Mermaid Waves

my "Inktober" Contest Give-Away

I've never held a contest before.  Maybe I'll get 5 participants.  Or 50. Or 500!  

After hearing about "Inktober," a creatively-inspired group effort of artists posting daily inked drawings on social media for the entire month of October, I chose to do a half-marathon.I posted my inked creations on odd days only.  Now I'm having a contest to give the original art away! Your choice of art!!

The contest only lasts 2 days, so your chances are pretty good!

HOW TO ENTER TO WIN:

• Share this post on Facebook (and let me know you did!)
• Read and comment on this blog entry
• Follow me on Twitter and retweet this from @terrimurphy5
• “Like” my Facebook page at facebook.com/terrimurphyillustrator

Pretty simple, yes? If you have any questions, just post it in comments.  Bonus, it will also count as a contest entry!

Here are samples of all paintings the 3 winners will get to choose from. If you have Facebook, you can see larger images here.

Winners will be drawn at midnight on Halloween and announced shortly thereafter!  Good luck to my 5, or 50. Or500?…. 

 

10/31/15 morning update:  "Comments" don't work correctly.  I am unable to fix it. My apologies.

Winner Update: video

Mornings in May--My Illustration Challenge

It’s been a while since I’ve devised an artistic challenge, and so beginning tomorrow and for the full month of May, I’ll be creating one illustration a day.  Even though I have a big job/deadline on my drawing table, it seems those are the times I feel a great need to refresh and inform myself while frolicking with the muse. The parameters will be a concentration on design and tonal value, to be completed in the morning within an hour. 

Wherever one is in their career, there is always something new to learn and explore.  The first seed that inspired this challenge is a critique (above) I received from illustrator Matt Faulkner www.mattfaulkner.com, who pointed out things I can concentrate on to improve my craft. The other seed is I’ve been privileged to take a picture book making class with illustrator Laura Montenegro here who stirred the pot of my creative process. 

 To make things more interesting, I’ll be picking 3 subject suggestions from this list I’ve compiled to create the illustration.  Hopefully it will feed into my sense of the absurd.

Starting May 1^st  and to keep myself honest, results can be seen here on my Facebook page.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

SCBWI New York conference 2015

Feeling wonderfully inspired after the SCBWI New York conference.  So I’m mailing out promo postcards.  Pulling some stories off the back burner.  Crafting new ones.

Maybe it was general consensus among publishers that the picture book market is rebounding.  Maybe it was witnessing the many editors, agents and art directors who were not part of the conference make a special trip in to view the Portfolio Showcase. 

 

Or maybe it was these lovely tiny foods in glasses.

All I know it that I'm usually spinning around for a few days after a big conference, overwhelmed with information, trying to get my bearings.

This year, I'm focused. Inspired. Things to do...

Thank you SCBWI, for being at the helm of one of the nicest industries there is, and for putting us all in touch.

ART DEMO at Sheboygan Children's Book Festival

When you go to an illustrator’s event at a school, a festival or a conference…there is more to it than meets the eye.  Just as in the making of a picture book, the readers don’t get to see all the steps, the character studies, the sketches, the evolution of the final product.  And so, here is a sneak peek at something I'll be doing this weekend.

On Sunday, October 12, I’ll be giving 2 presentations at the Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival.  One is a sketch-scavenger hunt at Bookworm Gardens where kids and adults will hear about "rambling," how to use their imaginations outdoors. They'll receive a sketchbook…and out we’ll go, exploring!  A book signing of “One Day I Went Rambling” will follow.

The next is an Open Studio at Kohler Art Museum where I will demonstrate my illustration style.  There is a lot of  behind-the-scenes prep work that comes before I begin this magical inking process.  I sketch quite a bit before I settle on something. In the illustration up above, I added a little color to the fox, and began the underpainting with  white gouache.  When it dries, I’ll cover the whole thing with black ink.

On Sunday during the Open Studio demo…this piece will be rinsed and the illustration revealed…the unique line work, texture, color, and white space.  My heart will be thumping, that moment of unknowing and anticipation, to see if it was a success.  Then it’ll be the audience’s turn to try it.  Yes, an interactive demo!  Are you game??

 If so, come.  Bring the family!  Here is a link to the Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival, which lasts all weekend.  Check out the other luminaries in world of children’s books, and Sunday for the times and locations of my programs!

http://sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org

The Wandering Illustrator

The best thing about doing school visits featuring my latest illustrated picture book, “One Day I Went Rambling” (Bright Sky Press, Kelly Bennett-author) is that inspired kid ramblers will rev up their imaginations weeks before I get there. 

Children will often pair up with others or entice their families to go hunting in junk drawers, nooks-and-crannies, and outdoor environments for cast-away and forgotten items.  Using the two most creative words in the English language, “What if…?” they transform their found objects into a new creation of their own inspiration.

 To foster this kind of inventiveness is the greatest compliment.  Last week, at Eastland Elementary in Shannon, Illinois, an entire wall display of “Rambling” ingenuity greeted me as I walked through the door.

The 2^nd greatest compliment is that as we go through illustrations in the book, with a little prompting, kids discover they already intuitively know the language of art.

The spontaneous applause that erupted after the “big reveal” of the inking technique demo was just icing on the cake!

Thank you Eastland Elementary, for the opportunity to creatively connect with your students!

 

Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2014--Third time’s a charm!

It’s my third attempt to be accepted into the International Book Fair in Bologna, Italy.  To be considered, one must produce 5 original children's illustrations, related in theme or narrative.  This year, I decided to go with an edgier look to my art.

I’ve titled the series “Dream of the World” and the one above is “Spirit Guide,The Awakening.” After studying international art all year, some of my new favorite children’s illustrators now hail from Japan, Italy, Poland and the Middle East.  The community in my heart and mind is truly global…

I hope I make it in…but even if I don’t, I feel I’m on a new path of discovery. Who's to say where it will lead? Here is a step-by-step of the process I developed, and hope to take further:

Sketch on watercolor paper .........basic colors blocked in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything except line painted out...entire surface inked.

 

Rinsed, and with fingers crossed......The Big Reveal!!

That last part is wildly wonderful to experience.  It can also go very, very wrong….and experiments with this technique were sometimes heartbreaking.  After this last step, I paint further with watercolor to give it that spark!

So will I make it in to Bologna, Italy in 2014?  Time will tell.  In the meantime, Viva Immaginazione!!

You can see the other 4 in the series currently on my facebook illustration album or soon at my revamped website.

 

Illustrator - SCHOOL VISIT

I’ve had the pleasure of presenting the picture book illustrator’s craft at school visits and have more booked on the horizon--but Springfield Elementary in Midlothian, Illinois, knows how to do it right!  I realized this as soon as I walked in and saw their Welcome Bulletin Showcase with a Rambling theme, to honor my latest illustrated picture book “One Day I Went Rambling” (author, Kelly Bennett, Bright Sky Press 2012).

I was doubly surprised to see their cute version of the story’s main character Zane with a wagon-full of found treasures and a “cowpoke’s twirling rope!”

Authors and illustrators are interested in the same thing, telling a good story! The children learned that a good picture book story leaves room for an illustrator's interpretation, and an author does not need to say everything in words.  Kids were able to answer questions I asked like “How did I use color to show the character's emotion?  Or “How does this character’s body language give hints as to what a viper is?"

Certainly the best part of the illustration presentation is the live demo.  Here I show my black and white technique, an involved process some of which I create in the studio.  I save the most magical part for the demo. The pre-prepped board is painted black, takes a bath, and a line-drawn image appears and is projected on the jumbo screen!

Demo for 3rd & 4th grades:

To the delight of many!

Finally, MY last delight was this sea of aqua shirts with the “Are You Ready to Ramble?” theme  logo.  I lunched with these dedicated teachers, heard how they inspire their students to read, write, problem solve and create, while making learning fun!  Thank you Springfield Elementary staff.  You are true ramblers...finding the strengths and passion in your students, and encouraging them to flower!

You can find out more about booking my picture book illustrator program here.

 

 

 

 

An Interview with Terri Murphy, Children's Book Illustrator

The IRC (Illinois Reading Council) published an interview with me in their quarterly Journal, Spring 2013 Edition.  In it, I speak of my childhood, the road that led me to children’s illustration, and my inspiration.

Thanks to the IRC for featuring my work!  

You can read it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/131498943/Interview-with-Terri-Murphy-a-children-s-picture-book-illustrator

"Have Book, Will Travel" ...iREAD 2013

I’m very excited to be traveling to Peoria tomorrow for the Illinois Library Association conference. The association will be unveiling their iREAD summer reading program for 2013 and the 3 posters I created for it.  A sneak peek here!  

THE CHILDREN'S POSTER...

THE TEEN POSTER...

THE ADULT POSTER...

Come summer, you’ll be seeing them at your local Illinois library as posters, bookmarks, imprinted on tee-shirts, backpacks, flying discs,  pencil cases,  etc.,…. maybe even as your grandma’s tattoo!

 If you’re attending the conference Tuesday or Wednesday, stop by the iRead booth for a chat and a poster.  I’ll also have copies of my picture book, One Day I Went Rambling and I hear a little color-changing chameleon may visit!  Rambling and traveling through imagination….it fits in nicely with the “Have Book, Will Travel” theme, don’t you think?

http://www.terrimurphyart.com

Rambling into iREAD

It’s been a whirlwind summer, a blur of juggling the successful launch of my illustrated picture book, “One Day I Went Rambling,” and putting finishing touches on 3 posters and a myriad of themed illustrations for the Illinois Library Association's summer iREAD program for 2013.  Here is one of the posters.  You’ll be seeing more of me, traveling, at your local library this summer.  The theme is “Have Book, Will Travel.”

In addition to that, I’ve been developing materials to promote the picture book, school and library visits, my Young Artists Workshops, and targeting picture book publishers for more projects.  Whew!

But mostly I enjoy connecting with kids. “One Day I Went Rambling” was released at the end of May, and I was able to squeeze in one school visit at Franklin School in Chicago, and another for Northbrook District 27 summer school...

It’s my great hope to visit more schools and libraries to speak about story through art or present my Young Artists Workshops.  And since I have the inside skinny on the Illinois Library Association’s iREAD theme, I’m currently developing art workshops for this coming summer.  Here’s a little taste of some origami-to-go as we travel to Japan!