Field studies

My collaborator in life and books has been spending some time in The Lake District. She sent me some and wonderful photographs of the Beatrix Potter estate and land-trust. Looking at them I remembered that I had a bunch of nature drawings in various sketchbooks that I filled while preparing to illustrate the Redwall picture books. Potter has been and remains a huge influence in my work.

#christopherdenise #illustration #kidlit#kidlitart #art #artwork #beatrixpotter#artstagram #pencil #paper #paint#childrensbooks #instaart#best_of_illustrations #flowers #draw#draweveryday #artstagram #research#drawfromlife #sketch #sketchoftheday#naturedrawing #sketchbook #sketching#dailydrawing #hilltopfarm #redwall

Sharing a backlog of Instagram posts in case you missed them....

• Character sketch from Knitty Kitty, written by David Elliott, published by Candlewick Press.

#cat #kidlitart#christopherdenise #draw #drawing#childrensbooks #sketching #sketch#sketchbook #dailydrawing#sketchoftheday #illustration #illustrator#picturebook #picturebookillustration#characterdesign #character#kitty #knittykitty #best_of_illustrations#instaart #artstagram#christopherdenise #candlewickpress

Original art from The Great Redwall Feast by Brian Jacques for sale.

ORIGINAL ART SALE ALERT!
This pastel painting featuring Ambrose Spike of Redwall just posted on my Etsy shop. This is the actual illustration(not a print) that was used for reproduction in the Great Redwall Feast written by Brian Jacques. A great piece for the Redwall collector.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/67516644/the-great-redwall-feast-ambrose-spike?ref=listing-shop-header-0

#christopherdenise #illustration #kidlit#kidlitart #art #artwork #spring #pastel#artstagram #picturebook #charcoal#picturebookillustration #childrensbooks#instaart #best_of_illustrations#character #characterdesign #redwall#hedgehog #redwall #brainjacques#etsy #illustratorsoninstagram #sketch#drawing #draweveryday

Sharing a backlog of Instagram posts in case you missed them....

From March 20th:
First day of Spring! From “The Redwall Cookbook” written by Brian Jacques, Philomel Books

#christopherdenise #illustration #kidlit 
#redwall #kidlitart #art #artwork#brianjacques #artstagram #acrylic#paint #childrensbooks #instaart#mice#best_of_illustrations #flowers #spring#instaspring #green #redwallabbey#dafodill #cookbook

Some older process work

I was digging out a piece for a collector and came across these pieces from my version of “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship”, Philomel/Penguin. The video shows finish, goes back to the color sketch, then to the charcoal layout, and forward again. The book published in 1994 but some of the work holds up.

#thefooloftheworld #christopherdenise#sketch #illustration #kidlit #kidlitart#art #artwork #artstagram #draw#drawing #picturebook#picturebookillustration #childrensbooks#instaart #illustrator#best_of_illustrations #sketch#illustrationprocess #folktale #mice#flying #layout #quicktime #acrylic

Groundhug Day-character studies

See the side by side, sketch to finish, of "Squirrel" along with other character development sketches from Groundhug Day on my Instagram page!

https://www.instagram.com/christopherdenise/

Getting ready for Valentines Day?

https://www.weareteachers.com/14-brand-new-childrens-books-to-celebrate-valentines-day/#.WllD-A184uk.twitter

Groundhug Day-influences part two

Here is another inspiration post from my most recent book, Groundhug Day, written by Anne Marie Pace. This one is a bit more obvious for those Looney Toons fans of a certain age. Can you identify the paws and the plans in the image on the right? Check out my Instagram account to see more character development drawings!

Groundhug Day-influences

A friend was just asking me about my influences in creating the world for Groundhug Day (Anne Marie Pace, Disney/ Hyperion). Emmit Otters Jug-Band Christmas was definitely in the mix!

Book signing!

Join us on Saturday, for a hugs & hearts storytime + book signing! Anika Denise and I will be at the Savoy Bookshop and Cafe in Westerly, RI. (Because signed books make excellent Valentines, don't you agree?)

http://www.banksquarebooks.com/event/savoy-story-hour-featuring-anika-denise-and-christopher-denise

School visit and a ninja squirrel

Catching up on some posts that never made it to my blog!
A quick little account of a recent school visit and a fun link to the now famous "Ninja Squirrel"

December 8th: Super fun day meeting the students at Moses Brown in Providence R.I. today! This picture shows a pig that we all came up with but the best part was when the subject of my live ipad drawing demo was taken over by the second and third graders. You can see our "Ninja Squirrel" on my Instagram feed. https://www.instagram.com/p/BcdLpu8FMyX/ 

Groundhug Day book giveaway at Goodreads!

So Christmas is nearly here and you are still not sure what to buy for that picture book reader on your list? They probably have plenty of toys. Here is your chance to win a copy of our new book Groundhug Day, signed by both author and illustrator. Anne Marie Pace (author of the much loved Vamperina Balerina books) and I are having a book giveaway. Just sign up for Goodreads (free) and enter! Also makes a great gift for Valentines Day or (if you celebrate such things) Groundhog Day. You can't win if you don't enter and the whole thing will take you five minutes! That’s it. Wouldn't it be great if you did this right now?

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/267197-groundhug-day