The Lost Hero

There has been a lot of buzz in the news lately about Rick Riordan's newest series, The Heroes of Olympus, and once again, I am thrilled to be a part of it. Here is the cover painting I did for the first book, The Lost Hero.

World's End

Here is the latest jacket art for World's End. It's a wraparound jacket in which the art is even carried onto the inside jacket flaps. World's End is the second book in the DORMIA series by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski.
This was a fun one, and you can see my inspiration from these two paintings by Howard Pyle.

Launch of The Kane Chronicles

Last night I went to a media launch event for Rick Riordan's newest series, The Kane Chronicles. (Jacket art by yours truly). The event was in the large atrium of the Brooklyn Museum and there was quite a turnout. Here are some pictures:


Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, made Rick an honorary Brooklyn Citizen. (A good part of The Kane Chronicles takes place in Brooklyn, about five blocks from my house!)
The wonderful voice over artists, who read for the audio version of the book were on hand to give everyone a sample of there talents. They were great!
And, as always, Rick got everyone excited about Egyptian mythology...and his new series of course. He mentioned that the Brooklyn Museum has the largest collection of ancient Egyptian spell books in the world. Pretty dangerous!?!?My art director, Joann Hill, and I were both giddy about how well the cover came out. Not so sure what the heck I am doing with my hand...casting a spell perhaps?

April Showers...

I haven't blogged in a while, and that means I am busy. I recently joined fellow illustrators David Gordon and Dave Horowitz at the Bridgewater Young Authors Conference which was a lot of fun. I also spoke at the New Jersey Reading Councils recent conference and signed books with Marc Brown.
In my studio I am busy working on a couple of book jackets. One for the new book in the DORMIA series, and a jacket for Rick Riordan's newest book The Lost Hero, which is the first book in Rick's Percy Jackson spinoff series about demi-gods at camp half-blood.
In other news, Rick Riordan's latest series, The Kane Chronicles, hits bookstores on May 4 with its first book The Red Pyramid. Cool!
I am also spending my time working on THE FLINT HEART, by John and Katherine Patterson. It is a middle grade fantasy novel originally created by Edin Phillpotts in 1910. It was just announced that it will be made into a movie by the team that put together the film Bridge to Terabithia. The book will have about 45 paintings in it, so I think I will be having a busy summer. More to come on that as the summer progresses.

Okay, so when I am not busy on all of that...I am working on my picture book called BLACKOUT. It is an almost wordless book, (it has about 100 words, which is almost wordless for me!) about a family in Brooklyn that comes together through the magic of a blackout. Here are some of the drawings to give you a taste.

The rejected sketches...

I thought it would be fun to post some rejected sketches from a bunch of different book jackets that I've illustrated. These were the ideas that didn't make it...

Thank you Mr. Wyeth

Recently I finished a painting for a new book jacket. I was very inspired by the work of N.C. on this one.

Percy Jackson Art Show

(pictured here; Jennifer Besser (Editor, Disney•Hyperion), me, Peter Glassman (Owner, Books of Wonder)


This past Saturday we had a very nice opening at Books of Wonder in NYC displaying all the artwork from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There was a huge turnout and lots of great questions from the audience. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made the event so special. It was a real thrill for me to see all the art framed and on the wall, and to meet all the fans of the series. It was a super cold saturday, and it was even cold inside (that's why I am still wearing my scarf!) so I was thrilled that people braved the elements and came out.
The artwork will stay up for a while, so if you are in the neighborhood be sure to check it out. A small limited edition signed set of prints have been made and you can purchase them through Books of Wonder while they last. You can preview them all here.

Latest Artwork and News January 2010

Happy New Year! Here are some of the latest paintings I have completed for some middle grade novels. The first two are for a series called THE CENTURY BOOKS by P.D. Baccalario. The final painting is for the paperback version of a book called THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER by David Whitley. (I loved this book! It's like Jonathan Stroud's The Bartimeous Trilogy meets Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. I can't wait to read the next one in this trilogy, which I am supposed to get in a couple days.

In the meantime, I am very excited to announce that I will be illustrating a middle grade fairy tale written by our new Ambassador of Children's Literature, the one and only...Katherine Paterson. The book is called The Flint Heart, originally written by Eden Phillpotts in 1910. Katherine and her husband John have brought new life to this wonderful story which feels to me like a wonderful combination of Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. The Publisher, Candlewick Press will be creating a highly illustrated version of this wonderful tale, which I have the honor of illustrating.

The Kane Chronicles

Well the word is out, and so is the new art. Here is the painting that I recently did for Rick Riordan's latest series; The Kane Chronicles. There is some more info on the Wall Street Journal Blog, and a website.

PERCY JACKSON ART SHOW

Come on out and join me for a cool art exhibition hosted by my favorite NYC bookstore, Books of Wonder.
When: January 30th 12-2pm
The super awesome editor of the Percy Books, Jennifer Besser will be there as well to answer any of your questions. Should be fun!

Percy Jackson Deluxe...continued

Here is another painting from the Lightning Thief Deluxe Edition. It depicts Percy leaving Mount Olympus towards the end of the book. You'll notice the design on the elevator doors is based on the end pages I designed for "The Last Olympian".
I recently took my three year old daughter to the top of the Empire State Building and when we got out on the roof, she kept saying "But I want to go ALL the way up to the tippy top." I can only assume she meant climbing the needle like King Kong, but maybe she meant even further...to the 600th floor!

Percy Jackson THE LIGHTNING THIEF Deluxe Edition

I am pleased to announce that the Lightning Thief Deluxe Illustrated Edition is now available. I just went over to Books of Wonder in NYC where both Rick Riordan and I have signed copies. Very cool!

Books of Wonder Event

Had a great time at the recent Books of Wonder event this past weekend. Here are some pics.


Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, me and Art Spiegleman.


Left to right: Jerry Pinkney, Art Spiegleman, Francoise Mouly, Charles Santore, Laura Cornell and Brett Helquist.

Left to Right: Charles Santore, Laura Cornell, Brett Helquist, Holly Hobbie and me grinning profusely.

The Kane Chronicles

Well, now...I can talk about it.
I am currently working on the artwork for Rick Riordan's new book, The Red Pyramid (Book one of the Kane Chronicles). I am very excited about this because not only do I get to create the jacket art, but I was able to design the logo which was revealed this week in Publishers Weekly as well as Rick's own unveiling at the Texas Book Festival where he took home the prestigious Bookend award for his contributions to literature by a Texas author.
Now, I am sure I won't be able to post anything about the artwork for a long time to come, but the excitement is building. His last series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which I did all the cover art for, has sold over 7 million copies in the U.S. alone!
Needless to say, I am thrilled and honored to be part of his next series, The Kane Chronicles.

Percy Jackson Boxed Set

November 3, 2009 is going to be a Percy day! First there is the release of this cool Boxed set of Hardcover books, and also is the release of the Deluxe Edition of the Lightning Thief with eight new color illustrations I did for the interior. Pretty cool!

Boxed Set
Deluxe Lightning Thief

Today is the Day to find the Way

Today, September 30th officially marks the launch of my latest picture book, Fu Finds the Way. I am at my desk listening for cries of joy, fireworks and sounds of celebration, but alas it is quiet outside my window.
I will be doing several signings in the NYC area in November.


In other news I had the pleasure of meeting David Small as he was signing his new graphic novel "Stitches" at Powerhouse Arena last night. I also met his lovely wife, Sarah Stewart (Author of "The Librarian", "The Gardener", "The Money Tree" and several others) It was a great night, and I was lucky to get our very used copy of "The Librarian" signed by both David and Sarah.

Keplers review of Fu Finds the Way

My new book was recently reviewed by Keplers. Did I mention that Keplers happens to be one of my Dad's favorite bookstores?


Fu Finds the Way - Kepler's Staff Review
This is an awe-inspiringly beautiful book that will beckon you to hold it tenderly in your hands and give it your full attention. Indeed, before the first
word is read you will be well on your way to "the way."

Young Fu is out in the rice fields quite distracted by his fantastic daydream when he accidentally flings a clod of mud onto the face of a fearsome warrior
named Chang. Incensed, Chang challenges young Fu to a duel. Terrified Fu grabs his father's sword and runs to seek training by the Master. But all the
Master has him do is pour tea! And then he orders Fu to pour tea again "with purpose," and again "with flow" and again "with patience." When the hour
of his assignation with Chang arrives, Fu, quite exhausted by his sleepless night pouring tea, forgets his sword but finds himself still holding the teapot.

What will he do? Pour Tea of course! Fu's loving tea ceremony has such intense focus and beauty that all else becomes irrelevant, including Chang's ire.
In our often frenetically multi-tasked lives, reading this book provides a peaceful and centering experience that explains the concept of single-focused
attention to the moment-a concept that is beyond the grasp or experience of so many of our children given the relentlessly wired, hyper-texted, multi-
calendar lives our families navigate every day.

Kentucky Conference

I recently got back from Louisville where I was a guest speaker at the Kentucky Reading Association Annual Conference. They held another great conference this year and I was happy to be part of it. I met some wonderful teachers who were really passionate about getting their students to read. I also had time to talk with Floyd Cooper about his work, as well as having drinks with fellow SCBWI'er Candie Moonshower.

New Studio!!!!

I am very excited about the new studio that my wife and I built at our country house. It used to be a commercial kitchen and a bedroom, and before that it was a dining room (back in the late 1800's). We had to hire contractors to put a new roof on because the old one was leaking, but the rest of the work we did ourselves. I even made my own moulding with some old pine boards and a router. The bookshelf in the library is a simple pine box, and I added sheets of stained beadboard to the back and some old oak moulding I found to dress up the front. It still needs some work, like a new floor and moulding and some other things, but we couldn't be happier.
We also had time to finish work on a library. I still can't believe I have a library now! Here are some pictures, and a nice shot of my daughter helping with the painting.

The Books have arrived!

I just got my hands on a few copies of my latest book, Fu Finds the Way, (Disney•Hyperion Sept 30) and I am thrilled. The printing was spectacular and check out what it looks like when you take the dust jacket off! Its a red silk cover with a gold stamp that I designed in the center.
Getting advance copies of my books always gives me a thrill. It's like Christmas!