Moving!

Dear readers,

Happy new year! With the new year come new changes. I've recently moved my blog over to my new web site. Come join me there for updates on my work and life.

Best wishes,
Anna

Join me at the RISD Fall Sale

I've been busily framing all week for the RISD Fall Sale this Saturday. There will be mountains of prints and books at my booth. Come by and say hello if you're in the neighborhood!

Details:

Booth #13

Saturday, October 10th

10:00 am- 5:00 pm

Benefit Street, between Waterman and Hopkins

Providence, RI

Mission accomplished

This week I finished off the last of the artwork for Sprout Street book number two: A New Arrival! After a busy summer of painting, it's satisfying to see all the illustrations laid out together. I'll post some close-ups soon! In the meantime, you can find me at the lake, picking blueberries, and taking a few naps...

On my desk

A sweet package arrived in the mail last week! In it was the cover to my next book, Sprout Street Neighbors, A New Arrival. I'm in the final stretch of illustrating this book, feverishly painting round the clock. Can't wait to see it all come together!

Book birthday and a review

Sprout Street Neighbors: Five Stories is out today- happy birthday little book! To celebrate I am posting my favorite review so far. The Winnie the Pooh comparison really made my day. Thanks Booklist!

"The five stories here present a tribute to the ups and downs of friendship. Differences are the central focus of each story as characters display their very diverse personalities. Poetry-loving Henry fancies peace and quiet; vivacious Emma is always ready to party; creative Violet wants to practice her flute and knit; gardener Wilbur prefers to work with plants and dig in the dirt; and shy Fernando’s secret desire is to dance. These animal friends reside in the same apartment building, but sometimes their different lifestyles make being neighbors hard! Episodic chapters reveal how problems, such as a noisy acorn collection, leaky ceilings, and a birthday cake disaster, find resolution in a fashion reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh’s misadventures in the Hundred Acre Woods. Soft, expressive pen-and-ink illustrations provide assistance for the transitional reader. Demonstrating tolerance, politeness, and teamwork, these gentle stories help show how the world can work when challenges are approached with kindness and understanding."

— Martha Edmundson, Booklist

ps. If you would like to purchase a personalized copy of the book, my lovely local indie The Odyssey Bookshop would be happy to help! Just order the book here and note who you would like it inscribed to in the comments when checking out. I'll go in and sign it, then they'll ship it directly to you.

First book!

It is hard to describe the feeling of holding your book for the first time, after all the many weeks, months, and years spent bringing it into being. When a little package arrived on my doorstep last week, I was excited to open it, but also nervous that it might not live up to my expectations. Would all the pieces that we had labored over for so long come together and create a solid little vessel for the story inside? When I opened up Sprout Street and flipped through the pages my heart leapt up. All the details blended seamlessly together to form one little book, five little stories, one hundred and four little pages. 

My favorite details, both surprises, are the sweet little embossed sprouts on the cover and the marvelous full color printed endpapers.

I am so excited to share this book with the world!

Hello again!

Much has changed since my last post here. 2014 was a whirlwind, so I took some time off from blogging to get my bearings. I am happy to be back with updates on on my adventures, both bunny painting and otherwise!

Shortly after my last post, this little guy arrived:

He has brought much joy and much busyness! We are totally, utterly in love with our tiny fellow. And also we are very busy. Did I mention that?

Shortly before his arrival, my husband and I closed on a house and began converting it from a two family to a single. With no experience and a lot of excitement we put our home renovation dreams into action. Much of the year was spent wandering around mess that looked like this:

Surely enough the space was transformed, and we moved into our house at the end of the year:

We've been painting, organizing, and unpacking ever since. I'm excited to post some before and after pictures when the transformation is complete.

When not house painting, I've been hard at work with a different kind of paint brush. The illustrations for Sprout Street Neighbors (book 1) are now complete and I am so excited that it's book birthday is almost here! In one month's time it can be found in bookstores at last.

Til then I'll be posting more of the artwork, peeks inside the making of the book, and details about ways to celebrate with me (mark your calendars for a launch party on June 6th at the Odyssey). Stay tuned!