Natalie Ever After

#inktober Woodland wanderers

2015-10-10T22:36:00.001-07:00

#inktober Sisters

2015-10-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

#inktober one with nature

2015-10-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

#inktober Dirt Diva

2015-10-04T20:38:00.001-07:00

#inktober Farmer boy

2015-10-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

#inktober Beach boy

2015-10-02T19:37:00.001-07:00

#inktober Harlow does Pollock

2015-10-01T17:17:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to join #inktober this year and challenge myself to actually complete a whole month of daily ink drawings. Cheer me on and yell at me if I don't post. I'm going to focus on kids so I'm starting with one of my favorite kids, Harlow.

Ba ba black sheep

2014-07-18T11:28:00.003-07:00

Who knew my favorite color would just be a mixture of all the colors? Black. It's bold, it's thick, it's grey, it's deep, it's heavy, it's light...it's the best. So, when Melissa Sweet demonstrated how to make shades without black, it got me thinking. At the SCBWI LA conference in 2012, Melissa handed out these simple little papers.

It is a little color wheel of shades you can create without the overbearing presence of black. I keep this on my bulletin board as an easy reference.

These are a couple experiments with shading. I love the pear on the left because the red makes me think it's sitting next to a big shiny red apple. The pear on the right has less room for imagination. You can see how harsh black looks when compared to an image that used complementing colors.

Now, I'll always be a big fan of using black but when I'm looking to add more depth, I might just ditch it.

Chasing inspiration

2014-07-14T16:19:00.001-07:00

Submerged between steel buildings and long shadows rest multiple spots for inspiration, the trouble is, sometimes I don't even notice. You might not know it but Chicago is full of quiet flowery spots that pull you from the hustle and bustle of traffic and noise. There are spots along the river that flood your senses with smells (good and bad), reflected light and shapes that reveal the trends of times gone by and modern additions that seem to 'trump' them all (wink wink). But, being the shopaholic that I am, the inspiration spot I glean the most from is a little store in the heart of the city called Posh. Brimming with European antiques, flatware and dishes, this little store is a vacation after lunch. The patterns painted on dishes, the colors printed on tea towels and the shapes of old silver forks work together to agitate my ADD. I go there about once a week and I'm sure once I leave they say, "Is she ever going to buy something?" I do have some towels and a little tea and snack plate set that I begged my husband for but if I bought something every time I went, the store's new location would be my house. Sometimes I don't even know how things will inspire me or if they even do, but I have decided to make a point to be inspired by as much as possible. This last visit, I saw more little snack plates with the cutest little flowers strewn about them. They were simple flowers and I wished I had taken a picture but, like I said, I think the staff is getting sick of me as it is. So, I went home and drew up these little flowers in slightly different ways and I love them. I'll be looking for more inspiration to share with you but for now, here are my little flowers.

About Me

2014-07-11T08:19:00.001-07:00

My name is Natalie and I'm an elementary teacher just outside of Chicago. As soon as the bell rings, I rush home to... well... snack first, then write, draw or zip off to various improv gigs around the city. I became interested in creating books for children when I became exposed to so many talented authors and illustrators in my own classroom library. I'm an eternal student and consider myself lucky to have a job that requires me to share books with kids. When I'm not busy with my many interests I can be found cuddling with my very cuddle-resistant cat or husband (the cat is resistant, not the husband).

Getting to know you...

2014-07-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the same story for almost 3 years now. During those 3 years it has changed more times than I've changed my underwear and yet, it's still not ready. The most difficult part has been discovering my main character in illustrations. Drawing her this way and that way, like this illustrator or that illustrator or like that famous character or that household name (Spongebob inspired never worked out).

Finally, I discovered the bigger challenge at hand; I don't know my own style. I'm a morphing artist. There are so many inspiring illustrators out there whose work I love to copy when I doodle but none of it is my voice. I wanted to collage like my one illustration teacher does, I wanted to learn to draw figures like Marla Frazee and I wanted to layer and mix media like Melissa Sweet and while I've been playing dress up all this time, I finally feel like all these influences are brewing up my own Frankenstein-like style.

These are just the most recent gals and who knows how they'll change. Maybe being an artist also means learning when to make a choice, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I still have a hard time picking out underwear for the day.

Summer In Studio

2012-07-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite teachers hosted a class in her at home studio this June. Just like in the movie Midnight in Paris, I felt like twice a week I was transported to a magical studio where the lessons were enlightening and the company was even better. Here is some of my work from that unforgettable month.

I started with the black a white draft and it eventually evolved into the crisper version with collaged pieces filling the room.

My 2012 Tomie dePaola Contest Entry

2012-01-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

Inspired by this excerpt from P.C. Asbjornsen's "Chicken Licken":

So they went along and went along until they met Turkey Lurkey“Good morning, Goosey

Loosey, Ducky Daddles, Cocky Locky, Henny Penny,and Chicken Licken,” said Turkey Lurkey, “where are you going?”“Oh, Turkey Lurkey, the sky is falling and we are going to tell the King!”“How do you know the sky is falling?” asked Turkey Lurkey.“Ducky Daddles told me,” said Goosey Loosey.“Cocky Locky told me,” said Ducky Daddles.“Henny Penny told me,” said Cocky Locky.“Chicken Licken told me,” said Henny Penny“I saw it with my own eyes, I heard it with my own ears,and a piece of it fell on my tail!” said Chicken Licken.“Then I will go with you,” said Turkey Lurkey, “and we will tell the King!”