Brilliant ideas with brilliant (white board!) animation.

You mean we have to work hard and spend time to get what we want, instead of willing it to ourselves from the comfort of our couch!?

A little bird told me…

I’ve mentioned my growing interest in local birds, especially songbirds, and the variety of pressures that contribute to their decline. I’ve finished another bird painting, this one considering the phenomenon of urban sky glow and light pollution. In my research about birds, I came across some upsetting information and statistics about the effect communication towers and other lit features of the urban night sky have on night migratory birds. A report compiled by the American Bird Conservancy in June 2000 analyzed data relating to the number of birds killed by communication towers, tower lights, and surrounding wires and structures. The report showed that 230 different kinds of birds were killed by the towers and a conservative estimate of the number of birds killed each year is about 5 million. One little songbird, the Tennessee Warbler, has a declining population and is also the third most commonly killed bird at the towers. The understated little bird was also the subject of my latest bird painting.

It’s hard to deny the beauty of city lights at night and this tiny little bird seems pretty insignificant compared to our urban centres and the communication of millions of humans. I wanted to emphasize that vulnerability. Much like the canary in the coal mine, I also wonder if these little birds might be trying to tell us that all these lights at night aren’t so great for us either.

Hope this hasn’t been to rant-y for you!

Edu-ma-cation!

I had my first class of a continuing studies course I am taking at UBC through the Writing Centre. It’s a Children’s Book Workshop led by Michael Katz, head of Tradewind Books. Already I appreciate Mr. Katz’s honesty about the gauntlet a writer or illustrator must run in order to be published.

Who are your favourite children’s book authors and/or illustrators? Mine include Maurice Sendak and Shaun Tan.

Extended metaphor time!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Vancouver is a bad boyfriend. For most of the year, he rains on your parade. He’s cold and moody. You end up feeling trapped in the house and depressed. Just when you muster up the courage to leave, just when you start thinking about all the other exciting options out there, he turns up with flowers. He’s hot and cold, but there are beautiful days (like this one) when you wonder why you’d be anywhere else. You start to wonder if it’s been you all along. Maybe you should have made more of an effort. As soon as you try to make nice, you get dumped on.

Jillian Tamaki has the life I want.

Canadian girl, now living in New York, and making a living as an illustrator and comics artist. She’s incredibly talented and makes each illustration look as if it poured easily from her pen. I highly recommend the comic she drew, written by her cousin, called Skim. It’s a wonderfully thoughtful portrait of a teenage girl in a suburb. Maybe she wants to trade lives for a bit? Underemployed substitute teacher and unknown artist with lesser talents – I should give her a call.

Haven’t had much to say of late – I’ve been getting quite a bit of teaching work and the weather’s been classic Vancouver (lots of rain and wind with little bits of glorious sun to tease me). I can’t post a painting I’ve finished because the weather’s been too wet to get a decent picture of it.

I have been getting in the habit of doing a quick, usually terrible, sketch most mornings. Here are a few I’m not too embarrassed to show. I mostly sketch whatever random thing pops into my head or happens to be laying around, hence the cat, octopus, bird feeder, purse and sock on this page.

Ambrose usually only sits still when he’s looking out the window. I have a lot of sketches of his back.

An adorable little hermit thrush visited our yard one day. The proportions in this drawing are way off, but the bird was so charming I wanted to try and draw him.

This is how they look:

Such appealing proportions and bright little faces!