May I?

It's already the end of May. I've barely noticed the month slipping by because 3/4 of it was spent preparing for a trip to Vermont and 1/4 was spent *in* lovely Vermont at my literary agent's retreat.
Here's something I sketched while in VT, listening to a brilliant picture book manuscript being read aloud.

It's ball point pen ink which can be somewhat unforgiving of mistakes. I'll probably color it in (but first I'll fix a few little things, like that hand on the left).

-- Ruth McNally Barshaw

The Great Search

The dilemma continues....

Birthday Card Sketches

Here are some sketches for birthday card designs I created for a contest sponsored by Tigerprints.  

And here is the finished entry. 

Water A Flower Day is May 30th

National Salad Month

Do you know what goes great with salad? 

Ranch Dressing!  hahaaa

Happy Bike Month!

May is National Bike Month.
Here's a quick sketch of my kid and me on our bike.

This is from 2005 -- she's a lot taller now.

-- Ruth McNally Barshaw

He Celebrates National Memo Day

Ricky is pretty sure this holiday is his favorite.  His big sister might not agree, but then she doesn't celebrate anything except her fancy little Poochee.  Cheers on May 21st ~ National Memo Day!

The joy of trees...

Where would any of us be without trees?!

Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to thank a tree :o)

-Joy

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my mom.
Here she is in my work-in-progress picture book, page 9...

-- Ruth McNally Barshaw

A quiet place

A quick ink and watercolor sketch of finally finding a special place to read.

Home Tweet Home: Trees

This week we are celebrating trees! One of my favorite parts about trees - their inhabitants! 

Love A Tree Day Holiday is coming

Love A Tree Day will be here on May 16th.  She's just thinking of ways to show her love.

Sit. Stay.

National Teacher Appreciation Day was on the 6th. We tend to think of teachers as grown-ups, but kids can be teachers, too. This puppy just learned how to sit and is about to get a nice crunchy treat. Good dog!

A Teaching Moment

One of my more memorable "Teaching Moments," or "How I Was Scarred in Sixth Grade."

Celebrating Teachers

Marcia is, after all, quite a practical little girl, and she thinks loudly wherever she goes. She's so glad that there is a day to celebrate her favorite teacher in the whole wide world.
Happy National Teacher Day this week!

The earliest sketches...

All the heat we're feeling in CA has me thinking of ice cream! Well, I'm often thinking of ice cream (sigh...). Anywhoo, I'm also thinking about the love of very first sketches. The simple, pencil-to-paper, scribbling down that initial pose. That first inkling of an idea. The process that brings you from rough beginnings where anything goes, sky's the limit to nailing down that final polished piece. Often times you are the only one who knows what's going on in these first drawings. And isn't that fun?! I'm working on a book idea and this image above is one of those sketches. I already know how I'm going to adjust and change things, but here it is. From my brain down my arm and hand and out through my pencil.

Yeah, gotta love the process :o)

Have a great weekend!
-Joy

Happy Spring!

Around much of the US it's been spring for more than a month. In my city, spring is just now becoming apparent. And that makes me want to draw!

Here's a picture book I was working on two years ago:

Here's a picture book I was working on last summer:

Here's a picture book I am working on this spring (among others):

Happy Spring! Happy drawing!

-- Ruth McNally Barshaw