The Licensing Nook

Posted by Liz

Did you have an awesome summer? Didja?

I have been having a good amount of fun coupled with a lot of work, both in and out of the studio. So, I let my blog languish a bit for summer. Now is the time to bring it up to speed as we go into FALL!

Going back a couple of months, I don’t think I ever showed you this fabulous new book called lllustrating Children’s Picture Books:

It’s by Steve Withrow and fellow Nook memberLesley Breen Withrow, and I was most happy to contribute a couple of articles to it. This one is about writing and illustrating board books, which is truly one of my favorite subjects:

This page is about the “other” markets you can pursue with your children’s art. If there’s one thing I do know a lot about, it’s “other” markets! This encompasses toys, fabrics, magazines, and stuff like that.

Let’s see… what else? Ah, I have been illustrating almost monthly for Highlights High Five, mainly little snippets of recipe ingredients.

I am continuing to create the Newport Creamery children’s menus. The current one is summer-themed and has Newport’s Cliff Walk on the cover. Next time you’re there, go ahead and ask for the kid’s menu!

I haven’t managed to update my website in a while (it’s on the list), so for now I will show you a few of my recently designed Fred items, now available at a store near YOU! Keep your eyes open for:

Salt ‘n’ Pants! Oh, how happy it makes me to see this one on the market! The little guy is salt, and his pants are pepper. I know it’s weird, but I’ve been trying to get it made for a couple of years now. Huzzah! Hooray for pants!

Another item I am glad to see out there is the Candy Stash. It’s a zip-up wallet shaped like those candy buttons stuck on paper. Mmmm, paper…and candy!

Fresh into the world is the Desk Daisy- a little potted plant that has 3 stems full of paper clip “petals”, held in place by magnets. Perky, huh?

Also new to the market are Chewdrivers…little interchangeable tool handles that can be fitted with a knife, fork, and spoon. This one was challenging to figure out, but it came out well and works like a charm.

Last but not least, I spent a good part of summer ferrying kids to and from the Swamp Meadow Summer Children’s Theatre. They did a very fun musical called “Olivia”, which was something like a female “Oliver” but with all new songs, and a totally different plot. Anyhoo, I did the art that was used for the playbills, t-shirts, and media stuff.

That’s all for now… we now return you to your regularly scheduled blog posts!

posted: Lesley

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Today is my daughter’s 5th birthday! We had a great party for her over the weekend with family and friends. She has been enjoying eating the leftover cake and playing with her presents the last few days. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since my little girl was born. But I am happy to say that I haven’t missed a moment and am looking forward to many more. Love you, Marin!

Time to vote again! I saw that Spoonflower was having another contest that suited some art I had created. The contest was for “tractor” fabric and there are a lot  of entries! Who knew so many people were harboring a love of machinery? So here is  a look at my fabric above, my little red tractor  is all about farm life. I used to summer on my grandparents cotton farm in Texas and yes, they really had red tractors! And here is the link to vote (if you like mine, that is!) You have to click through the pages to find mine, there are 6 pages of entries, the order changes every time the page is refreshed, just click on the one you like and when it turns green-your vote has been cast!

posted by: Lesley

posted by: Lesley

©Lesley Breen Withrow

I got re-inspired to create more patterns the other day while visiting a local sewing store with my mom. I loved seeing all the fabrics and patterns and COLORS! So fun and beautiful. Here’s a fun pattern I recently made of some circles with different textures and patterns.

posted by: Lesley

©Lesley Breen Withrow

Here’s a snippet of a repeat pattern I created a little while ago containing these cute little snails, bugs, flowers and leaves. I have been getting back into sewing again, something I enjoyed to do as a kid. I would love to see these patterns as a kids fabric someday!

Posted by: Lesley

It’s nice to see the tooth fairy diary I illustrated  Tooth Fairy Tales – My Record of Each Lost Tooth for Potter Style (an imprint of Random House) is already available for pre-orders! It’s coming out August 10th of this year and I can’t wait to see the printed version of it. It’s a part of the Potter Style Summer 2010 catalog which is available on-line and is beautifully designed. So check it out if you have a moment.

Posted by: Lesley

©Oxford University Press

Here’s a snippet from a piece of art I’m working on. Gotta love drawing colorful bugs!

Posted by: Lesley

©Gartner Greetings

I illustrated and planned the subject matter for this religious greeting card collection called ‘Sharing the Faith’ from Gartner Greetings (an imprint of Gartner Studios ). It’s a beautiful collection that has a soft natural look, lots of textures and patterns and art that ties in nicely with its up-lifting verses. It’s a 40 card collection that I shared with another fabulous illustrator and was a joy to work on.

Instead of New Years Resolutions, I always evaluate where my art and business is heading. I like where my business is heading (check) Licensing is a bit of a “slow boat to China” way to riches but I so enjoy the art I am creating so  I know this is a good direction for me. I do still freelance my illustration for editorial and book publishing but I have decided to take this art to a bit of a different place (different for me anyway!) I an loosening up my line work, even digging out my ink nibs and incorporating elements of collage in my work. I ham having  so much fun but like anything it is hard to make time for new portfolio pieces. Here is a new one from me!