CBIG - Children's Book Illustrators Group

Madonna Davidoff  newest book : Barack the Anointed One: The Birth of an African boy that will change history Available at the Publishers website and soon at Amazons. Cover design and illustration by Maria Madonna Davidoff

©Ginger Nielson The traditional Christmas Tree makes its way home.

PICK ME! Ink & Watercolor, © Diana Ting Delosh It's an annual tradition for many families to search for the perfect Christmas Tree. Does the scrawny sapling have chance to be picked? I've always had a soft spot for the underdog. To see more of my illustration visit my website at dianadelosh.com or my blog at dtdelosh.blogspot.com . 

It’s a tradition for my husband and I to go out to the beach on New Year’s Eve at midnight to welcome in the new year. I imagine these three sand-snowmen are celebrating the new year too: This image is actually a crop of a larger watercolor painting. The painting is being used as the December banner for the Watercolor Wednesdays site. The three sand-snowmen in the crop are my favorites. Here's the full image: Please visit my website, sruble.com , to learn more about my art and projects, or my blog to see more recent art.

In the Tradition of Christmas Holiday... Flying Poodles, A Christmas Story has been selected one of the best APPS for Christmas. Available at the APPLE APPS store the ebook is only 1.99.    It is designed for both the iPad and the iPhone.   It makes a great addition to any digital library.

©Ginger Nielson Happy Thanksgiving to all... even Mr. Turkey gets to enjoy the day.

Messy Animals, Frame for Pg 9, © 2008 Diana Ting Delosh, Ink & Water color art for The Woo Agency - Flash animation project.  Please click HERE to view project.  This is an older piece but I think it works quite well for this food-centric holiday. Animals in the throes of a Thanksgiving Feeding Frenzy! Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble! Gobble!  For some less fattening but still delicious art please visit dianadelosh.com or dtdelosh.blogspot.com  

I love creating new art, but once in a while I like to take an old piece and breathe new life into it. When people think of revision, they usually think of text, but pictures can be revised as well. Many times the image gets revised as it goes from sketch to final, but sometimes you have a piece that just doesn’t work out, or a piece you always loved that doesn’t fit your current style. Those are prime candidates for revision. Things to consider when revising: composition, emotion, color, character, and what the illustration is for (fun, portfolio, job, etc.). Here's a piece I revised recently: First Snow of the Season What’s new: snow (instead of rain), the cat (instead of a stuffed toy moose and stuffed toy bunny), and multiple changes to the girl on the right. It’s a lot better than it was before, but not perfect. Maybe some day I’ll revise it again! If you are interested in more recent image revisions (including the paisley whale), I showed them here . Please visi...

I used to have numerous sketchbooks, loose sketches and paintings hanging around in various places in my studio. Finding exactly that perfect sketch I may have done a year ago was...  let's just say ... nearly impossible. My solution for all those many graphics, illustrations, sketches and reference photos used to be to put them all in a steel file cabinet, or have my sketch books scattered in various places in my studio. It began to be impossible to find an exact sketch I knew I had "somewhere"  so I created a digital file cabinet in my computer.   Every file now has a place.  I collected my scans, paintings, photos and transferred the into appropriately named folders and sub folders and put the whole batch on an external computer drive.  This way I have a portable file of all my work that does not clutter up the valuable space on my computer and is safe from any unforseen crashes.   A complete article explaining the how and the why is on my website if...

I find doodling things that you're not known or typecast for  a good way to break out of a creative rut. So when I'm getting that stuck in a rut feeling I'll doodle around with my trusty ball point pen  - not so cute creatures -like below.  Gryphon & Dragon, black pen sketches, © Diana Ting Delosh It's like going on vacation from your style. Which may lead to a break through in your art. Bear & Bunny, Ink & Watercolor, © Diana Ting Delosh To see more of what I'm known for go to:  dianadelosh.com dtdelosh.blogspot.com

Recently I was chosen to be interviewed as Artist of the Week, by an interesting art blog in Bulgaria. They have just begun sharing their blog in English and I was delighted to be asked to participate. The artists they have interviewed over the past weeks are an amazing group. I hope you will visit the blog and read about all the other fine artists. As part of the interview I did get to post the cover art from the latest book I illustrated, Little Charley Thornpaws,  by Caelaach McKinna.  The book has just been released by the publisher 4RV Publishing LLC, and will be available on their site as well as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and any and all bookstores.

PLEASE click HERE to read the complete interview My Library: Children's Book Illustrators by Frank Collerius, Jefferson Market Library October 1, 2010 The  Children's Book Ilustrators Group (CBIG)  presented us with an interesting project—we would choose a favorite children's book and they would create an illustration inspired by that book!  Rebecca, the Children's Librarian at  Jefferson Market , chose  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame  and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit .  The resulting work is  on display in the library .  Here is an interview with some of the illustrators—on their process, their favorite books and writers and their visit to Jefferson Market Library! 

The Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition at the Jefferson Market Library in NYC (Avenue of the Americas near 10th St.) will end on Friday, October 29, 2010. The illustration exhibit featured art created by 18 CBIG members inspired by the children's books,  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit. If you're in the neighborhood please come by and enjoy the show. The framed originals are upstairs in the adult section on top of the book shelves. Look up and all around. You'll also find the kid friendly display in the Kid's Room - dupes of the art mounted on foam core. If you can't make the show never fear all 18 illustrations are posted in this blog. All 12 Dragons were posted in September  and all 6 Magic City posts have been posted in October. Look for posts/labeled or titled Dragons & Magic Exhibition. A PDF  Catalog  is also available on the  CBIG website . Below are a few photos of the e...

© Teresa Tyler Title: Unexpected Magic Book: The Magic City Medium: Collage, Cut Paper,  Marker, Colored Pencil Framed size: 11 x 17 Art Price: $200 This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit

© Maxine Lu Title: Philip knew that a knight simply mustn’t be afraid. Book: The Magic City Medium: Computer and pencil Framed size: 16 x 14 Art Price: Upon Request http://maxinelu.blogspot.com This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit

©Ginger Nielson

© Lisa Cinelli Title: Camel Lurching Like a Boat  Book: The Magic City Medium: Gouache & Ink on Board  Framed size: 24 3/4 x 14 3/4 Art Price: NFS www.lisacinelli.com This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit

© Vicky Rubin Title: The Pretenderette Makes  Off with Phillip on the Hippogriff Book: The Magic City Medium: Watercolor, Ink, Crayon Framed size: 16 x 12 Art Price: $500 www.vickyrubin.com www.creativeshake.com/vickyrubin www.childrensillustrators.com/vickyrubin Vicky Rubin creates cuddly and comical writing and art. Vicky hopes to someday ride a hippogriff. This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit

© Donna Miskend Title: “You go through the dreams and  come out the other side where everything is real.” Book: The Magic City Medium: Watercolor Framed size: 24 x 18 Art Price: $525 www.DonnaMiskend.com Donna Miskend is a multi-disciplined artist based in New York. Her fine art and photography is exhibited throughout the U.S., and her surface/textile designs are produced by major apparel companies. She is currently working on writing and illustrating books for children. Donna's professional memberships include the SCBWI and the CBIG as an author /illustrator. This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit

© Sara Kahn Title: Lucy Book: The Magic City Medium: Ink on Paper Framed size: 17 x 21 Art Price: $75 www.sarakahn.com Sara is a painter and illustrator currently living in San Francisco with her husband and three cats. Her fascination by visual delights started at an early age. She was mesmerized by the color of light going through a prism or the way colors run together when one puts them on the paper; a beautiful brocade pattern; a marvelous dream; gestures of a kitten. She paints in an attempt to take visual notes of what she finds intriguing. Her illustrations using a combination of techniques have appeared in Cricket and Cicada Magazines. She has won many prizes and honors for her artworks, including the SCBWI Magazine Merit award for illustration. This 1 of 18 illustrations in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by...

©Ginger Nielson The magical moment when you hold a fairy in your hands. She will only float there for a moment. When she flies away she will leave stardust on your eyelashes.

The dragon and the fire breathing puppy: For this painting, I wanted to play around with primary colors, layering and texture. Here's a detail that shows those things a little better: If you're interested in the evolution of this painting, I showed the process of creating it here . Please visit sruble.com to learn more about my art and projects, or my blog to see more recent art.

Winged Dragon © Diana Ting Delosh Ink & Watercolor Here's a very enthusiastic dragon flying in to join the other dragons. Web: dianadelosh.com Blog: dtdelosh.blogspot.com   Cards: www.gcuniverse.com/dianascards Giclée Prints: wingedrabbit.imagekind.com Gifts: www.zazzle.com/deloshdesigns*

© Doreen Mulryan Marts Title: Tea Time Book: The Reluctant Dragon  Medium: Digital Print Framed size: 9 x 9 Art Price: $150 www.doreenmarts.com Born in Long Island NY, all Doreen ever wanted to do was draw and ice skate! For school, she attended Carnegie Mellon University as a fine arts major and New York’s School of Visual Arts, where she received her degree in illustration and cartooning. In between, she sold ice cream at Disney World and ran errands for MTV. After graduation, she worked at both Marvel Comics and Russ Berrie. Now, she works and lives as a freelance illustrator and designer in NJ with her husband, new daughter and puppy Baxter Blue Cheese! This is 1 of 18 pieces currently in the Dragons and Magic  CBIG  Exhibition  at the  Jefferson Market Library . Sept 7 - Oct 29, 2010 Art inspired by the children's books:  The Reluctant Dragon  by Kenneth Grahame and  The Magic City  by E. Nesbit