The Secret Cellar Cover...

Here's my new cover for Michael Beil's fabulous Red Blazer Girls series, out today! These adventures follow a feisty group of middle school sleuths who solve mysteries throughout Manhattan. My daughter and I are big fans of Michael's writing, so it's a thrill to contribute to these tweener mysteries. I'm also thankful to art director, Kate Gartner, who pushed me towards this bold style. You can see some interior spots from the The Secret Cellar here.

Here's my sketch process, starting with thumbnails:

After feedback from the thumbnails, it was time to create some more detailed comps:

A fountain pen plays a central role in this mystery. Here's the circular art and sketch ideas:

It's always nice to see my artwork in it's proper context. Here's an older photo of my daughter reading the second book in this this series, The Vanishing Violin:

I'm looking forward to presenting her with a new copy of The Secret Cellar!

Happy reading everybody.

You can view my new illustration website here!

The Secret Cellar

Here's a peek at some drawings that will appear in The Secret Cellar, the newest installment of the Red Blazer Girls mystery series. What goes on in this this spooky cellar? Are vintage French wines hidden down there? What creepy characters are lurking in the shadows? Oh, rats! I can't tell you. For answers, you must read Michael Beil's fabulous book when it comes out later this year. One secret I can reveal is that it was really fun dreaming up these images.

You can view my new illustration website here!

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My daughter Abigail is a big fan of this series,
so I can't wait to give her a copy of The Secret Cellar!

Red Blazer Girls

I'm thrilled to own the newest Red Blazer Girls mystery, The Mistaken Masterpiece, just out in hardcover. In January 2010, Kate Gartner at Random House asked me to illustrate covers for this fabulous series. It was fun to collaborate on a project that's geared towards middle school readers. Each book is about a group of 7th graders who attend a Catholic girls school in Manhattan. When they're not doing homework, they run a detective agency, searching for missing items of great value. Every story is like a treasure hunt, where the brainy sleuths must solve literary, mathematical and visual puzzles to locate the missing artifact.

Each cover has a similar design. The coveted object in the title is highlighted in a colorful circular drawing. Mystery and intrigue are emphasized in a reverse black and white drawing below the arch.

Reading a 300 page manuscript can be a daunting task for an illustrator. But the author, Michael Beil, writes thoroughly engrossing books. My daughter Abigail and I are both big fans of The Red Blazer Girls series. Can't wait for the next installment!

It was fun to visualize the authors description of this mistaken masterpiece.

I used a parchment paper background for the Vanishing Violin artwork

I researched medieval-era Christian jewelry to design this ring.

Here's one design direction I explored for this series. I scanned the fabric from my own red blazer to create the background texture.

Kate liked the boldness of this reverse black and white style.

my very first audio book cover.

My daughter put this Red Blazer Girls book in its proper context!