2 spreads from the book, but I cannot give away the story. So until December, this will have to satisfy!