Monday, December 29, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Clandestine"

©Kathleen Rietz
I thought at first it might be a stretch, but I keep coming back to the same notion regarding this illustration: As much as I have chosen to be a designer and a children's book illustrator, late at night I revert back to my roots in a clandestine effort to nourish the parts of myself deep within my soul that will always be a fine artist.

You can see more of my work like this one on my Moleskine blog.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Update on yesterday's "Happy Birthday to Me " post

©KathleenRietz

I found my "cake limit" tonite! Thanks everyone who stopped by to wish me a happy birthday.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, or whatever else you may be celebrating! Be safe.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Happy Birthday to Me!

...and my twin brother Patrick, too!

I plan to go out and find my "cake limit" again tonite! Some things never change.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Voices" #2

© Kathleen Rietz
Sometimes it's hard to get the voices out of your head when you find yourself engrossed in a scary story!

During the 21 Day Challenge I participated in with other blogger artists last March, I created a page of sketches based on Millie and her loyal little Chihuahua, Bobo. I then created this illustration (available as a print in my shop). And tonite I took some time to work on the second illustration from my page of sketches, and decided it fit the theme for Illustration Friday.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Voices"

©McGraw-Hill
An oldie but it fits for the theme.
If you have never listened and watched Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's speeches, you can find them online (probably YouTube). He had a lot to say and he inspired many, even now. Sadly his voice was silenced by an assassin.

Aaahhhhh....

That's the sound of me exhaling. I am preparing the final of 57 art files for the children's yoga book, and later today I will send them on their merry way, snugly tucked inside envelopes and cheerfully addressed to the publisher and book designer. This is the image we chose for the back cover of the book. It really hasn't felt much like the holidays for me, and I am looking forward to enjoying some quiet time with friends.

Looking for a last minute gift idea? You can pre-order the book, "The ABC's of Yoga for Kids" by clicking the button on the right hand margin of my blog (or right here). The book will not be sent to you until March, but I think it will be worth your wait!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Gratitude

I find the best way to combat my fears is with gratitude.
This watercolor painting is based on a sketch I did during the "21 Day Challenge" earlier this year. I finally finished the illustrations for "The ABCs of Yoga for Kids", and I am taking a little break before I have to begin all of the paintings for the "Little Black Ant at Park Street" book. You can now pre-order the yoga book by clicking the button I created on the right-hand column of my blog. It will take you to the author's website.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Illustration Friday - "Rambunctious"

©KathleenRietz
©KathleenRietz
I couldn't decide which image to use, so I chose and oldie and a more recent sketch. 2 different styles. Both rambunctious.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

playing in the snow...

For all of you bloggers in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa...happy summer!

Monday, December 08, 2008

Winter Sketch

I really enjoyed the "21 Day Challenge" I participated in with fellow illustration bloggers earlier this year, and so tonite I decided to sketch in my sketchbook - a quickie....maybe 10 minutes while I talked with my sister on the phone. I hope to get back to another "21 Day Challenge" after the holidays. Anyone out there care to join me? (You can scroll down and click on the "21 Day Challenge" tag under the "View By Group" list on the right hand side of my blog to see drawings and paintings from the 21 Day Challenge). I also would like to work some of the sketches into paintings to add to my portfolio.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Recycled.

A few years ago, I began recycling my recyclables...
(The photos are definitely worth clicking to see 'em larger, IMO.)

Jelly jar is now a candle holder. And an iced tea bottle is now a pretty bud vase.

Drug store votives are dressed up and reused.

Your trash is my treasure.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

I'm a Foodie!

Besides art, 2 things that make me happy in this life are eating and cooking. I love food. I take after my mom. She was cheerful to cook for the people she loved and everything she made was a little masterpiece sitting on a plate. She also was a fabulous watercolor painter and a gardener, but that's another story.

My sister has been bugging me for 3 years to write a cookbook. The problem is, all of my culinary creations are instinctual. In other words, I never write down a recipe or measure anything. I find that ingredients (such as tomatoes) taste different depending on the season in which you find them, so I make adjustments to my dishes according to what tastes, smells and looks good.

But I have decided to start writing down my recipes from time to time and adding photographs to accompany the recipes (when my camera cooperates).

In the winter, I crave fresh juices and smoothies, probably my body's response to the darkness of cold and flu season. So in the mornings, I have been blending my fruits and veggies. Then last night I stumbled across Jo Fong's blog, and found an instant kinship! So in honor of healthy eating and Jo's blog, I decided to post this morning's smoothie. I also made oatmeal-blueberry pancakes from scratch, but they were gone before I could photograph them.

In the future, I will be posting my food photos and recipes on my Potluck Sunday blog (my collaborative blog with Joan Yoshioka), but for now I will give you a little taste:


Blend ~
1 lime, peeled and wedged
1 tangerine, peeled and wedged
1/2 large Rome apple, cored and peeled
1/2 banana
3 generous handfuls baby spinach
3 icecubes

Blend until very smooth!

Wanna Be Part of A Greater Good?

This is my niece Alice, who just turned 13 in November. For her birthday, she wanted a framed print of my illustration "Annie Had Tea with a Kingfisher", and I presented it to her at Thanksgiving. She has always been a big fan of my artwork. I am a very proud auntie.


Alice will be celebrating her Bat Mitzvah in early January. In preparation, Alice has chosen to donate children's books to the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Champaign, IL, as her Mitzvah project. She will be asking each guest to bring a new or gently used children's picture book to her Bat Mitzvah for the donation. Of course, because I am a children's book illustrator, I thought this was a wonderful idea, and I told her I would post about it on my blog to try and increase the number of books donated.

Do you have a book you would care to donate to DCFS? The organization aids in adoption services, social work, child abuse prevention and other related causes. If you are interested in donating a book for Alice's Mitzvah project, please email me or leave me a comment and I will give you information on where you can send it.

Here is the book I will be donating. It is a kindergarten leveled reader which I illustrated a couple of years ago:

Thanks everyone!