Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Art for Love - Ariel

Occasionally, I will do a painting for friends.  This painting of Ariel is one of those.  Ariel was a great dog who was well loved.  She would show up on my doorstep dressed up as a bee for Halloween.  Our dog, Star, was invited to many of Ariel's birthday parties, where all the dogs munched on Doggie Birthday Cake from Three Dog Bakery and came home with chew toy party favors.  Ariel could catch a tennis ball on the fly that had been thrown two stories straight up in the air.  But mostly she was a gentle soul who would lay her head on my lap and make me feel loved.  Ariel passed a few years ago, but she is still missed by all.

Andrew Smith

I heard Andrew Smith speak at Ventura /Santa Barbara Writers Day last fall.  I had heard much buzz about his YA novel Ghost Medicine and looked forward to his speech. Andrew was informative, inspiring and witty. It gives me great pleasure to interview Andrew Smith.

When and why did you start writing for children?

I don't think I ever consciously decided to write for children. I just wrote. And I think that writers of Young Adult fiction kind of bristle at the term "children," because our audience and characters really
aren't children.

Hubert Laws - Gallery Art

Gallery Art lends itself to what I call "Inspirational Art."  My musician series fed on inspiration.

I am a huge fan of Hubert Laws, the classical and jazz flutist.  As I've done with all my musician paintings, I played Hubert's music while I was working.

I felt a camaraderie with the jazz musician because with both gallery art and jazz, you take the vow of poverty to pursue the passion.

Susan Thomsen - Chicken Spaghetti Blog

A few tried and true Kidlit blogs have been around for a while now.  Chicken Spaghetti is one of those and is full of great info on children's books.  Chicken Spaghetti also has a carnival for other Kidlit bloggers to post their stuff.  I am so pleased that Kidlit Blogger Susan Thomsen agreed to be interviewed.

When and why did you start a Kidlit blog?

I started Chicken Spaghetti in May 2005. I was enjoying reading books with my kindergartner (now a big fourth-grader), and wanted to share some of the great titles we'd come across.

Tuscany - Sketchbook Art

 

 

I have been fortunate to have spent time sketching while traveling through Italy. Tuscany is an amazing place--  rolling, lush hills, vineyards everywhere and charming, ancient towns.  It was difficult to do sightseeing when all I wanted to do was stop in every square, have a glass of wine and draw. In the small towns throughout Tuscany, very few people spoke English, but art is a universal language.  Most of the time waiters brought me free food and refilled my glass. Sometimes I gave the owner of a cafe the sketch I was working on. Always, the painting was accepted with great fanfare and gratitude. Or at least that's what I thought was going on.  My Italian is so bad, they could have been telling me about the next day's menu!

The Underneath - Kathi Appelt - National Book Award Finalist

In her debut novel, Kathi Appelt paints a rich, powerful story of love, devotion and pure evil.  At first I thought it was too sweet with its animal characters to work as a YA, but I soon realized this compelling story is not for a middle grade crowd.

Ranger, an old bloodhound, is forced to live chained up underneath the porch of a broken down shack in the bayou.  Ranger longs for friendship and love, so he howls continually.  Out in the forest, an abandoned, pregnant calico cat hears his sorrow, so close to her own, and takes a chance by befriending the dog.

Read Early, Read Aloud

Congratulations to one of my good buddies, author Merrily Kutner, who is involved in a very noble cause. Read Early and Read Aloud promotes reading to children during their first five years.  The program is about putting a children's book into kids' hands during their regular pediatric visits.  As they get vaccines and check-ups they are also given books  to promote growth and mental health--a program we all can get behind.  Check it out: Read Early and Read Aloud.

SCBWI Santa Barbara Mission Picturebook Retreat

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a weekend picture book retreat with four acquiring editors at the old Mission in Santa Barbara. Kate Fletcher of Candlewick led my core group and I received a helpful 20-minute critique. On Sunday, Kathy Landwher of Peachtree and Ruta Rimas of Balzer & Bray gave helpful insights on two of my first pages and others at the retreat had critiques from Lisa Graff of FS&G. What a great SCBWI event this was. Here's a quick YouTube piece I did of the weekend.