Visit Tugeau2.com to view all our artists and portfolios!
Two Tugeau 2 artists won awards for their poster art the Annual New England SCBWI Conference (April 25-27, 2009). About 50 artists took part in the contest and showcased their own illustrated concept of the theme “Many Voices”. T2 artist Kathy Weller won prizes in two categories: Best in Show, Published Artist and Third Place, Viewer’s Choice. T2 artist Dani Jones won Second Place, Published Artist. Yay for T2 artists!!
greeting card © 1996 Kathy Weller
Anyhow, I’m really, really proud of the work I did with my little card business. It was a springboard for so many different things creatively, it’s hard to even begin making a list for you without writing a book. Professionally, as far as helping me gain both self-confidence and business acumen, nothing can match the experience – and especially at a time in my life when I was so in need of direction.
Here is one of the cards that was in my line back then. I’ve always loved this one, and in the following years, I’ve found that the “stage” concept has clearly adopted itself as a running theme in my work. Happy Valentine’s Day!
I painted this the other day in a festive mood after our first snowfall of the season. I was also inspired by some Ernest H. Shepard drawings I saw on a blog. Sometimes, in weather like this (it’s currently -4 with wind chill) I feel like a mouse in a burrow — and I mean that in a good way.
Remember the time you waited until no one was around, crawled under the Christmas tree, peeled back the corner wrapping of your present and took a peek? This is going to be something like that.
Except that this time, Mrs. Nicole Tugeau Claus is fully aware and gives a wink and a nod. I was asked to paint the image for this year’s Tugeau 2 holiday card. Knowing I wanted to show a variety of animals and convey the hope and magic of the season, I sketched and rendered the following illustration.
The next challenge was to create a piece of spot art for the back of the card that played off the main illustration. This is a fun part in creating narrative illustration…to give visual hints as to what may happen next. In this case, the subplot is easy to catch. A gift is given, it is received…and the mouse soars.
So if you receive one of these holiday cards in the mail, just act surprised. How did we know … it’s what you’ve always wanted!
currently painting: 6 illustrations for May/June 09 Ladybug Magazine
currently writing: short stories and poetry for a themed anthology
Happy Holidays!
Terri Murphy
The Best Mariachi in the World, published by Raven Tree Press, is almost set for release! I recently got to see a finished copy for the first time, and I’m happy with how it turned out.
I have posted a bigger preview with more pictures on my Mariachi blog here: http://mariachibook.blogspot.com/2008/09/book.html. Exciting!
Prolific children’s writer Anastasia Suen’s blog “Six Traits” (Picture Book of the Day) has posted on my book “The Months” for her blogs’ weekly “Poetry Friday”. The post offers a couple of ideas on how the book can be used in lessons. Pretty cool!!
I’ve just been interviewed for the Gourmet Food Garden blog, to describe my most memorable meal. Sir James Galway has also been interviewed here, so I’m in good company!
Speaking of interviews, last week I was also interviewed by Katie Schwartz, blogger, essayist, and author of the wonderful and funny book Emotionally Pantsed. Read it and get the dish on what Chris Sarandon thought of my drawing of him from “The Princess Bride”!
I’m also happy to announce that Honey Cake, by Joan Betty Stuchner, published by Random House, is finally out in stores. I did the cover illustration, and the book designer, Gloria Cheng, did an amazing job. It looks even more beautiful in real life!
I am a member of a children’s illustrators’ group called the Picture Book Junkies (we’re the “PBJ’s” – yes, just like peanut butter and jelly)! About once a year, we do a promotional postcard as a group, and this year we have decided on a “Back To School” theme.
We also share a group blog. We have a weekly theme, and then each of us posts once a week on the theme. This week, our theme is our “Back To School” postcard art. (I designed the postcard this year, too: front and back)
Please check it out, and enjoy!
Today, I mailed out more than 100 flyers (front, back) to Austin area librarians, advertising my school/library program. Beyond my website, this is the first time I’ve marketed directly to librarians.
I began by downloading promotional materials of other authors and illustrators. Once I had a taste of the competition, I wrote, designed, and then had the flyers printed and folded at Kinkos.
An author friend of mine gave me a list he’d already compiled of local librarians. Only thing I had to do was to confirm his list with the AISD website, just in case some librarians had moved. I also sent flyers to private school, some of my best and most reliable customers.
The most exciting thing about this flyer was making a last minute revision. Normally, I’m not thrilled about stopping the presses to make a change. But in this case, my newest book, Ron’s Big Mission, has been selected by the Junior Library Guild. I think that’s good enough news to throw away a few flyers to make that addition.
This year, I adjusted my pricing down a bit. I’m charging $600 for a full day (three presentations). Four hundred for a half day (two presentations). And all that is negotiable. Some of my colleagues have said I should charge more, that the going rate for an author/illustrator visit is at least $1,000.00, and that’s low. But I’ve been doing school visits for about 10 years now, and at that price, I’d have not visited many school, if any at all — com’mon.
Typically, I visit about 6 to 7 schools per year, and I also speak at maybe one or two conferences. But with a slowdown in educational work, and two trade books that won’t provide any income for well over a year, I could use a boost from school visits.
Wish me luck!
Be sure to check out an interview with illustrator Duane Smith, conducted by Don Tate, both Tugeau 2 artists. The interview can be found at The Brown Bookshelf, and is about Duane’s new book, Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story.
