New OZ Children's books in the works

Recently I've signed on to illustrate 2 books by Roger Baum who is the great grandson of Frank Baum who wrote the Wizard of Oz. The two books that I'm working on are Oz books and the first book is a Christmas story. The Christmas book should be available sometime this Nov/Dec. I've attached the cover illustration and a sample illustration that was done.

Smoking Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland painting

This is the finished painting at least for now. Might do some extra tweaking before the show in November. I really wanted to have the caterpillar spewing out smoke but after much trial and error I ended up with this. Really like how the hookah and the caterpillar turned out. MIght see if I can get a better photo tomorrow. Next I'll be working on a pet portrait then I'll start the next Alice in Wonderland painting. Thinking about doing the Queen of Hearts next.

Alice sees the white rabbit - finished painting

This is the 1st painting in the Alice in Wonderland series that I've finished for my show at the Gillioz in Springfield, MO coming this November. I'm very happy with the finished painting. Please look through my previous posts to see the progress of the painting. It's very interesting to look at the beginning sketches and the finished painting. Next up is Alice and the smoking caterpillar!

Alice sees the white rabbit painting progress 2

Woohoo! The rabbit is finished. Well, almost I'll add the whiskers and some more little details once the background is finished. Enjoy!

Joy Stone Illustration 3 - Tortoise and Princess Sighing Dove

This is the 3rd illustration for the children's book the Joy Stone. Not as happy with this one as the other two. I do like how the tortoise turned out though. This is one of the 1st scenes in the Joy Stone where Princess Sighing Dove is talking to the turtle and comparing how they are alike.

Joy Stone illustration 2- Squirrel and Chipmunk

This is the 2nd illustration for the children's book the Joy Stone. The squirrel's name is Gray-paw and the chipmunk's name is Atchitamon. They are some of Princess Sighing Dove's friends.

The Joy Stone sketches 2

This is a sketch of Atchitamon the chipmunk and Gray-paw the squirrel who are fun little characters in the Joy Stone story!

The Joy Stone sketches part 1

Just started a new fun little project illustrating a children's book called the Joy Stone by Reta Allen. The book is a about an indian princess that goes on a journey with animal friends in search of happiness. The first sketch is just a quick sketch of Princess Sighing Dove. The second sketch is of the Princess having a conversation with a turtle. I'm doing 3 to 4 specs for the book before it goes to the publisher.