tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-266158252012-02-08T09:47:19.054-08:00Meandering through the world of children's literature and art.Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.comBlogger831100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-41155238579482609382012-02-01T07:20:00.000-08:002012-02-01T14:58:39.399-08:00

It's my birthday today, and in honor of that, I am going to spiff up my blog a little. Check back now and then for more changes, little and big. Trying to learn to be my own IT department!  P.S. This is a work-in progress, starting today!

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-91685688045035811582011-12-20T17:59:00.000-08:002011-12-20T18:22:01.807-08:00

It's been a mild December here, and the birds have been so song-ful. It must be their joy, when the weather is fine. Here are a few tiny portraits of some of those who loiter in the yard or linger in the neighborhood. They are all characters-some more transparent than others. Miss Quail doesn't really live around here. But she insisted on a portrait in any case. Sing out a little joy yourselves

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-58998839137649624072011-11-15T13:27:00.000-08:002011-11-16T14:14:46.595-08:00

The wildlife that my dog and I see in the neighborhood Marina is unusually entertaining: sea otters with boundary issues, seagulls who really will swallow a large starfish in a single gulp, great (huge) blue herons with terrible posture and impossible patience.Overseeing it all is the Belted Kingfisher, a theatrical dandy among birds, so well dressed in his high collared shirt. Undaunted by cold

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-49529318805286793182011-09-30T10:13:00.000-07:002012-02-03T15:46:03.639-08:00

I just had to share this image. These are the visual notes that my eighth grade daughter drew for herself in order to memorize a good size chunk of the opening of the Declaration of Independence. She had it memorized by the time she drew the last character. She uses this technique a lot--a true visual thinker. Can you decipher the code? I can't, but here's what it says, if you are curious (of

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-24863603017241519952011-08-23T16:26:00.001-07:002011-08-23T17:34:42.133-07:00

I wish I could have posted this when the news was an eentsy bit fresher, but the news broke at just about the instant that I was leaving for a week of camping, an adventure that did not include a computer or other device for creating blog posts. The camping, and swimming and hiking, was excellent, and I did not miss my computer one bit. But now there is much to catch up on! In any case, the

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-36935552629753092812011-06-23T06:44:00.000-07:002011-06-23T07:01:29.983-07:00

I don't know what it is about elephants for me, but I can't stop drawing, painting, printing them. They might be filling in for whales until I can wrap my head around just how to fit a whale on a page. Or they might just be in my head because they are!A peek into the symbolism of elephants reveals that the elephant stands for patience, determination, longevity, and good luck.Ah, maybe that's

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-23641992330958568272011-06-10T12:12:00.000-07:002011-06-10T17:22:04.221-07:00

Just trying out some new stuff.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-85328818833567937452011-05-27T12:25:00.000-07:002011-05-27T12:44:27.577-07:00

Giraffes are cute no matter what. But a sleeping baby giraffe---pretty damn cute.Unrelated to anything I am currently working on, this was just a sketch book diversion. I had an urge to draw a giraffe. The elephant made me do it.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-71391709352193358042011-03-03T14:16:00.000-08:002011-03-03T15:06:30.969-08:00

My fingers have been going fast and furiously lately: lots of writing, lots of drawing, lots of learning to use Photshop more deeply. I love deadlines! (I really truly do!) And I love steep learning curves! And I love having the occasional break from all of that! So, to give my artist brain a little out-breath (I do tend to hold my breath when I am working hard...anyone else do that?), I go to a

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-2822930930555296132011-02-11T06:52:00.000-08:002011-02-11T09:19:07.445-08:00

This Frontloader is a little something I dug out of my archives recently. Sometimes it's good to look back at the roots of our endeavors! I like this painting a lot...maybe I need to get back to my roots.Now then, it's been quite a while since I updated my side bar blog roll! And though I am not a voracious blog reader/commenter/poster (how do people manage that along with everything else?) I do

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-29547864883218272882011-01-18T17:59:00.000-08:002011-01-18T18:04:31.223-08:00

This chicken portrait is tiny! Just a little bigger than 1" x 1". Her name is Alice and she lays beautiful white eggs.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-25949537381862500372011-01-09T07:25:00.000-08:002011-01-10T23:16:05.382-08:00

Happy New Year!Here are some of my miniature paintings of wild birds. Some flew south, some flew east, and some roosted right here at home. All of these miniature paintings are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" or smaller!More Advent calendar mini portraits of our hens: Speckles, Brad, and Thimble.And Alice, looking...pretty?

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-30826474804840033812010-12-08T06:49:00.000-08:002010-12-08T10:38:51.541-08:00

These are postage-stamp-sized portraits of two of our beloved beasts, Pippin and Frances. I made these to fit in the pockets of an old cloth advent calendar for my children. I think they are the smallest paintings I have ever made. My kids have outgrown the cushiony christmasy velcroed shapes that used to live in the pockets, and so this year I am filling each day's pocket with a tiny treasure.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-53190784303661463052010-11-10T06:31:00.000-08:002010-11-11T08:30:15.856-08:00

Tuesday evening I delivered a talk at SCBWI/Western Washington, titled Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Picture Books I Learned in Architecture School. Okay, so, that title isn't even close to true, but it sounds good, right?It happened to be the same evening that Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, was speaking elsewhere in Seattle (with Sherman Alexie as inquisator). Even I was tempted to

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-63831204748064996172010-10-23T06:22:00.000-07:002010-10-23T07:26:05.448-07:00

A change of pace...literally. For last week's Illustration Friday topic "Spooky," I thought I would switch gears. I have to slow way down to work this way, change my pace, plan the details, use small hand movements, an eraser, strong light, a very sharp pencil. It takes time, but it's calming, meditative, pure pleasure. I love the feeling of control that I have with this technique, so different

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-67828460999101403062010-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:002010-09-08T14:11:15.004-07:00

First-Day-of-School is a better New Year for me than January first. It feels more like a fresh start than any other day of the year. Even if you don’t have kids in school, can’t you feel the shift that occurs in the fall? Things demand a little shaking up this time of year. So, I am starting the “new year” with resolutions. I have sorted my many resolutions into prioritized piles. Into the lower

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-83394982065491797682010-07-30T13:47:00.000-07:002010-07-30T16:01:20.762-07:00

As I limber up my blogging fingers again (it's been a while, hasn't it?) I'll admit this was not the subject about which I was planning to blog. But today I was the recipient of this irresistible bit of love from one of my kids, and I just had to share. I was expressing (complaining?) to my 12 year-old daughter that it is hard to find time in the day to do all the things that are important to me,

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-43446493462201016342010-06-28T07:24:00.000-07:002010-06-28T09:23:47.819-07:00

I recently had to pack my bedside book stack into boxes so my husband and I could perform the magic trick of converting our not-so-big bedroom into two really small bedrooms, for our growing children.We have moved ourselves into the room that our kids have shared for nine years, and it looks pretty and tidy and like someone else’s house--nothing like moving to get things cleaned up! Fortunately

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-3118258716445346562010-04-29T22:31:00.001-07:002010-04-30T06:37:56.097-07:00

I know it's been a little quiet in this corner of the blogosphere, but that is because I've been working! Working hard to finish brilliant-agent-suggested-revisions to my picture book dummy. Working hard on mastering perfect imperfection. Working hard to re-imagine (and then re-draw) a character who has had one and only one (frightening) form in my imagination for a very long long time. And it's

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-80740190730870245382010-03-09T12:07:00.000-08:002010-03-09T13:43:30.657-08:00

It's pea planting time in the Northwest people! I've planted some, and I think those darned squirrels have eaten every last seed! But scavenging squirrels won't discourage me! I'm planting other seeds: I have been offered representation by the best children's book literary agency I can imagine! I have joined the formidable list of wondrous authors and illustrators represented by the amazing

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-17591586640499420632010-02-01T14:23:00.001-08:002010-02-02T14:39:17.892-08:00

One more quick thing from the SCBWI 2010 Winter Conference. For the Illustrator's Intensive illustrator/author Lisa Desimini gave us an assignment in advance. We were to make a sketch of a scene in which Snow White is enjoying a birthday party with the Seven Dwarves. Then we were to expand on that original sketch, and make a finished illustration that really ssstttrrreeettched our perspective (

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-2709634013862653002010-02-01T11:54:00.000-08:002010-02-01T14:22:48.902-08:00

I am a tender-hearted sap, and I am proud of it! The first time I realized this was in my early twenties, when I actually cried while watching some TV ad where hundreds of people gathered together singing, while the camera person shot it from a very tall ladder. Although it wasn't this famous Coca Cola ad, it was along these lines. Remember this? Sappy!At this weekend's SCBWI 2010 Winter

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-62018376425140231122010-01-20T16:22:00.000-08:002010-01-20T16:40:26.841-08:00

Metanoia. It is Ancient Greek for "repentance." It's a theme of this liturgical season. But it also means "changing one's mind," or "turning around." Or as stated on Wikipedia: "in the context of rhetoric, (metanoia) is a device used to retract a statement just made, and then state it in a better way." The word is illustrated by Grace Church's Bill Harper pacing a path during his homily, coming

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-15598373577486310412010-01-15T12:04:00.001-08:002010-01-15T12:21:52.805-08:00

I was hoping to get this little painting done in time to post it to this past week's Illustration Friday, but, alas.... Well, here it is, a few hours late.It's funny how appropriate the IF topics often are: this week's word was "confined," and well, it's very soggy here in the lovely Northwest, I've been sagging a bit under mid-winter artist's block, and it has all been rather confining,

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-73267050845881339572009-12-17T14:43:00.001-08:002009-12-17T15:03:44.322-08:00

Peace, Joy, Hope, and Love to all!

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-83838661904625981952009-11-24T09:36:00.001-08:002009-11-24T09:47:29.343-08:00

My now annual donation to the fundraising auction for my children's school. Just fun.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-2705192107810375602009-11-18T11:55:00.000-08:002009-11-18T12:29:28.992-08:00

MarthaBee over at Chinook Update posted a request to see images of where people work, so I thought I would post my studio space here too. I've been taking a wee break from social networking, but this is a distraction I can enjoy! Mind you, I am "in-process" at the moment, and so my space is a bit of a mess. Well, actually it's a mess most of the time. I work in a converted space at the back of my

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-88691514494481673792009-11-09T09:58:00.000-08:002009-11-09T11:24:47.204-08:00

I love stripes, especially striped socks. I don’t have quite enough striped socks to get me to laundry day, but I can get pretty far. And I love polka dots. Those are harder to find in grown up sizes, but not impossible, for better or for worse.I had occasion this past weekend, as I huffed and puffed alongside fellow writers at an SCBWI writer’s workshop-marathon cleverly disguised as a retreat

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-73612632080801900322009-11-02T09:56:00.000-08:002009-11-02T13:35:02.163-08:00

Shrunken egg (laid by one of our regular full-grown hens):And shrunken head (sent the child to school today, wondering what the impact will be on learning):And in other news, I was kindly awarded, and do gratefully accept, a Best Blog Award by fellow blogger and children's book writer Dawn Simon of Plotting and Scheming. (Thanks Dawn!!) Here's the idea:1. To accept the award, post it on your blog

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-39032834289833044512009-10-22T14:50:00.000-07:002009-10-22T15:12:46.183-07:00

I need to create some sample illustrations, to turn into postcards, to mail to art directors and their kind, to generate some interest in my work, so that I might get paid to do what I love.The problem is, I sit down to do a sample, and realize I need a story. And a few lines will not suffice. So I scratch out a little narative in my sketchbook.But then the narrative is kind of exciting, and I

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-25336329442874838082009-10-09T10:18:00.000-07:002010-01-26T06:41:10.373-08:00

Okay I confess. When I lived in Seattle I used to peruse the I Saw U ads in the Seattle Stranger. Not because I hoped someone had spied me snarfing down Paggliacci Pizza on the Number 7 bus, and had bothered to describe our “encounter” in the I Saw U section. No, I read the I Saw U ads because of the ridiculous HOPE that they represented. Imagine, a teeny tiny love letter, written almost in code,

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-73843234587573920212009-10-07T11:29:00.000-07:002009-10-07T11:44:46.489-07:00

Did you know that many picture books have secret messages in them? Not the kind that promise to corrupt our youth, or overthrow our health system. No, these are much juicier than that.Not many know where to find the secret messages, but I will tell you. Not all books have them, but if you look closely at the tiny writing at the bottom of the copyright page of many picture books, you just might

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-48538233109211680922009-09-11T10:37:00.000-07:002009-09-11T11:22:37.540-07:00

It's finally fall, which is almost better than New Year's. I've got a running list of resolutions, and I'm ready to go. To celebrate my fresh-faced enthusiasm for fall and all things ambitious, I'm getting a jump on Illustration Friday this week. This week's topic is 'welcome.'Sorry to say, this is not a brand new painting of mine, but one that has been lying around for a bit, waiting for me to

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-8737430212140185702009-08-14T11:05:00.000-07:002009-08-14T11:16:53.218-07:00

I cleaned out my frig last evening, so that my housesitter wouldn't be disgusted. Instead I was disgusted.See you in September.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-132953792390316372009-08-11T10:51:00.001-07:002009-08-11T11:13:57.696-07:00

I may only get as far as the sketch for this week's Illustration Friday topic-Impatience. But that's better than nothing! This crow is impatiently checking the watch he undoubtedly stole.This topic Impatience is a good one for me, this week. I am practicing patience, or rather managing impatience. Waiting is excruciating, wouldn't you say? But good things come to those who wait, or so I've heard

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-75740753927396528132009-08-07T17:33:00.000-07:002009-08-07T17:46:54.214-07:00

Yes, I'm in the studio...dragging my paint brush along with my feet. No, I am not getting much done. I will be glad when school starts, so that I can get back to flow, although it has been a most wonderful summer with my kids, and I tend to be wistful as fall approaches...I will miss the possibility flying through warm sun onto warm sand. Yesterday I took my peeps to the Seattle Art Museum to see

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-41358707453467472009-08-01T11:53:00.000-07:002009-08-01T12:06:19.930-07:00

I love birds and other odd creatures. And whales. I am secretly obsessed with whales, and will some day express that obsession on paper, in print or in pictures. Whales need to stay safe in my imagination for a while longer because they are hard to draw, and harder to write about, and I am not yet ready to conjur one from my pencil. But birds...in reality and in my imagination their variations

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-53123342667927640232009-07-24T16:31:00.000-07:002009-07-24T16:43:25.399-07:00

Got to toot a horn for this one! At long last the website for Print Chicks Northwest has been launched! This is my super cool, funny, talented group of printmaking companions. We print together every week (when we can make it), and recently had our first show together. Now we have a website! It has been designed by friend, chick-spouse, graphic designer extraordinaire Albert Treskin, who has

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-65576123202954373612009-07-15T11:50:00.000-07:002009-07-15T11:51:46.005-07:00

fzy6qbgwus

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-3070711809054054062009-07-15T09:49:00.000-07:002009-07-15T10:40:49.825-07:00

Aaargh! Perfect Imperfection is what I am after, and I am here to tell you: it’s hard to achieve!I love all of the looseness and double lines and erasures and signs of unsharpened lead or half dead ink pens in thumbnails and sketches. All of the imperfections. But something dies a little in the translation to finished art. It happens all the time. How to keep it all looking spontaneous and

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-6919619199332271752009-07-07T21:21:00.000-07:002009-07-07T21:37:16.822-07:00

My kids and I were in chicken-drawing-mode today. Our chickens are highly entertaining. Four of them are extremely tame, and will actually come and sit on our laps. Two newer younger ones are starting to warm up to the idea, and a third young one seems actually to have a brain LARGER than a bird's. Whenever we make signs that it is time to go inside the henhouse for the night, the big-brained

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-90341067757655672302009-07-03T13:22:00.000-07:002009-07-03T13:42:08.149-07:00

This has been a blog posting, art making, book writing dry-spell for me. But I am trying to make a comeback! I've been busy being a mom, spouse, sister, friend, carpool driver, feelings-mender, icecream-maker, gum wrapper chain-folder, chef, laundry-folder, postcard-addresser, and occasional artist-writer, but only in the quiet secret of those mornings when I am actually able to get myself out

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-934267558204067872009-07-03T12:41:00.000-07:002009-07-03T13:43:49.728-07:00

Oh man. Summer is hard on my grown-up brain. Programmed at a cellular level to anticipate vacation, and programmed at an intellectual level to desire productivity, my brain may currently be short circuiting, unable to achieve gratification one way or the other. But, I was granted an essentially uninterrupted morning today, and I have tried my darnedest to use it well. And though I might have been

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-28207498889380551582009-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:002009-06-10T12:49:54.254-07:00

Revising words is hard. Revising drawings is really hard. So rather than do any of that hard stuff, I thought I would procrastinate and share here a little graphic analysis I did of a picture book by one of my favorite author/illustrators—Oliver Jeffers. The book is The Incredible Book Eating Boy.The architect in me enjoys visual analysis, and likes to think about figure/ground relationships in

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-57823409418050711362009-06-02T12:20:00.000-07:002009-06-02T12:28:12.572-07:00

Nothing like a little peer pressure to keep the heat on. Check out the Summer Revision Smackdown at Brimstone Soup, and Cuppa Jolie. I'm in, and so are tons of other optimistic revisers, and you can be too. My revision goals for June: revise and polish my current picture book dummy. And get started on the drawings for the next one! Lots of distractions in June...

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-8214659317034764522009-06-02T11:57:00.000-07:002009-06-02T12:29:49.687-07:00

The Blue Benches. A traffic circle in a park-like neighborhood. A vivid memory from my childhood. Lilacs created terrific hiding places at the back of the benches. Flagstone pathways wove in and out of huge overgrown rhodies making a patio, rooms, hallways, escape routes. The benches were lovely and generous, a relic of 1920's urban planning, and completely useless for ordinary sitting. But so

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-27337345082672117702009-05-27T10:00:00.001-07:002009-05-27T10:11:32.962-07:00

Whew! Spring is nearly summer! What then?I want to mention the other winners of the juried portfolio competition at the SCBWI- Washington Annual Conference (which by the way is a world class event. You should come next year!): First runner up was Lisa Mundorff. Lisa’s work is beautiful and joyful, and helps me get over my techno-phobia. Second runner up was John Deininger. John’s work is dreamy

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-55237239597192765922009-05-18T10:30:00.000-07:002009-05-19T10:47:29.373-07:00

Something really pretty darn cool happened to me this weekend.I attended the wonderful and amazing annual SCBWI Washington Conference, as I have for the last six or so years. And I submitted my portfolio into the juried portfolio show, as I have for the last three or so years. And lo and behold, I was awarded GRAND PRIZE! I won’t lie…I was kind of jonesing for this. Last year I won First Runner

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-3001852829642222902009-05-07T14:05:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:29:21.801-07:00

Can't stay away. Here is an experiment...new plus old technique. I like it...lively line, quick, flexible, and tells the story I want it to tell. Second grade IS hard.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-88653886277960761562009-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:22:17.396-07:00

Despite my resolution to try to post about once a week, I may be a little absent for the next little while, as I have been for the last little while. I am busy trying to remain focused enough to create some great new stuff for my portfolio, which I will be entering into the juried portfolio show of the SCBWI Western Washington Annual Conference. In past years this has been a fruitful pursuit for

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-41993679676802746942009-04-26T19:35:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:23:11.258-07:00

Here's a wee bit of exciting news: I won an award! And I didn't even know I was a contender. I belong to to a lovely and very arts saavy Episcopal church called Grace Church here on Bainbridge Island (an architectural beauty, designed by Cutler-Anderson, worth a visit). I have had a show or two of prints and paintings at the Grace Gallery, curated by talented Ann Strickland, the Art and Music

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-32786596725130547442009-04-21T06:02:00.000-07:002009-04-21T06:54:37.107-07:00

This is a detail from one of several monotype prints that I will be hanging in a group show next month, with some of my printmaking pals.Most of my prints in the show include drawings of birds, real or imagined. This critter must be somewhere in between real and imagined. Really, it looks absurd doesn't it? I wish I could show the whole print here, but my scanner is not quite big enough. I'll put

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-35725179302675955312009-04-08T10:13:00.000-07:002009-04-08T11:58:09.656-07:00

A recent commenter asked if I have any posts about my process and materials. Here's a stab at that:Honestly, my process is sort of catch-as-catch-can, and fortunately, enough of my own permanent quirks show through in every piece that it's all identifiable as mine, or as a body of work, even between my illustrations and my fine art. Everything I do I have taught myself, except for what I have

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-63302121497114696932009-04-02T13:45:00.000-07:002009-04-02T13:51:56.836-07:00

Bunny maintained a good outlook, despite the terrible situation.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-32126177213788954142009-03-25T14:48:00.001-07:002009-03-25T14:50:03.834-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-76687483095814272132009-03-16T10:11:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:23:51.702-07:00

Frannie is a very large, very fluffy, very affectionate MaineCoon-type cat. She loves to lie on my desk while I am working. Sometimes she likes to lie right on my work. She especially loves to sunbathe under the desk lamp. So, this is roughly the view I had early this morning as I was drawing. And just as I finished this little vignette, Frannie rolled over in search of deeper bliss, and covered

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-84642898289426485852009-03-09T16:29:00.000-07:002009-04-21T06:56:42.997-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-52225947815101131162009-03-09T11:09:00.001-07:002009-03-11T11:55:20.981-07:00

How many tries does it take to get a cat right? Apparently many. This multi-personality, sometimes three-eyed cat is forming itself and its chicken pal into the Illustration Friday topic-"intricate." Final art not yet finished.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-46104428909411431252009-02-25T09:28:00.000-08:002009-02-25T13:42:13.764-08:00

Here in the Northwest, miraculously, Spring starts in February. Having grown up in Massachusetts where Spring sometimes seems to start in June, I am filled with amazement each and every February that I have spent in the Northwest. The first sign of Spring here is the change in the sound of the birdsong just outside my studio window...the song trills a little more, is more melodic, more optimistic

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-42454792661342030482009-02-23T10:20:00.001-08:002009-02-23T10:59:45.580-08:00

This is a short list of a few of the books that I have been buying, borrowing, and reading lately. When I look at this list of books I am amazed at how many of these books are written and illustrated by the same person. And how many of them are by non-american author/illustrators. I pick a book off the shelf because something about them has spoken to me. I flip through them at the bookstore or

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-44220658351022231362009-02-06T16:10:00.000-08:002009-02-06T16:33:20.201-08:00

I've been experimenting in the printmaking studio. I like to find ways to link drawing with the process of monotype. These odd images were created by drawing on the back of a piece of paper (sometimes torn from a book) which has been turned face down onto an inked sheet of plexiglass. I am experimenting with papers and inks to get interesting line effects, detail, serendipity, and, well, whatever

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-51142335577121086832009-01-27T16:54:00.001-08:002009-01-27T17:03:34.640-08:00

Ah, the joy of soft pencil. I have forgotten just how lovely fine detail in shades of gray can be. This is a first stab at rendering some images in b+w...there are things I will change, but overall I am happy with the result

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-85881094706837199482009-01-13T13:19:00.000-08:002009-05-07T14:24:48.087-07:00

I love children's books, and I want nothing more than to make really really good ones. I am a hopeless optimist and true Pollyanna. By hook or by crook I am going to make this dream of mine come true—I am going to become a children’s book artist and author. I am going to make the world a better place with this gift of creative talent that has been given to me.This is a great time for me to really

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-62480684931823753752009-01-08T10:08:00.000-08:002009-05-07T14:25:26.009-07:00

I am preparing for a group show which is to be hung next week at a local restaurant. The group is nine women, all of whom are printmakers, so theoretically the show will be all prints. This piece is technically mixed media, but its media mix includes prints made using a technique called transfer printing. This sort of collaged combination of media is a process that I am exploring anew, and I

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-75691541992276404742009-01-04T06:50:00.001-08:002009-05-07T14:25:55.063-07:00

This was an experiment...emulating a postcard image of a Pablo Picasso painting. A short list of my favorite artists: Picasso, Richard Diebenkorn, Squeak Carnwath, Hannelore Baron, Bonnard. A short list of my favorite illustrators: John Birningham, Georges Hallensleben, Lisbeth Zwirger, William Steig, Barry Root.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-78036362067149792682009-01-02T15:39:00.000-08:002009-05-07T14:26:33.012-07:00

In recognition of the turn of the year, I am using this blog to carry out a few resolutions that I managed to scratch out today: I hereby resolve to blog more. And to make more art and write more, and to get noticed for doing both of those things, and maybe even to sell a little of one or both. And since sitting at my desk in slippers and oversized sweaters is unlikely to get me noticed for much

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-66054666238965024862008-11-14T09:40:00.000-08:002009-05-07T14:27:09.162-07:00

I created this bird house as a last minute donation to the fundraising auction for our children's school. What a great way to punch through a bit of artist's block! Having just attended a writer's retreat focusing on "voice" I wondered if my visual voice needed a little prod as well. Nothing like an odd canvas and a looming deadline to shake things up a little.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-54001000257137359802008-10-29T11:22:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:27:32.149-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-50989924756490871882008-07-09T11:51:00.000-07:002009-01-30T15:23:36.042-08:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-29459749758942648832008-07-08T11:52:00.000-07:002009-05-07T14:28:04.205-07:00

Just mining those childhood memories for some rich raw material. And trying to improve on collage, character, and economy!

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-6842749520839575572008-06-06T11:44:00.000-07:002009-01-04T07:24:16.708-08:00

Please check out my new website at http://www.jenniferkmann.com/ for my complete illustration portfolio. Watch this site for my art and illustration experiments and other stuff that relates to these worlds.

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-41031936227147119232008-04-28T07:31:00.000-07:002008-04-28T07:33:22.840-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-6367357333006283632008-04-28T07:24:00.000-07:002008-04-28T07:31:31.463-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-52610736048258082732007-11-27T13:03:00.000-08:002007-11-27T13:04:40.038-08:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-75444304262760521122007-05-02T14:46:00.000-07:002007-05-02T21:59:31.299-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-82577332738913168002007-02-08T21:12:00.000-08:002007-03-16T12:10:14.309-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1170537707573642382007-02-03T13:14:00.000-08:002007-02-03T13:21:47.593-08:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1170354606433639192007-02-01T10:19:00.000-08:002007-02-01T10:30:06.453-08:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1170353988475683832007-02-01T10:17:00.000-08:002008-04-28T07:37:40.406-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1146589093207134192006-05-02T09:54:00.000-07:002006-05-02T09:58:13.206-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1146170891752334382006-04-27T13:41:00.000-07:002006-05-02T09:54:04.236-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1146088666029349862006-04-26T14:49:00.000-07:002006-05-01T10:40:01.573-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26615825.post-1146087848287070492006-04-26T14:27:00.000-07:002006-05-02T09:50:56.773-07:00

Jennifer K. Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16097672742896300381noreply@blogger.com2