Harmon and more

Got some new stuff! And finally got around to scanning it.

First, Mark Harmon, or, as some may know him, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, from NCIS. I've decided to practice portraits more. First in black and white and later in color, when I think I'm good enough for it. Right now, it's all still practice - proportions and likeness still have to improve. But I'm happy with it all the same.



Second a series of illustrations I am planning to enter in the Bologna Children's Book Fair exhibition. It's a long shot, but I'll try anyway, you never know. They're done with acrylics and collage elements, and are about a girl who escapes her boring, colorless city to seek colorful scenes.

The Grey City


The Green Forest


The Yellow Dunes


The Blue Ocean


And The Red Mountains will follow asap.

Sketch Dump III

I'm back from the Book Fair and it was awesome! I loved the networking and all the things I saw and heard were very inspiring. Including, of course, all the drawings, paintings, illustrations. Not only those in the exhibition, but also those on and in the books that the many, many publishers had on display.

I decided to follow up on that inspiration and once home I immediately bought some art materials I thought would be useful for expanding and improving my portfolio. So in the sketch dump below you see things I made to test my new acrylics (the ponies and, frankly, all the colored stuff) and at the very bottom I made a lino print. The black acrylic I used for that print didn't work out that well, so next time (or somewhere in the future) I'll use the right type of ink, but for now this will do. It's Aladdin, by the way, a modern version. I have one more sheet of lino and am thinking about making a follow-up to this running scene.

Children's Book Fair

That would be the Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy. Yes. (YES!). That's where I'll be from the 22nd to the 25th of this month. It's a fair for professionals in the whole process of children's books - writing, illustrating, publishing, translating, rights, etc. I'll be going there as illustrator and translator and see what my chances are.

Maybe nothing will happen and I'll continue this passion in my spare time.
Maybe something will happen and I'll get a tiny chance to translate a children's book.
Maybe something else will happen and I'll get a tiny chance to illustrate a children's book.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a tiny chance to do both.

I'm not pessimistic, I'm positively realistic. I know the chances are small and that there are many, many talented artists and translators out there, but that doesn't mean I won't go at all. I will try and do my best and I will have fun and who knows? A tiny chance is all I need...

For my portfolio to bring to Bologna I have worked/am working on a couple of pieces:

This is Lyra from Northern Lights / The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Currently we are researching this novel as a class project at the university, so I thought it would be fun to illustrate it as well.



This is Sniff. His life consists of nothing but adventures. Every new smell, every exciting odor is a new adventure for him. It is a work in progress, so not quite finished yet.



This one I will not put into my portfolio. It's a failed attempt at a collage technique. I hate the composition and well, I just don't like the overall image. But the separate elements are all right. There's Sniff, a boy music maker, and Bo - a supergirl I once made up.