This photo was taken at the Texas Library Association Conference by Kerry McManus at the Boyds Mills Press booth. Dan Burr and I were signing COWBOYS and PIRATES when a pirate came strolling by and posed with us. I’m sorry that I don’t have his name but he made a convincing pirate and we enjoyed the chat.
David
This is to remind you that the voting period for Hall of Fame Poet and Young Poets is reeeeealy brief this month. Thanksgiving, the day after, a weekend, and suddenly it’s Monday and voting cuts off at 10:00 CST that night. Tuesday is the last day of the month, which is when I announce our honored poets and give you the word of the month for December.
SO! Every vote counts, especially in a low turnout month, which this may be unless a lot of voters cast their ballots between now and Monday night. I’m especially concerned that students and their support groups may overlook the need to vote on Monday latest. Spread the word!
This week I had good news about Pirates, my book of piratey poems illustrated by Dan Burr. The title has been selected as one of the 20 intermediate books on the master reading list for next year’s Young Hoosier Book Award. Pirates is on this year’s master reading list for the Texas Bluebonnet Book Award so I’m delighted to see the book doing well. Last year in Indiana more than 73,000 students read enough books on the master list to qualify to vote for their favorite. In Texas the number of voting students was 191,000.
Pirates has previously been selected by Language Arts (NCTE) as one of the notable books of poetry in 2008, by VOYA (magazine for librarians) for its 2009 Nonfiction Honor List, and was on the Kansas State Reading Circle List for 2009.
9:45 to 10:45 Kaite Stover will discuss efficient research techniques and how to utilize your friendly local library’s research experts
10:45-10:55 quick break
10:55 to 11:55 Lisa McCormick will offer offer tips to find the best experts and conduct painless, productive interviews
Lunch from noon to 1:15
1:15 to 2:15 JB Cheaney first half talk about how to dazzle during author visits
2:15 – 2:25 quick break
2:25 – 3:30 JB Chaney pt 2
Questions? Contact your Regional Advisor at ks_scbwi.org
More information and online registration: Catching Fire 2010 Workshop – Fanning the Flames – Research Techniques, Interviewing & School Visits
Since Kathy Temean first began posting one of my poems each Sunday, the number has grown considerably. In case you are interested in reviewing these or looking for some in particular, here is a list of all the poems posted so far and their source.
POEMS OF THE WEEK
8-31-09 dragonfly, bugs, poems about creeping things
3-28-10 bookworm, bugs, poems about creeping things
5-2-10 Spider, bugs, poems about creeping things
6-6-10 Chigger, bugs, poems about creeping things
9-18-09 Friends, Partner Poems
9-13-09 Two Frogs and a Witch, The Book of Giant Stories
10-25-09 Giant Named Groans, The Book of Giant Stories
9-27-09 Swimsuits, Vacation
2-21-10 Vacation, Vacation
10-05-09 Jarrett Junior High School, Connecting Dots
10-20-09 Goodbye Picture, Connecting Dots
1-03-10 Away from Camp, Connecting Dots
2-07-10 Kryptonite Blues, Connecting Dots
5-30-10 Mysterious Birds, Connecting Dots
10-12-09 Signing on a Crew, Pirates
11-29-09 Pirates Nest, Pirates
11-02-09 Rooster Walk, Sounds of Rain
11-08-09 Rhythms, Sounds of Rain
11-15-09 Song of Bees, Sounds of Rain
11-22-09 Wondering on the Stars, Sounds of Rain
1-24-10 Ambassadors, Sounds of Rain
12-13-09 Night Stalker, Sounds of Rain
4-18-10 Blowing Downriver, Sounds of Rain
6-28-10 Tree Bones, Sounds of Rain
11-26-09 A Poem Begins, Children’s Literature in the Reading Program
12-06-09 Wolf, Wild Country
12-20-09 Above the Tree Line, Wild Country
12-27-09 No Words , Wild Country
3-10-10 Song of the Tree Frogs, Wild Country
4-04-10 No Words , Wild Country
4-25-10 Puffin, Wild Country
5-9-10 Crossing Paths, Wild Country
7-4-10 No Words , Wild Country
1-10-10 The Bus, The Mouse was Out at Recess
1-17-10 My Essay on Birds, The Mouse was Out as Recess
1-31-10 The Dog in School, The Mouse was Out at Recess
2-14-10 Love, Somebody Catch My Homework,
3-01-10 My Bed, The Alligator in the Closet
3-14-10 The Guest in the Pantry, The Alligator in the Closet
3-21-09 Socks Without Partners, The Alligator in the Closet
5-16-10 Keepers, The Alligator in the Closet
6-13-10 To the Victor, The Alligator in the Closet
6-20-10 Family Heirlooms, The Alligator in the Closet
4-11-10 Weeds, The Boy Who Counted Stars
5-23-10 Spending the Night with Relatives Vacation, We’re Going to the Ocean
But here’s a sales flyer that I want to show you. Boyds Mills Press and Wordsong have put together a basket of seven titles to make it easier for schools, libraries, and individuals who are interested in my work to order a balanced selection of titles that comes with a laminated teaching guide developed by educators to help make each book more meaningful to young readers.
I’m proud of this effort on my behalf. If you know someone you might like to order the basket, please pass on today’s post before the order deadline of July 31.
Of course you can buy my books in book stores or ask them to order any they don’t have in stock, and you can order titles on line through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. For a complete list of my publications, go to my website under the Books page. Thank you.
David
Now for today’s treat: Heeeeere’s Dan!
THOUGHTS ON BEING AN ILLUSTRATOR
by Dan Burr
That is a great question, I think being an artist/illustrator has to come to you naturally, it’s not something you can force on a person. Kids that draw all the time, turn into adults that draw all the time and eventually do something with their talent or find a career doing something else that will pays the bills. My preparation as an illustrator didn’t start until I hit college, I was fortunate to have a professor who was an illustrator and knew about the world of illustration. He introduced me to the world in which I now live. An education or introduction of some sort is important to enter any serious profession (not that art is serious), As a professional illustrator, you better have some idea what will be expected of you, hopefully you get that from someone who cares and knows a bit about it.
Q – How closely do you usually work with the author?
Sometimes not at all, sometimes a bunch. I don’t know which I prefer either. Authors can bring insights to my work that I may never have thought of or they can be so stifling that you what to tell them to illustrate the thing. I always wonder what the author thinks about the work I do for their book, and sometimes worry that I missed the mark but so far have been lucky in that regard. I really enjoyed working with David on our book Pirates, we are kindred spirits (Pirates) and we think very much alike and that made for a great book.
Q – How long do you usually need to do a complete book project?
I can illustrate a 32 pager in 13 weeks (painting time), I prefer more time but deadlines are deadlines, It usually takes me a while to get everything ready for a project, the sketches and all the research take a fair amount of time and then I have to line up models and costumes etc, etc. I usually hear about the project at least a year in advance and then like always I procrastinate until I have 13 or so weeks to really dig in and get it done.
Q – What steps do you take from idea to finished work?
I usually start with some of my really crummy thumbnail sketches that start my mind working, I hopefully can turn them into a little better version of a sketch that will eventually lead me to research and collecting the information that I need to make the paintings believable and the environments complete. Sometimes this can be a painfully slow process and sometimes if I’m familiar enough with the subject it goes quickly. The sketches then get revised a few times to solve design issues or anything else that looks wrong, when the sketches are finished, off I go to the finished painting.
Q-How much do you revise your work?
If I get lucky and pull it off the first time, not much, If I can’t seem to visualize the image and start with a poor sketch or concept, it plagues me through the whole process until I revise and fix what is bugging me. This can mean repainting that image or sometimes several of the images that just don’t seem to be working. I try to work it out while in the sketch stage but sometimes problems slip by unnoticed until my 12 yr old comes to the studio and says, ahh… Is that a dog or a small horse pulling that wagon? Kids these days…
Q- How do you use the computer as a tool for your art?
I was educated in a very traditional school of art, drawing and painting was taught with traditional mediums, I spent the last15 years of my career painting with oils on traditional surfaces to complete my illustration projects. In 2004 I took a Photoshop class to see if it would be a viable tool to help accomplish my work, I really learned a lot and realized that I could paint in a way that mimicked my traditional work. It took a while to make the complete transition from traditional to digital but finally decided that in order to stay competitive I would have to keep up with technology and make the switch. Today I do all my work on the computer using Photoshop to paint digitally in a way that my clients have come to expect over the span of my career.
Q- What advise would you give authors that would help an artist make a better book?
Write good books. If the words are great the images come easy and the process for me is less complicated. I like working with authors, it nice to get their insight and understand some of their expectations, sometimes I struggle coming up with or starting a project, a talk with the author can make all the difference and get the juices flowing. As an illustrator it’s always nice to be given the freedom to do what we do and create images that do justice to the words. Authors have to trust us to take their words and make the books come to life. As the writer of the book don’t be afraid to offer an insight or two to help the process along, but don’t try to control the process too much or the illustrator can’t do what he/she has been hired to do.
Q- Which usually comes first, the words or the art?
When I am working on a picture book, I usually need the words to help see the images, having said that, sometimes it works the other way around and the pictures come first. In the book “Pirates” the process evolved back and forth, starting with some images I had swimming around in my head, and then the author (You, David L. Harrison) sharing ideas that he thought would make good poems and pictures. “Pirates” was the ideal situation, author and illustrator working together on the same page to make a book. I always have paintings in my head just waiting to come out, some belong to stories and some don’t, the trick is to make sure they find a home in a great story.
My sincere thanks to Dan. If you have questions or comments, plese post them below in the comment section.
David
