lello news

I apologize for the slow down in posts. For those of you that don’t know, I injured my arm at the beginning of June. The injury required surgery and I’ve been working through physical therapy since. The whole experience has been frustration as it’s really slowed down what I’ve been able to accomplish… oh well right.

Anyhow… in keeping my posting some of my illustration favorites, here is another illustration I created for a cookbook. Surprisingly enough, pots and pans are fun to draw.

Frank Daenen has been a favorite illustrator of mine for some time… I can’t even remember how I came across his work, but I’m glad I did. Frank is an accomplished Belgian children’s book illustrator, and his original compositions, color/texture usage, and view of the world are things that I both admire and aspire to. If you haven’t have the privilege of seeing Frank’s work, you can check out his collection online here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankdaenen/

A few weeks back, after attempts to get my hands on his books here in the U.S. had gone nowhere, I emailed Frank to ask if he had any suggestions. To my great surprise, he offered to ship me his books personally. They arrived a short while ago… and I’m in awe. Although they’re not written in English and we can’t understand a word, it hasn’t stopped me and my eldest (Jackson, 4 years and 355 days old) from flipping through each book at story time, making up our own plotlines and dialogue for each page.

Jackson, as well as dad, is especially intrigued by the little illustrations Frank drew on the inside cover of each book before shipping them to us. How cool is it that an artist thousands of miles away sent us books of his drawings, including one that was hand-drawn especially for us? Very cool indeed.

In no particular order, here are books I ordered:

Frank Daenen’s newest book called, Een Huis Voor Wiezewotje …

… A book of bunnies called, Laps En Wieb …

… And a book where a mouse, cat and dog appear to cause havoc in a young boy’s house called, Muizenbeetje …

Not pictured are the interior illustrations Frank personally drew for us… You’ll just have to order your own books for that enjoyment.

Why use the post office’s boring change of address cards, when you can create your own.

Illustration for a McGraw-Hill elementary level text book.

Until I free up some time to build a proper area of the site to showcase my illustration work, I thought I’d post some of my favorite illustrations here for your viewing pleasure ;)

The following piece was commissioned by McGraw-Hill and published in an elementary level text book.

Just wanted to quickly thank everyone who stopped by and chatted with us at last Sunday’s Summit Street Fair. The weather and company were perfect…. we had a great time!

If you missed us, don’t worry, we’re gearing up for more local appearances. Dates and locations to come soon.

Spend a fun day in the sun (hopefully) with us at the Summit Street and Crafts Fair in Summit, New Jersey this Sunday, April 26th.  The Fair starts at 11am and wraps up at 5pm.  Come chat with us and learn about our new products, in addition to our t-shirts and mural work.

Hope to see you there!

Finally!  It’s taken some time, but we finally have a section of the site where we can showcase our mural work. Look for additional picture of our finished murals, work in progress and so on in the coming months.

As always, we’d love to get your feedback.  And, if you have any questions about our work or would like to chat about having a mural painted in your home, don’t hesitate to give us a shout.

I’m finally getting a chance to upload a photograph of a mural I painted back in December for a little boy named Owen, right here in snowy but beautiful Maplewood, NJ.  His parents had purchased a set of really cool removable wooden trees, cars, trains, and other elements, and they wanted a backdrop of rolling hills on which to adhere them.  I worked with colors that were bright, but not too dark, so that the attachable scenery would really stand out.  I think the room turned out great, and I love their take on making the mural interactive so that their son can change around the room as he gets older, any way he wants. Definitely let me know what you think.

From our family to yours… have a healthy and happy holiday season. Thank you for your continued support and look for new murals and t-shirt designs in 2009.