My Comrades, an Exhibition and Lovey Bunny!

Shane Ingersoll, me and Michael Nirenberg (Ajamu "red cap" Kojo)  -   photo by Anne Harmon

Just another day in the studio - working the barre with my fellow scenic painters

preparing for our dance debut.

It's not as easy as we make it look ;)

Anne Harmon took the stage at Reverend Ike's United Palace. 

We're still doing work on The Following, filming there for a day or two.

We didn't have too much to do inside, just a little additional plug to paint, 

masking out some signs, things like that. 

I've worked there before, it's simply stunning! I wish I had pictures of the lobby.

photo by Jessie Walker, stand-by camera scenic

Here is part of the crew I've been working with since January. 

Left to right is Shane Ingersoll, Anne Harmon (behind me), Ajamu Kojo (biting my head), 

Michael Nirenberg, Dieter Council and in front, our leader, Travis Child. 

Sadly, this photo is missing William Valentin and Tim Daly, 

who regularly work on Travis' jobs. 

This mansion upstate was quite beautiful, yet much of it is dilapidated and 

there were some safety hazards that came up as we worked. I'm glad I'm in a union, 

that's all I can say.

Thursday night was the opening of a children's book illustration show with my good

friend, Yuko Katakawa and a few other CBIG members. 

I'm so happy for her! 

The opening had to be rescheduled because of snow last week and 

it was a nice mild night this Thursday, thus a good turnout :)

She has about 15 pieces in the show and sold 4!!

photo by Nina Edwards

From left- Melissa Iwai, Yuko, Kristine Lombardi, me, Monica Wellington 

(our lovely teacher from SVA's Continuing Education dept, where I met Yuko a few years ago)

Ruth Chan (also in the show) and Nina Edwards' cute & funny daughter.

I like that they asked each artist this.

photo by Kristine Lombardi

Here, just a small sampling of Yuko's work on view. 

The exhibit is at The Interchurch Center, near Columbia, and it's a large space with lots of light.

It's up until March 31st. Take a look if you're up that way.

Ruth and Barbara are also terrific illustrators and part of CBIG

I loved this piece by Violet Paek, she had a few water tower pieces on display.

Daniel Kirk listens intently as Kristine reads - photo by Melissa Iwai

Onto Kristine Lombardi's Big Event at Books of Wonder last Sunday.

Lovey Bunny made her debut March 3rd and Kristine was part of a panel reading. 

 This has been her dream for so many years. I felt terrible that I couldn't be there. 

I rarely have to work on Sundays, but I was working on a commercial that day.

Luckily, friends shared photos and I got to see video of her reading.

I knew she'd be great and she was! Kristine is super charming and funny.

I could not be happier that this is happening for her. 

She's a great friend and one of the hardest workers I know. 

Below, you can see where she'll be next.

I'm thrilled she'll be doing a signing at my local bookstore, 

Book Court on April 4th! I'll keep you updated.

:: Lovey at home ::

photo by Ajamu Kojo

Just giving a little more direction to performers, tying up loose ends...

It's almost there ;)

Have a swell weekend!

xo, A

paint paint paint pictures

:: Happy Monday ::

Here are some new paintings to start your day off right.

I loved painting these little abstractions with animals!

This piece, above, is a few years old. I've decided I like it again.

It's funny how you can tire of something, then look at it again in a new light.

I think because I want to maintain a painterly feel in my work, it's appeals to me.

However, I love lines, too. and animals in frames ;)

I revised this one a little. It's also a few years old. Bailey bear overindulged 

at an Italian eatery and bun would like to taste those left overs!

See more work by me at AllynHoward.com - 

illustration, custom paintings, murals, product designs and process pics.

Hope you have a splendid week ahead.

xo, A

:::

*PS - Kristine Lombardi's 1st picture book, Lovey Bunny, debuts this week! 

Perhaps I can score an interview with her this month :D

She'll be reading and signing books at Books of Wonder this Sunday

March 8th from 2-4pm

I'll be there. Maybe I'll see you!

More round paintings - yay!

I made 6 more round paintings in the last few days.

We only have to submit one for Lilla Rogers' Bootcamp class,

but my love for painting on wood has been reawakened.

Rudy Rides! Bike Chase on Boardwalk

I like chase scenes.

I found an image of clotheslines on Pinterest that I liked, then later stumbled 

upon a panda toy hanging out to dry, soooo I couldn't resist.

I wanted to include another face with decorative flowers in the series

and thought it would be nice to paint a younger girl in springy fresh colors.

Peacock with babies and daisies

 A peacock seemed perfect for the round format.

Flirtatious Lion, in touch with feminine side ;)

Hope you've enjoyed seeing these as much as I've enjoyed painting them.

I have to decide which to submit by our deadline this Sunday 2-22. 

I think I have a favorite, but will see which lasts in my mind :)

Which one would you choose?

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay warm East Coasters!!

xo, A

I love painting pictures

  I just shared my sketches for the MATS Bootcamp class I'm taking

on Monday, but I wanted to show these painted versions on wood. I like them a lot!

Hope that doesn't sound bad, but somehow simply switching to the round format

feels * Fun* Fresh * Fabulous ;D

Our final assignment is to create a piece of wall art on a round wood panel.

Several years ago I had bought a bunch (too many) of 5" and 7" panels for prints I was creating.

I'm glad I held onto these, they're even notched on the back for easy hanging.

These are on the 7" diameter size. I wish they were larger, but they're sweet.

I have to go back onto a TV job tomorrow, so we'll see if I have time 

to make more before the end of the month.

I feel like I could keep going and going.

And now 

onto some (pretty awful) photos from a pretty great 

event at Society of Illustrators Tuesday night.

Nate Williams spoke about his process for creating art 

and discussed his 1st two picture books.

Afterwards there was a Q&A with a fun informative panel-

James Yang, author/illustrator

Giuseppe Castellano, Art Director/Penguin Young Readers

Jim Hoover, Assoc. Art Director/Viking Books

and the lovely Kirsten Hall, Agent/Cat Bird *(website, a work in progress)

She baked chocolate chip cookies for the whole audience.

They were delicious, too!

Nate's talk was funny and full of some gems to consider when working on story ideas.

I attend a fair number of talks about creating picture books, but this was better 

than most, in part, because the audience had good questions 

and the panel was straightforward in their answers.

I also learned that James Yang is quite funny!

I received an original print for being one of the first 15 to arrive.

Friends may find this funny, since I'm often running late.

I bought Hank & snOliver and a couple of journals.

Nate is incredibly nice. I know a lot of you illustrators know him

from Illustration Mundo, I'm not really clear if he's still running it or not.

I know he had featured my friend, Kristine Lombardi's work there

and they had had phone conversations about the industry in the past.

I was happy to report that she was busy meeting a deadline

for her 2nd book to be published by Abrams.

The best part of the night was when the panel all agreed that this is a 

"Golden Age" in children's book publishing, not only in terms of numbers

of books being published, but for the sophistication of images 

being created for them. 

Hmmmm, if I can't break into this now ...

 well, I'm gonna leave on a high note!

Have a great weekend!

xo, A

Sketches - scenes with animals - no surprise, I know

Hello there

I had a cold over the weekend :( but it kept me in to do a few more sketches for 

MATS Bootcamp class. Our "mini" assignment was to research and sketch 

scenes for plates. Apparently, our final piece will not be plate design.

This is basically, the warm-up, which is quite fun :)

I enjoy Lilla's approach, giving us specific parameters to work within, 

while encouraging a loose playful start.

I'm sticking, predominantly, with children's imagery.

Of course, Pinterest makes it easy to find anything you're drawn to drawing, so to speak!

These were fun to draw.

So far, I really like this guy.

I'm excited to learn what the actual assignment will be.

Wish me luck.

Have a good week!

xo, A

Leap of faith

Hi!

I've been pretty busy lately painting sets on the TV show The Following, 

so I haven't had much time to post here.

I'm working with a great fun crew which makes all the difference. 

It's nice to occasionally see Kevin Bacon on set when they're shooting nearby, 

but I'm still waiting to catch a glimpse of James Purefoy.

I loved him as Mark Antony in HBO's series Rome

Maybe tomorrow ;)

I do have a couple of new little paintings to share. 

Above is a quickie dog portrait, happy terrier!

Below, is my Manifesto for Lilla Rogers MATS Bootcamp class.

We have until the end of each month to complete our

regular assignments. This was an optional project,

incorporating Lilla's teaching philosophy, with an opportunity 

to have your piece showcased in coming months.

 I didn't have a chance to create anything until Sunday 

(with little time to spare before deadline) but I decided to give it a go.

I'm not thrilled with the lettering, but overall it's pretty cute I think.

I've always embraced play, but taking a leap of faith, 

by showing work to agents, publishers and product manufacturers ... 

is something that's taken me a long time to do!

It's a good night for tea (16 degrees and falling fast here on the East Coast, brrrrr

Thanks for taking a look. Stay warm!

xo, A