Horse & Rider

Good Monday Morning! What have I been up to lately? How kind of you to ask!

Working out a new postcard and getting new art together to update the ol' website. The above sketch has been transformed into a lovely b&w illo that I will share soon. I really have to say that black and white illustration has a certain charm that I thoroughly enjoy. It is the shades of gray that appeal to me most, I think, because that is where I tend to bide my time. Some folks run hot and cold, and I admire their passion and conviction. It takes an awful lot to rile me up, so you'll find me at a pleasant lukewarm most days. I am feeling excited and a little scared about this next postcard because I am going to end up sharing my sense of humor. My family and friends know me too well, but what will the unsuspecting art directors think??? *gulp*

Hope that you are doing well! Have a wonderful day! Love, Nina

A Dear Sketch

This is something new that I am working on. For some reason I have been seeing lots of toadstools lately and thought it might be fun to draw a few... Hope that you are doing well! There is a Picture Book Dummy Challenge going on that I am going to participate in, so that should be pretty fun. Looking forward to inking this one. See you soon!

Rainy Thursday

Rainy days like today always make me feel happy. This is a sketch from a book dummy that I am working on right now (the same one as in my previous post). Since I can't crawl back into bed this morning, I'll cozy up with hot tea and daydream about it instead. Thanks for stopping by!

Tortoise Time

This is a tortoise that I sketched at the MNSCBWI Como Zoo field trip earlier this month. Get ready for a random animal factoid from Nina: Not all "turtles" are turtles! A tortoise has stumpy-type feet and lives primarily on land, a turtle mainly lives in the water and has flipper-like feet for swimming, and a terrapin can live on land and in the water (but always near the water) and their feet have claws and webbing. Check out the San Diego Zoo website for more cool turtle information!

Feed the Birds

Now I totally have the song from Mary Poppins stuck in my head! Here is a new sketch that I am going to finish, eventually... Getting used to my new computer, I am a Mac now! Still have to figure out how to get my email to not only GET messages, but send them, too. Baby steps. Oh, and I am going to figure out iTunes if it kills me! I have a hand-me-down iPod from my husband and am excited to get that loaded up with favorite songs. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Cookies and Cream

While attending a lecture on canine pregnancy at my vet tech convention, I was doodling in my notes and thought I'd post it. Either I am not a very good lecture attendee, or I just can't help myself.... I did learn that you should never deliver puppies pre-term because their bones mineralize right before they are born. I miss helping with c-sections, there is nothing cuter than newborn puppies, especially with the little squeaky noises they make. Oh, cookies and cream ice cream was the winner of our last poll, and looks like liver is winning the ickiest food poll at the moment. I know it got my vote. Eeew, my kid just sneezed all over me. That's all for now.

Field Trip

Here is a sketch from the Minnesota SCBWI field trip to the Como Zoo on Saturday. The weather was perfect, and you couldn't have asked for better company! This giraffe was 15' tall!

Sisters

Here are my girls. Somehow they were still momentarily during lunchtime so I could sketch them. Let's see.... my first postcards have reached family and friends, here's hoping they land on art directors desks, too! I got the go-ahead on the sketch I have for the MNSCBWI fall conference, so I'll finish that one soon. Then, on to my next idea for a series of illustrations featuring the dragon from my previous post.....

Something New

This is a tiny bit of something new that I am working on. I am waiting to hear if I have the go ahead to move forward on it.... the suspense is killing me! In other news, my postcards have shipped and are somewhere between CA and MN. Having such a nice time working with Christina, and feeling sad that the mentorship will be over in October. Oh, also getting some updates on my website soon, so that will be nice. Best wishes for a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend! I have some carrot bars, scotcheroos, snicker salad, and caramel puffcorn to make tomorrow. Hooray for potlucks and long weekends!!!

The Smiling Loon

Here is a bit of something new I am working on... hoping it goes over well. I have decided that I love my black prismacolor pencil! Here's to April and melting snow!!!