Done with my book!

Ahhhh. Finally, after a year of work and a couple months of especially intense painting (plus balancing dozens of March-Is-Reading-Month school visits), I am done with the art for the lion book.

Here's my mentor, EB Lewis's favorite spread:

Here's my teen daughter's favorite spread:

Here's a detail from my favorite spread:

Here's the original sketch for that page:

And I am very happy to say that Louie the dog made it into the book:

Now, before I lose any momentum, I'm on to the next project. I have a few more picturebooks in the works, and I've learned so much from sketching and painting this book that I know it'll influence my work on the others. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

 -- Ruth McNally Barshaw