Thanks to Robin Smith for this article from the Horn Book about Maybe Something Beautiful at School Library Journal.
Showing posts with label Maybe Something Beautiful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maybe Something Beautiful. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
School Library Journal talks about people getting along with other people.
Thanks to Robin Smith for this article from the Horn Book about Maybe Something Beautiful at School Library Journal.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Thursday, May 5, 2016
7 year old Roshini reviews Maybe Something Beautiful at Kids Book Buzz
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Maybe Something Beautiful Mural
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| San Diego Cooperative Charter School 2 Before |
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| New Mural painted for El día de los niños/El día de los libros [Children's Day/Book Day] |
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| Community at work. |
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| Maybe Something Beautiful Book Team: Author Isabel Campoy, Editor Jeannette E. Larson HMH, Stefanie Von Borstel of Full Circle Literary and Author Theresa Howell. |
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| Grateful to SDCCS 2 Principal Anthony Villaseñor |
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| Reading the story with authors Theresa Howell & Isabel Camply |
Had a great time this last week preparing and painting the Maybe Something Beautiful mural to celebrate Children's Day/Book Day and the release of Maybe Something Beautiful. Thanks to all the amazing kids, volunteers, families and artist friends who made it possible at the San Diego Cooperative Charter School 2 in southeast San Diego.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Read to Achieve
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| Kids discover Maybe Something Beautiful at Otis Elementary School |
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| Boston Celtic's Player Marcus Smart reading with kids |
Thanks to Boston Celtics players for inspiring the next generation as part of Read to Achieve. Check out this short video of the event and appreciate Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for donating books to this worthwhile program.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Coming Soon! A new book Maybe Something Beautiful and a new mural
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| Vertical Spread from MAYBE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL |
On Tuesday April 12 Maybe Something Beautiful hits the shelves. It combines the talents of F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell and tells the story of Mira who together with a muralist and the community bring color and joy to her gray city. You can follow the action on facebook as murals inspired this book which has inspired an upcoming mural.
Looking forward to creating a new mural with children and families in Barrio Logan, San Diego on April 30, 2016. Details on the way.
Looking forward to creating a new mural with children and families in Barrio Logan, San Diego on April 30, 2016. Details on the way.
Beginnings and Endings
On Sunday I leave for Santiago, Chile and really look forward to discovering a new part of the planet and connecting with children there about books and murals. Over dinner, our son, Santiago asked what I am most looking forward to. I told him the beginning as there is much to explore and the ending as I get to tell him all about my adventure.
As a children's book illustrator I spend a great deal of time thinking about beginnings and endings.
Maybe Something Beautiful tells the story of a young girl and muralist who transform a gray neighborhood bringing their community together using art. The story is based on my own work creating the Urban Art Trail in the East Village of San Diego. I wanted to begin with actual buildings in the neighborhood and developed a technique that blended original photographs of local facades that morph into colorful endpapers. To finish the story the main character Mira’s painted bird can be seen flying up in the sky.
Book Fiesta! celebrates Children’s Day/Book Day and so the day begins and ends with a good book.
Endpapers are the start and finish line of a book. Vintage endpapers display an array of fascinating patterns that include marbled paper, geometric shapes and whimsical patterns. When I get a book deal I plead with the publisher to give me the chance to do a bit of extra storytelling to young readers as they open and close a book. If I can't convince them on the first round I will create sketches and even full paintings to plead my case. Many of my favorite endpaper designs never made it to print but I keep them in a flat file and open that drawer from time to time. The images on endpapers get closer to personal paintings. As there is no text you it can be a place to express your own visual take on a story.
You can find plenty of unique and beautiful vintage and contemporary endpapers online at places like Pinterest from innovative illustrators.
Patterns, textures, compelling imagery…what a way to start and end the day.
As a children's book illustrator I spend a great deal of time thinking about beginnings and endings.
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| Endpapers for MAYBE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL due out on April 12, 2016. |
Maybe Something Beautiful tells the story of a young girl and muralist who transform a gray neighborhood bringing their community together using art. The story is based on my own work creating the Urban Art Trail in the East Village of San Diego. I wanted to begin with actual buildings in the neighborhood and developed a technique that blended original photographs of local facades that morph into colorful endpapers. To finish the story the main character Mira’s painted bird can be seen flying up in the sky.
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| Endpapers for BOOK FIESTA! 2010 |
Book Fiesta! celebrates Children’s Day/Book Day and so the day begins and ends with a good book.
Endpapers are the start and finish line of a book. Vintage endpapers display an array of fascinating patterns that include marbled paper, geometric shapes and whimsical patterns. When I get a book deal I plead with the publisher to give me the chance to do a bit of extra storytelling to young readers as they open and close a book. If I can't convince them on the first round I will create sketches and even full paintings to plead my case. Many of my favorite endpaper designs never made it to print but I keep them in a flat file and open that drawer from time to time. The images on endpapers get closer to personal paintings. As there is no text you it can be a place to express your own visual take on a story.
You can find plenty of unique and beautiful vintage and contemporary endpapers online at places like Pinterest from innovative illustrators.
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| Search Pinterest and get inspired by amazing vintage and contemporary endpapers |
Patterns, textures, compelling imagery…what a way to start and end the day.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Sneak Peek: Behind the Scenes of Creating Art for Maybe Something Beautiful
Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Young Readers for their recent post about the process of creating art for Maybe Something Beautiful.
In this exuberant picture book about transformation through art, Mira live in a gray urban community until a muralist arrives and, along with his paints and brushes, brings color, joy and hope to the neighborhood. Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation-and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!
Available wherever books are sold on April 12, 2016!
In this exuberant picture book about transformation through art, Mira live in a gray urban community until a muralist arrives and, along with his paints and brushes, brings color, joy and hope to the neighborhood. Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation-and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!
Available wherever books are sold on April 12, 2016!
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Study for Maybe Something Beautiful
I wanted to try something new and challenged myself to experiment with this book. Riding around on my bicycle I shot photos of buildings in our neighborhood. I then painted the outer shapes of the structures using acrylic paint on wooden boards to get the texture background. One of my favorite downtime pastimes is photographing textures and these came from my urban file. This was compiled digitally to deliver the grit I was looking for.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Maybe Something Beautiful
This year several new books took flight from my drawing table. This one hits home.
Maybe Something Beautiful written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell due out this April from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The genesis of this book was a personal journey that started in 1997 when my wife Candice and I bought an old car garage in an edgy neighborhood at that time, the East Village of downtown San Diego. We were in our thirties and put down all our savings to make it happen. My mother in law cried when she first visited and couldn't fathom our choice of a first home in a such a challenging part of town. Undeterred we rented two industrial wet vacuum cleaners to scrub the car grease off the floors and began digging car parts out of the back yard. For ten years we worked with our friend Daniel to transform our home into a live/work studio where we could create and dream. In 2007 we stood back and took a deep breath. The once cold, dark 3,200 square foot space at last felt warm, and inviting. We were happy, sort of.
You see there was a big issue all too evident the moment you opened the front door. Drug dealing and related violence ruled the streets. That gray darkness outside extended into our home. We noticed that most people in our neighborhood walked looking down. They were sad, depressed or perhaps just afraid to make eye contact. The signs of struggle were all around and the few families who lived nearby rushed across the streets to get inside quick and lock their doors. Not knowing what to do we put up flyers and held a meeting at a local school to try to figure something out. We decided the best thing to do was something we knew. To use art to transform our neighborhood. After many meetings in our loft which became the paint station and staging area, the Urban Art Trail was born. It started with the painting of electrical boxes once used as makeshift offices by drug dealers. I developed a series of large murals that worked like giant paint by numbers so untrained artists could be involved. The trail grew to include benches, sidewalk poetry, sculpture, urban bird houses and mosaics. Working together with neighbors, children, students, graffiti artists, teachers, designers, residents of women's and homeless shelters and many others we transformed our community.
The East Village today is a great place to live and work.
As this is based on our own story it felt right to take some risks and try new mixed media techniques that blend original photographs I shot of the East Village, digital, watercolor and acrylic on wood. I look forward to sharing these techniques in future posts.
Maybe Something Beautiful written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell due out this April from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
The genesis of this book was a personal journey that started in 1997 when my wife Candice and I bought an old car garage in an edgy neighborhood at that time, the East Village of downtown San Diego. We were in our thirties and put down all our savings to make it happen. My mother in law cried when she first visited and couldn't fathom our choice of a first home in a such a challenging part of town. Undeterred we rented two industrial wet vacuum cleaners to scrub the car grease off the floors and began digging car parts out of the back yard. For ten years we worked with our friend Daniel to transform our home into a live/work studio where we could create and dream. In 2007 we stood back and took a deep breath. The once cold, dark 3,200 square foot space at last felt warm, and inviting. We were happy, sort of.
You see there was a big issue all too evident the moment you opened the front door. Drug dealing and related violence ruled the streets. That gray darkness outside extended into our home. We noticed that most people in our neighborhood walked looking down. They were sad, depressed or perhaps just afraid to make eye contact. The signs of struggle were all around and the few families who lived nearby rushed across the streets to get inside quick and lock their doors. Not knowing what to do we put up flyers and held a meeting at a local school to try to figure something out. We decided the best thing to do was something we knew. To use art to transform our neighborhood. After many meetings in our loft which became the paint station and staging area, the Urban Art Trail was born. It started with the painting of electrical boxes once used as makeshift offices by drug dealers. I developed a series of large murals that worked like giant paint by numbers so untrained artists could be involved. The trail grew to include benches, sidewalk poetry, sculpture, urban bird houses and mosaics. Working together with neighbors, children, students, graffiti artists, teachers, designers, residents of women's and homeless shelters and many others we transformed our community.
The East Village today is a great place to live and work.
Imagine my excitement when Isabel Compoy and Theresa Howell crafted an inspiring story about young Mira and her neighbors based on the actual Urban Art Trail. Below are sketches from the pages of our book. Featured in this 2016 Picture Book Preview from Jbrary. Thanks Lindsay and Dana for your early support of this new book.
As this is based on our own story it felt right to take some risks and try new mixed media techniques that blend original photographs I shot of the East Village, digital, watercolor and acrylic on wood. I look forward to sharing these techniques in future posts.
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