Friday, September 13th, 2013
Book signing event
on Saturday, Sept. 21st
I'll be presenting and signing at the 14th Annual Celebration of Minnesota Children's Authors and Illustrators on Saturday, September 21st (12-5pm) at the Anderson Center in Redwing, MN.
I'll have several original paintings from my books on display (including the one above).
Come for an afternoon of booky fun!
Details and directions can be found HERE.
Friday, September 6th, 2013
Creativity is...
Creativity is not a road trip.
There are no maps.
Maps only work if someone
has already been there.
Friday, August 30th, 2013
Before he was published... Derek Anderson in kindergartenScholastic Reading Clubs...
and the first prints are shipping!
This summer, my friends at Scholastic Reading Clubs (formerly Scholastic Book Clubs) asked me to write about a memory I had from my school days and the impact it had on my life. I wrote a short essay about my very first drawing of the Easter Bunny in kindergarten and how it launched me on my way. You can read it on their website HERE.
And in other news... the first limited edition prints are already shipping! You can check them out in the Collector's Gallery. Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Monday, August 26th, 2013
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Art is for everybody
Art is for everybody.
It can take you on a journey,
help you get lost or
help you find yourself.
It can give you perspective,
make you smile or
make you think.
Art colors our world.
Art feeds the soul.
I have a new gallery of my work for sale.
It's open...
Friday, August 23rd, 2013
Miss Cow
Ideas for books come from everywhere. They come from places we visit, things we see and experience, feelings we can't escape, and sometimes they simply grow out of a need. My book Story County: Here We Come! began with a painting I did in 2008 called Miss Cow. The picture was a result of two things- one, I felt a need to simplify my artwork. And two, Story County.
I grew up in Story County. That may sound like an imaginary place, especially coming from an author and artist, but in my case it's true. Story County is real. It lies in the center of Iowa, right in the heart of the heartland. Story County is an absolutely magical place. It's where I learned to write and draw, and where I first discovered the power of the imagination. We all have the power to imagine- to dream big dreams for our lives and then chase after them. This picture of Miss Cow grew out of a need to get back to the basics of drawing, creating the way I did when I was growing up in Story County. Back in those days, absolutely anything was possible. I created fearlessly with simple shapes and outlines. Sometimes we need to return to our roots, to find a way back to the basic things we learned as children. For me, that will always mean coming back to story.
Miss Cow will be sold as a limited edition giclee print in my new gallery. The edition will be limited to 250.
The gallery goes live on August 26th.
Friday, August 16th, 2013
The Raincoat
I've been experimenting with rainy paintings a lot over the past few years. Not because I particularly like inclement weather, I just like what it does to the world. It feels like a completely different planet when the sky goes gray and all that we see turns soggy and wet. That transformation is more in our minds than reality. But it's that territory, the area between what's real and what isn't, that's so exciting to explore as an artist.
When I first sketched this piece, I'd made the character wearing the raincoat human. I did multiple drawings of him for months, experimenting with different body shapes and expressions. It wasn't until I made him an elephant that the piece sprang to life.
That's when I discovered the deeper meaning. There's something magical about a rainy day that sparks the imagination. While the world outside is transformed by stormy weather, we're often trapped inside with only our thoughts. Whether this is actually an elephant wearing a coat of rain or an ordinary man whose imagination has run away on a rainy day is up to each individual's interpretation.
The Raincoat will be sold as a limited edition giclee print in my new gallery. The edition will be limited to 200.
The gallery goes live on August 26th.
Friday, August 9th, 2013
A new adventure!
Come along on a new adventure with me! On August 26th, I'm launching a new online gallery of my work. It isn't artwork for display... it's for sale. For years, people have been approaching me about buying paintings from the books and asking whether or not I have limited edition prints available. I've always resisted selling my artwork in the past. I get very attached to it and it's hard to let it go. But I simply can't keep it all. Artwork is meant to be enjoyed, not locked away in a dark drawer in the corner of the studio.
Why now? It's the tenth anniversary of the very first Little Quack book this year. And it seems like I shouldn't let this important milestone go by without commemorating it in some special way. So for the first time ever, I'll be offering a limited edition print of Little Quack. I've carefully chosen an image that captures the joy and enthusiasm the plucky, bestselling series has been entertaining readers with for the past ten years. I will be offering two other prints as well, one of which is a favorite personal piece that I painted earlier this year. I'll tell you all about that piece next week.
Mark you calendars, the gallery is going live on Monday, August 26th.
