Another Creative Outlet

While spending sometime with my brother's family in North Carolina, my castle making obsession is in full force. In the past on riverbanks and beaches, my brother Mike and I would construct the best civilizations that laughed in the face of nature. An isthmus in a river? They said it couldn't be done, but it was done and our civilization survived! Made mostly from dripping sand, we'd discuss how our city was building residences and forming their government, so on and so forth.


Now, back at the beach after a long hiatus, I am instilling a healthy creative outlet for the next generation of Murphys (even though at the age of 6 and 3, they mostly want to Godzuki crush everything). This is pretty much super fun.

Practicing What I Preach

At the close of each semester at Montserrat, all students have to have a final panel review. An assortment of teachers from each discipline assemble to give their input as to the year's progression. One thing I find myself constantly telling ALL majors is: Keeping drawing, loosen up, try new media...

Being under persistant deadline pressures as an illustrator can force you to lose focus of what really is important in improving one's skills. Now that my freelance load has been lightened slightly, I am practicing what I preach. No more are the days of tight renderings! No more are the days of tickling! I will be EXPRESSIVE! Well, ok. Slow down, we're not making Pollacks here, but at least it's nice to experiment with more liquid sketch materials.

I almost feel a bit nude, as an illustrator, not to have a mission. It feels almost uncomfortable not to have a set dimension, art direction, style, and character list. I am back in the days where I am the true master and commander. So what do I like to do? I dunno! I think it's time to find out again in order to propel myself into the next chapter. Being a borderline hermit, working late at night, I frequently enjoy looking at the assortment of apparel and body shape of Yvan Rodic's (also know as the Face Hunter) photos. I hope he doesn't mind. SO I will use this a spring board.

Birds by Pleix

This pretty much has nothing to do with anything. But, it's very entertaining!

Birds by Pleix.
I am putting the studio in a couple bags for a week, and heading 12 hours south! A bit of a working vacation, you might say, to a little place called Duck. I think there will be many a pun made next week. "Look out! DUCK!"

Emerging Safari

Quick drawing from the back lawn, as the animals lay scattered about.

Illustration Friday: Electricty

A Poster for Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Cat Tuesday

It all started with the idea of drawing cats, then the horrible pun Cat Tuesday. Sometimes, you just shouldn't need an excuse to have fun and draw.

Illustration Friday: Seed

Here are some of the preliminary character designs for A Place to Grow (Bloom & Grow Books), written by Stephanie Bloom. It was a ton of fun to try and capture big emotion in a simple shape.

San Fransicsco Chronicle Rocks!

Regan McMahon, Chronicle Deputy Book Editor, gave a lovely review to Hush Little Dragon this past weekend. I can't say that I could be any more thrilled about this spotlight for Boni Ashburn, Abrams Books for Young Readers, and myself!

"It's "Sweeney Todd" for the sandbox set."

Here's a link to the entire article.

Thanks again Regan McMahon and the SF Chronicle.

The Smallpox

The third in the ongoing series of plagues is this illustration of the smallpox. Ever since I was in elementary school and first saw the illustrations of the Aztec smallpox victims in the sixteenth century (taken from Historia De Las Cosas de Nueva Espana, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University), I was fascinated by the beauty/awesomeness of that which one cannot see. I became aware of closed spaces, the increased temperature of crowded spaces, and the simplicity of a sneeze and it's future effects on each individual. I guess it would have been easy to become a hypochondriac at that moment, thankfully... I did not develop in that direction. Smallpox is a disease that spread exactly in this fashion.

Transmission of smallpox occurs through inhalation of airborne variola virus, usually droplets expressed from the oral, nasal, or pharyngeal mucosa of an infected person. It is transmitted from one person to another primarily through prolonged face-to-face contact with an infected person, usually within a distance of 6 feet, but can also be spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects (fomites) such as bedding or clothing. The incubation period between contraction and the first obvious symptoms of the disease is around 12 days. Once inhaled, variola virus invades the oropharyngeal (mouth and throat) or the respiratory mucosa, migrates to regional lymph nodes, and begins to multiply. The initial symptoms are similar to other viral diseases such as influenza and the common cold: fever (at least 38.5 °C (101 °F)), muscle pain, malaise, headache, and as the digestive tract is commonly involved (good times), nausea and vomiting and backache often occur. The preeruptive stage, usually lasts 2–4 days. By days 12–15 the first visible lesions—small reddish spots called enanthem—appear on mucous membranes of the mouth, tongue, palate, and throat, and temperature falls to near normal. These lesions rapidly enlarge and rupture, releasing large amounts of virus into the saliva.

Smallpox is believed to have emerged in human populations about 10,000 BC. The disease killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year during the 18th century (including five reigning monarchs), and was responsible for a third of all blindness. Between 20 and 60% of all those infected, and over 80% of infected children, died from the disease.

The Europeans brought to the "New World" smallpox, measles, diphtheria, trachoma, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague (carried by fleas, which were carried by European rats), malaria, typhoid fever, cholera, yellow fever, dengue fever, scarlet fever, amebic dysentery, influenza, and a number of worm infections. Native Americans had absolutely no antibodies to these diseases. To say that the effect of these illnesses on the population of the Americas was devastating would be an understatement. It has been estimated that by the end of the seventeenth century, between seventy and ninety percent of the population of the Americas had died of European-imported diseases. Unintentionally introduced at Veracruz with the arrival of Panfilo de Narvaez on April 23, 1520 Smallpox was credited with the victory of Cortes over the Aztec empire at Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) in 1521. I've got one word for that; SCARY.

After successful vaccination campaigns throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the World Health Organization certified the eradication of smallpox in 1979.To this day, smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely eradicated from nature. BUT! (We all have big buts) In March 2003 smallpox scabs were found tucked inside an envelope in a book on Civil War medicine in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The envelope was labeled as containing the scabs and listed the names of the patients they came from. Assuming the contents could be dangerous, the librarian who found them did not open the envelope. The scabs ended up with employees from the CDC who responded quickly once informed of the discovery. The discovery raised concerns that smallpox DNA could be extracted from these and other scabs and used for a biological attack. All of my siblings except myself and the second youngest have the obvious arm scar that is the smallpox vaccination. I'm slightly nervous that I don't have one if anything ever were to resurface!

A Manuscript Revisited...

...about six years later. I think it's a commonly known fact I am not a very confident writer. I'm not too sure, maybe it's those reports and papers I bombed on. Who likes to proofread, really? In all honestly, I have grown to enjoy the writing process more and more. Don't get me wrong, the self doubt is enormous, but I am the challenge of simplification and subtlety, specifically on a children's level, is satisfying. These next few images are from a manuscript idea about the pursuit of love; just when all hope is lost, love can find you.

With some people's suggestion, the originally story changed from love to friendship.

But, after brewing a few years, I think children understand love on a more pure level than adults, so I switched it back to a quest for love and acceptance. I went back to more comfortable compositions, ones that come to more naturally, and really embellished the environment on the new manuscript.


But finding love is still trixy in this version!


Let's hope this manuscript finds a little love at the publishers!

Kids Are Way Cooler Than Me

I was going through some folders and stumbled upon my stack of drawings gifted by some new friends from book presentations. This particular lot came from the time I shared Good Babies with Portland Maine. I was graciously invited by Kirsten Cappy from Curious City. Everyone of their Lunchbox Series events are spectacular. Such a wonderful group of enthusiastic booklovers. I HAD to post some of these drawings.

Honestly, these trolls are way more imaginative than mine! Such personality!

And the ease of shape to make the witch! I might rip this poor child off and draw a whole flock of birds like this.

And this one... Bianca, you will put me out of a job one day. This alligator possesses more fright and energy that I could ever do. RAD.

Hahahaha! So conceptual... Brad Holland, eat your heart out.

And this delightful number was obviously done by Youssef, one of the sweetest boys I've ever met. He simplified my character down to essential marks, and it is, indeed, way cooler than what I could ever come up with.

So, I think I have about a few more years before this talented lot of children put me out of a job. Better get cracking.

IF: Save

Digging this one from the WAY back of the vault... it's the only piece the Society of Illustrators seems to like from me. It was an editorial class assignment (from way back in 1998!) based on how trials can be swayed by the media and viewing public. Side note: Guy Billout, who was visiting this class, actually liked this piece too! Little did I know then, he was waaay famous. Picture and ostrich with their head in the sand. That was me.

Shamed by a Pachyderm

A Finished Demo

This piece was an in class demonstration of the oil/acrylic method I used. I took it home after about an hour of working on it in class, and then I worked about 1.5-2 hours more on it. I think the key to keeping things from being overworked is being able to walk away after an hour then coming back and reassessing. I'll keep trying out that method.

So, What's Next?

Believe it or not... I have started to write again. It's a bit scary, a bit exhilerating, but it IS all good. I am rebirthing an OLD manuscript involving Frisky (his name might change), but the story is still about finding love. More to come!


Also, lots of telephone call sketches. Sometimes they come out nice! Or at least I think so.

Seven Impossible Things Feature

The lovely ladies, Jules and Eisha, of Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast were more than kind to feature some of my work today! I've never met a nicer couple of girls, and I was flattered when they approached me!

About the Blog {Begun in August of 2006):
Jules and Eisha's vision for this blog is pretty simple: we’re going to talk about the books we read. We read lots of different kinds of books: picture books for toddlers, memoirs, young adult fiction, graphic novels, Man Booker Prize-winning high-art metafiction, whatever. And we’ll write about them, whenever we can, in the hopes that we can a.> let you, the reader, know about a book that you might like to read, too; and b.> inspire discussion about said books. So, if you read one of our critiques and want to chime in with a comment, please do.

What on earth would us illustrators and authors do without dedicated people like this?
Thanks so much guys!

Sketching to the Oldies Success!

Montserrat College of Art's Illustration Sketch night was a true success. Music, food, a GREAT model with GREAT costuming was only made more supreme by the attendance of many students, alumni, and faculty. Hope to see you at the next event!

Amaryllis! Spring is coming!

Amaryllises were introduced into cultivation at the beginning of the eighteenth century. However, most of the so-called Amaryllis bulbs sold as 'ready to bloom for the holidays' (which our little friend to the left is) belong to the allied genus Hippeastrum, despite being labeled as 'Amaryllis' by sellers and nurseries. Adding to the name confusion, some bulbs of other species with a similar growth and flowering pattern are also sometimes called by another common name for this plant, "naked ladies", even though those species have their own more widely used and accepted common names, such as the Resurrection Lily. Naked ladies? Woo woo!

Little Erin Merryweather Trailer

Thought I'd post this trailer of Little Erin Merryweather for everyone to enjoy. I worked on this project a few years back, so it's really fun to finally see it being distributed! I got to create Erin's book, complete with illustrations and rhymes. It was a fun time, especially when they filmed me drawing and painting.

Holy Hops... What's the Deal?

On this Saint Patrick's Eve, anticipating everyone I encounter tomorrow to have a nasty hungover attitude, I realized I was ashamedly overdue in a beer post. Well fear not. I did some research for everyone! Well ok, I googled a few things, thought one or two individual thoughts, and began to tie it all together. Well, at least I learned a few things.

So, what's the deal with trappist monks, this guy Saint Patrick, and why this day has turned into a freakfest of drunkards and drinking before noon? And who in their right mind ever thought to die the dang drinks green? Ew!? This might be a slightly confusing way of tying them together, but it will make a bit more sense.

Centuries ago beer was the daily drink of the common people. You see, when the world regressed into the dark ages and messed up the public water and sewerage system, plain water was often polluted and due to beer's inexpensive, nourishing qualities, monks brewed beer for themselves as a safe source of hearty sustenance. Monk's meals were meager, pretty much the same as everyone else (thanks freak ice age!), particularly during fast periods. However, consumption of liquids did not break fasting. Eventually, the monk's were able to also sell their beers to travelers who took shelter at their monasteries, and a flourishing trade developed. To build brand loyalty, the names of the monastery's patron saint was used. To this day many beers bear the name of a saint.

Probably the best known Irish saint after Patrick is Saint Brigid (b. 457, d. 525). Brigid founded the monastery of Kildare and was known for spirituality, charity, and compassion. I thnk me and Brigid would have really gotten along. Check this out. She worked in a leper colony which found itself without beer, "For when the lepers she nursed implored her for beer, and there was none to be had, she changed the water, which was used for the bath, into an excellent beer, by the sheer strength of her blessing and dealt it out to the thirsty in plenty." I remember many a moment like that, but alas no Saint Bridie around! Brigid is said to have changed her dirty bathwater into beer so that visiting clerics would have something to drink. TMI, but kind of cool. A poem attributed to Brigid in the Brussel's (ooooh Brussels) library begins with the lines "I should like a great lake of ale, for the King of the Kings. I should like the family of Heaven to be drinking it through time eternal."

And speaking of Saint Patrick, what's the deal? Why the horrible MySpace photo aftermath with beads, weird shamrock antennae, and, brace yourself, green beer? Well here's some facts about Patrick and lets see if we can make the connection:

Patrick was born in southwestern Britain around 390 A.D. in his wealthy upperclass father's villa. Kidnapped by Irish pirates at sixteen, he spent six years as a slave tending sheep in County Mayo near Sligo. Patrick probably made his escape from Mayo to the coast of Wexford and returned home to Britain. Upon his return, Patrick received his theological training in Britain. Patrick was not sent to Ireland by the Pope, but by church authority in Britain. Patrick did not introduce Christianity to Ireland as this had been done by earlier missionaries and the first Bishop of Ireland, Palladius, who was ordained and sent to Ireland in 431 A.D. by Pope Celestine. There are probably at least two sources for the snakes which Patrick "drove" out of Ireland. A symbol for the goddess worship practiced in Ireland prior to Christianity was the snake or serpent. The conversion of Ireland to Christianity symbolically banished the "snake" from the land. Secondly, the bloody cult of Crom Cruaich in County Caven demanded human sacrifice to a serpent deity and the dismantling of this cult by Christianity is now remembered as the "snakes being driven from Ireland." Upon Patrick's arrival in Ireland, he led a successful mission, anointing clergy and baptizing thousands. An outcast among the stratified classes of Irish society he endured many hardships and wrote "I daily expect either assassination or trickery or reduction to slavery". After returning as Bishop to the land that had once considered him a slave, he never left again, becoming more closely identified with the Irish people than the British.

As a man, Patrick was devastated by captivity. In his years of slavery he developed a deep faith and sense of conviction in his God which provided him tremendous missionary zeal. Perhaps finding more acceptance among the society of his captors, Patrick dedicated his life's energy to the Irish christian mission and he died there around 460 A.D. with no ordained successor.

If you ask me... I think in some kind of time warp mix up...I think those lenten fasting days of the monks got confused with the end of winter (which we all know equals to total cabin fever) and feast day of Saint Patrick. So perhaps a bit of a misleading holiday, but no reason not to get out there and appreciate life. But for heaven's sake, if you do one thing for me, please do not taint your beer with green dye!