Art and Illustration by Claire DeWilde
It was an accident — in fact, it wasn’t even that. She had been playing in the woods with her wooden toys and had found the poor thing in the grass.
Of course, armed as she was, there seemed to be no convincing them.
What would you have done?
You might find some unlikely friends lurking in the leaves.
The Passenger Pigeon was Just the Start…
The Huntington Beach Art Center is showcasing local artists again! The show has been up since January 26th, and will close on March 9th.
Opening night was wonderful, as I have come to enjoy meeting and connecting with my fellow local artists. There are so many styles and mediums at this show, there really is something for everyone. My personal favorites include a pelican quilt by Linda Sackin, a colorful circuit-board-type piece mixed media collage by Eva Altmann, and an abstract swirl called “Color Go Round” by Larry Wallace! The art isn’t just on the walls, either – there are inventive metalwork pieces and lots of fiber arts (for which I have special affection) to enjoy.
The cherry on top of all this is that my print of “Arrival at Emerald City” sold before I even saw it on the wall! If my other piece, “Davie for Adoption” sells, I plan to donate that money to the HB Humane Society, where Davie currently resides.
Go check it out!
I created this series of illustrations to briefly summarize the scope of services this business provides. The assignment was to walk customers through “a day in the life” of a dog at their location. From that prompt I came up with the storyboard, characters, color palette, and overall design. I also wrote it, but I’ve covered the words here.
The turnaround on this was tight, so I kept colors minimal. Bare bones backgrounds and unfussy brushes kept it spontaneous without sacrificing neatness.
Opal and Tiny Cow walk into the bakery one morning to find all the pastries levitating above their heads. This is highly unusual, if you didn’t know.
A mystery in three parts! Dilemma, conflict, and resolution.
The fun: Creating a goofy mystery, experimenting with textures and light to convey distinct moods.
The challenge: isolating it down into just three images.
The result: I really want to have a tea party with aliens.
I look forward to making more stories with Opal and Tiny cow. I just love this duo!
This month I was honored to be in a juried art show called “Imagine II – The Art of Children’s Book Illustration”
Hosted by The dA Center for the Arts in Pomona with support by the SCBWI, it featured a whole wall of work by Leo Politti, which was awesome to look at, as well as artifacts and sculpture from the Petterson Museum of Intercultural Art. The space was absolutely filled with work from thirty-seven Californian illustrators, including a piece by yours truly!
It was great to come together for the Illustrators Reception and celebrate the art that inspires literacy and piques the curiosity of little humans.
As of this posting, you’ve got just a few days to see the show! The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday from 12 to 4, and it all comes down after September 23rd.
UPDATE: Here’s an article about the show.
[EDIT 6/13/17 – Preorders are closed, thanks everyone! Buy the book here]
BIG NEWS! I will be printing 100 paperback copies of a picture book I wrote and illustrated a couple years back. “What is a Dog?” is a project that I’m so proud of and I’m excited to have the opportunity to make this short run of books. HUGE thank-yous to everybody who bought the .PDF version on Gumroad. All the proceeds from that went right into this!
So while we’re waiting for these books to be produced, I thought I should at least get a headcount to get all these books out into the world. Claim your copies by filling out this form — it’s a first-come, first-served kinda deal. I’ll be signing each and every copy!
I’m also gathering reviews to give you the general flavor without giving too much away:
“What is a Dog? Is a fun, kooky, informational, and short journey about something we all love: dogs! It features amazing illustrations and a diverse cast that shows appreciation for every sort and type of pooch. If you love doggos, this book is for you!”
– Joshua W.
“Young kids will love finding the dogs (and non-dogs), but older kids will definitely enjoy its edges.”
– Maureen M.
A spooky witches illustration for a witch-themed zine.
Artful Armadillo