Portfolio Relaunch

After spending years as the proverbial cobbler’s child – ignored and abandoned by its artist father – my little portfolio has once again found favor in my eyes. I feel awful about neglecting it for so long, particularly since it exists solely to organize and show off my work. No to mention it’s use as a tool for adding clients to my roster.

Anyhow, it’s alive; accessible through my main page, and working splendidly. I built it using the simple, elegant platform from Cargo Collective, promptly carving out sections for my photos, layout work, murals, and of course illustration.

A watercolor birthday card for Melissa.

The best part about Cargo is its ease; nearly effortless, instant updating ensures I won’t be nearly as likely to ignore it in the future.

One new piece I’ll toss up there is my entry for the Tomie dePaola Illustration Award. This is my first time participating.

Hosted by SCBWI, of which I’ve been a member on-and-off for years… the winner of the “dePaola” gets a cool thou to spend on art supplies and an all expenses paid trip to NYC for the big author / illustrator conference. There, she or he will receive the “best of” award from the Strega Nona author himself.

Not shabby, particularly since for the rest of the week you’re in the midst of the greatest concentration of children’s book publishers on Earth.

So… here’s my take on Tomie’s assignment: a passage from the old story of Chicken Licken. I’ll also toss up one of the dozens of rough sketches. Wish me luck, faithful Abridgers.