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".