Happy Easter!

I am way behind on blog posts here. I tend to post way more to Tumblr, not sure why...

Anyway, Happy Easter!

Perhaps this is a sequel to last year? Part on me thinks I may have been one of those bunny drawing monks in a past life…

By the way, Cash Kat is out! I will do a more formal post soon!

The San Diego Zoo Centennial Book is Out!!!

Book Cover

The book I illustrated for the San Diego Zoo for their Centennial Celebration is out! It was an amazing project to work on and the author, Shari Lyon is wonderful.

Here are a couple spreads:

It is about a Galapagos turtle named Speed and a baby orangutan named Pongo who travel through the zoo at night reminiscing about the first animals brought there.

Here it is on display at the zoo. I hope to do a signing there soon. You can buy it here: http://shopsandiegozoo.com/collections/centennial/products/childrens-book-cd-paws-hoofs-and-wings

Surrounded by hero plushes!

Shari with a couple fans...

Holiday Wishes!

2015 has been a crazy year; wonderful in so many ways! The biggest is I have my hearing back thanks to Dr. CaJacob's skilled hands! I also have tiny titanium implants in my ears, which is way cool! I have otosclerosis, a hereditary hearing loss which causes the ear bones to calcify and preventing the sound waves from getting to the cochleas. Now I can hear normally; it is amazing and no more hearing aids!


It looks like it will be another crazy year in 2016. I have a lot of great things lined up and am kicking things off with a trip to Costa Rica with some friends and a university group.

I plan to do a lot of sketching and painting while there.

Here is a sketch from recent trip to the Krohn Conservatory with a group of fabulous ladies. Their holiday display is extraordinary and they add to it every year.

Final sketch...

On location

Sarah, me, Amy, Anisha, and Vanessa

Camus and Sage is Available!

Bison in winter...

Camus and Sage is out! Order it signed from the link to the left.

It was written by amazing non-fiction writer Dorothy Hinshaw Patent.

Here is a nice mention from the CBC website in their Hot off the Press feature:  http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbc_book/camas-sage-a-story-of-bison-life-on-the-prairie/#.VmnWcL-odWV

Live Art at AASL

Final Painting

Arbordale Publishing asked me to do a signing at their booth at AASL in November.

I did a little live painting in the booth. It was a fun day!

I am currently sinking my teeth into another book for them out next fall. Details soon!

The Arbordale Crew

Travel Fever and Zoo Sketches

Adorable, shell shocked baby fox

I went to the Cincinnati Zoo with Amy Bogard and Robin Ewers Carnes Friday to get some live sketching in on a beautiful day!

The animals were delightfully active and it was a good day to be out in peak fall color.

I was particularly obsessed with the baby gray fox above. He looked so new and vulnerable. He eventually curled up and had the pose my cat has when he is settling down with his ears in the owl position.

Our other favorites were the merekats, the lions, the African painted dogs and the Visayan warty pigs.

A composite of my sketches from my mini-sketchbook

We also saw the Sumatran Rhino before he leaves this Thursday for Indonesia.

He was pretty chill and enjoying a spa day in his mud bath...

Farewell Harry!

See all of our artwork here on the Cincinnati Illustrators Blog!

Wrestling lion cubs-too cute!

In other news, I am planning to go to Costa Rica the beginning of January. I am still playing the airfare chess game, so hopefully I can get a good deal. It would better be described as a shell game. I think the artificial intelligence that puts together these flight legs is some kind of sadist. It is a system designed to give you kind of what you are looking for but deliberately not.

I look forward to sketching there!

Cincinnati SCBWI Lecture

 

From Cash Kat out in 2016!

 I am going to be speaking about my experience illustrating for children's books at the Cincinnati SCBWI meeting, 7pm Tuesday, Oct 13th at the Sharonville Library.

It is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!

From the newsletter:

The next meeting for the Cincinnati SCBWI group is Tuesday, October 13 at the Sharonville Library from 7 pm - 8:45 pm.

Our speaker is Christina Wald, a local children’s book illustrator who specializes in animal and science work. She’s a prolific artist with over 20 years’ experience in the field and has worked with numerous major publishers including Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Hachette, Penguin, and National Geographic, as well as on smaller-scale projects directly with authors.

Christina will talk about how she became a children’s book illustrator and what it’s like to work on a picture book from start to finish, including how she works with writers and publishers.

If you would like to have Christina sign one of her books, please feel free to buy it ahead of time and bring it to the meeting. We’ll leave time at the end for her to sign.

To learn more about Christina and the amazing books she’s illustrated, please visit her website: http://www. christinawald.com/ or her blog: http://christinawald.blogspot.com/ 

Another Fun Podcast with Creative Juice in which we discuss The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer

Portrait I did of Amanda Palmer after I read the book.

 

#38–The Art of Asking Discussed

Margot Madison asked me to join the Creative Juice Podcast discussion about Amanda Palmer's book The Art of Asking.

I loved the audio book and it was a fun time talking about it. Maybe if I do enough of these podcasts, I will learn to articulate myself better.

 We discuss why is it so hard to ask for help in this culture, how the world would be better with more people helping each other and the importance of community, especially if you are a creative.

 Listen here! http://thejuicecast.com/art-asking/ 

Camas & Sage Out this November

This book has been in the pipeline for a while. It is wonderfully written by Dorothy Patent and will be out in November. I hope to maybe do some sort of book event with her in the spring.

I have taken lots of bison pictures in Yellowstone, Missouri, and Kentucky. The reference came in really handy. I take a lot of pictures everywhere because I never know what will come up next!

I will show off a little interior art in a couple months.

Back Cover

The-Show-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named

I love that the new show I am having with Anthony "Tank" Mansfield and Jaimie Filer at Pop Revolution Gallery is called The-Show-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named.

I have some cool new pieces for the show but it the meantime, here is a cartoon I did with
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"...

See you September 17th!

I Want to Be a Crocodile is Out!

I just got in samples of my latest book I Want to Be a Crocodile from Capstone/Picture Window.

I really loved working on it; such a wonderful manuscript! I should have it at Books By the Banks and it can also be ordered here.

I will also be at the Books By the Banks poster unveiling in early September. Stay tuned!

The Metamorphosis... More fun than Kafka!

Great New and Improved Way to Order My Books!

If you order most of my books from along the sidebar here or soon on my website, the link goes to a new order form to Inscribed Books & Gifts.

That means you can order signed books from anywhere in the world to be delivered anywhere in the world!

http://form.jotformpro.com/form/50345412303946

Also, Fibonacci Zoo is now available!

Part 2 of the Creative Juice Podcast

Because practice makes perfect, part 2 of the podcast I did with Margot and Jeb on practice!

http://thejuicecast.com/practice-practice-practice-part-2/

Sketch from a group outing with Jeb and the CJ crew

Creative Juice Podcast

I was on the Creative Juice podcast that was just aired this week on Practice and how long it takes to be good at something. We talk about drawing and obsessions and unused talents.


It was a lot of fun! Listen here: http://thejuicecast.com/practice-practice-practice-part-1/

While you are on the site, check out some of their other topics. The Juice Cast is a podcast for creative entrepreneurs.

Sketching in Bucharest

Lion Sketch for Sale to Support The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado

John the Lion, the handsome fellow I have sketched several times at the Cincinnati Zoo

I have a sketch for sale of John the Lion  that will benefit The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado to build funds in order for them to bring in and care for 33 lions and 1 Andean bear just being rescued from circuses.

Spread the word; Share and enjoy!


http://us.ebid.net/for-sale/john-the-lion-by-christina-wald-138219609.htm

From a trip last summer...

You can see all the art and prints available here:
http://us.ebid.net/perl/main.cgi?mo=user-store&title=wildlife-art-for-the-wild-animal-sanctuary

Also for sale is a signed copy of my book Big Cats.
http://us.ebid.net/for-sale/big-cats-by-christina-wald-138219576.htm

Happy Easter! Bunnies and Painted Monasteries

Cherry blossoms and bunnies... 'Tis the season

I do plan to paint this image, but do to finishing my next book, it will probably be by the Eastern Orthodox Easter.

Speaking of which, this is a good time to post some of the amazing art at the pained Monasteries in Romania.

Not only are there the ones dating back to the 1400s, but they are building new ones! Such a fascinating art form. It was nice to see the artist credits on the new ones.

Growing up catholic, it is interesting to see parallel but different imagery.

Judgement Day painting on the Voroneț Monastery done in 1547

Detail of the seraphim at the Humor Monastery painted in 1535

Lives of the saints or rather the martyrdom of them, Voroneț Monastery

More seraphim at Voroneț Monastery

A new depiction of Judgement Day

Seraphim detail

New Judgement Day at a church in Bucharest

Detail of the Judgement Day painting in Bucharest. Ioana and I were pleased to see the artists credited inside.

All of the Judgement Day paintings have the people being 'reconstituted', even if devoured by wild beasts. Such delightful imagery!

My monastery sketches and more of my write ups are here.

http://christinawald.blogspot.com/2014/11/trip-to-romania-part-3-painted.html

Spring Fairies

Unleashing the last spirits of winter

Something about spring makes you think of fairies. I think it is all of the new life that emerges. So, I have been doing a lot of them in my sketchbook lately.

The council is in session...

We also just saw Song of the Sea, a wonderful film by the folks who did The Secret of Kells. It was a beautiful film with a bit of a Spirited Away vibe with a dash of Tolkien's Silmarillion (he was greatly influenced by Celtic and other European mythology). I loved the design and the concept.

It is common mythology around the world of spirits being a part of everything... The world does awaken this time of year from a dormant state.

I can hardly wait to get outside to sketch!

The Leaf Litter...

Even at the Krohn Conservatory!