For about a year now I have been setting aside hours of my day to work on a particular story. It should have been a simple counting book but I found out quickly that penning a counting book is anything but simple. It has to be good, it has to have a wonderful story, it has to be different from all other counting books…..It has become TOUGH.

I will however keep on writing draft upon draft of my odd little world of counting. The one good thing I can say at this point is that I have many notebook pages filled with words and drawings of redbirds, like this one.

Here are a few works from my soon-to-be-released new book The Bedtime Train. This first page is just a sample of some of the spot illustrations that appear through the pages of the story.

This spread is among my favorites–if I am allowed to play favorites with my own work.

This book will be released in October but is available for pre-order on a few sights–Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Borders Books, etc. I’ll give you a few links here:
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Borders

Today I am 28 and I feel good.  I’ve been working on lots of drawings, stuffed animals and lines of text for what I hope will be my next book.  So–to everybody else who happens to share July 2nd as their birthday..Happy Birthday to you.

In recent weeks painting has taken a far backseat to writing.  I think in the very near future once I get a new Hard drive for my wonderful broken Macbook I’ll begin to scan more work.  But I am in no rush.  I have been working on a few stories that I am excited about and I think I owe it all to losing most of my work when my HD crashed.  I had general ideas and rough sketches of stories in about eight or nine journals.  I’ve been refining them and writing, writing, writing. 

So back to the pen and paper now. 

Finished art for Ridgefield, CT’s “Paint The Town” art exhibition being held at The Ridgefield Guild of Arts.  This is the crumbling home of Ridgefild’s known hermit George Washington Gilbert.

Thanks again to The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism for awarding me with a 2008 Artist Fellowship Grant.  The ceremony was this past Tuesday in Hartford and I was more than happy to attend!

Each time I take on a commission I try to look back at works and artists I have admired over the years to draw inspiration from.  Hans Holbein’s woodcuts have become something I cannot live without.  So thank you Hans for the work and for letting me use this composition–I’m sure you won’t mind very much.

From time to time I feel as though I need to create my creatures not only on paper or in words but in 3D…and fuzzy. So I purchase some cloth and cotton and go to work. They are usually stitched with all the cunning and craft exhibited by Dr. Victor Frankenstein–I’m ok with that. I rather like my crude, zombie dolls……and so do the kiddies.

These critters are actually from a ms I just sent in to my publisher….hopefully more to come.

BECKETT vs. MOOSE -TODAY!

I did a school visit on Tuesday morning in Danbury, CT to a large class of 7 and 8 year old kids. I was kindly given all of these great drrawings by the kids–some of Honey Badgers!

Here’s a portrait of me with an ipod, a necklace that says “Rock and Roll” and a pretty nice set of bangs…..I may have to grow some sweet bangs now.

This last one was a little girl who wanted to be a princess–so that’s what I kept calling her. Note how she signed the drawing.