"Draw Draw Draw"

HaPpY NeW YeAr!  if I have not seen you in person.  I wanted to thank AWL for purchasing my first book "Jimmy Jack Gets a New Job".  I really appreciate the support and feedback.  I am in the process of starting the second book "Jimmy Jack Gets his Name".  The story will go back into his early days, so we will see a Pup version-which will be hard to illustrate.  Not really but just different than the usual I have been drawing for years.  In fact if you look at all the cards and illustrations I have done with "JJ" in the composition; well he surely has transformed.

And that brings me to the process of illustrations I do.  The above final "cartoon" is a composite of 2 different drawings I created-the Car and "JJ" and Pete his little brother.  Thanks to the technology of a scanner and the use of PhotoSTOP!, it makes my job a bit easier.  Much like I do when creating a Set Design.  In the old days we stood at a copy machine using percentage of enlargements and reductions to get the right proportions.  That seemed like a great tool also, but now I have all that at home in the studio.  However I do miss my days hanging at Kinkos or the local copy store.  A real criteria for me when looking for an apartment was; is there a copy store near, blueprint shop, 1-hour photo (boy that dates me), closest Art Supply Store and how far the subway stations.  Forget about the comfort of the apartment or if it is a 4th floor or 6th floor walk-up.  In fact I miss walking up those 9 inch risers at the building on 45th Street, 348 to be exact.  Gr-8! New York apartment and location, what a blessing!

So now that I have things right at my finger tips I can work faster and play around with things to get the best visual results.  Alas it does not make the drawing process faster-but I enjoy the pencil drawing, then the refinements and finally the "inking" of the drawing.  My FAV pen right now is the Paper Mate-Flair in Black.  My newest find is the Sharpie Pen Fine point; I use that to sign your books if I signed one for you.

And by the way, if you have not purchased a copy of the first book-well I have 90 of them waiting to be shipped.  I will even sign it any way you want, your choice.  I am selling them for $19 + Shipping $7.  $26 greenbacks will get you a personally signed copy and I will donate $1 to Rescue Ridge in Monmouth County NJ.  They rescued "Cairo" from the kill floor at the ASPCA.  Now we have our dear little friend and I cannot think of life with out that little pup and joyful energy.

Who knows, some day there will be a story about her and where she came from.  We think she ran away from the circus.