When I was studying art in college, my painting teachers were altogether suspicious of illustration. They did not consider it true art, and they believed that Walt Disney was a charlatan. But things have radically changed since then. That was fifty years ago. Forty years ago, when I was teaching art in a plush private…
How My Intuition Wrote My Debut Picture Book: Writing, Painting, & Illustrating by Intuition
When I am painting and when I am writing, I consider it a great day when something within myself takes over and essentially completes my project for me. This gentle urging is intuition. It is the spark that helped Michelangelo release his sculptures from a piece of rock. Janis Joplin – Jacki Kellum Watercolor My…
There’s A Time to Write & A Time to Edit — Don’t Mix the Two
Writer’s Block Is Probably Editor’s Block I have talked to a number of people about what they are calling writer’s block, but I believe that many people confuse writing with editing. In fact, I believe that what many people call writer’s block is actually editor’s block. One of my best pieces of advice for writing…
Learning to Illustrate in Procreate – An Analysis of My First Week and 7 Illustrations
Mrs. Cow Down Home – Jacki Kellum Digital Art Procreate App on Ipad Pro with Apple Pencil August 3, 2020 1 week ago, I committed myself to the task of learning how to illustrate on my Ipad Pro with the app Procreate. Fortunately, I already knew how to draw and paint traditionally, and I had…
Good Morning, August, from the Book Tuck Everlasting
Hawk’s Bill Crag in the Ozark Mountains In the above photo, you see a view of Hawk’s Bill Crag, which is in the Ozark Mountains. It is 38 miles from my house. While this is not the Alps, the Ozarks is a hilly-to-mountainous region, and in places, the terrain is downright steep. While Hawk’s Bill…
I Nominate the Owl and the Pussy Cat and the Cow Who Jumped Over the Moon as Literature’s Greatest Heros
No doubt, the cow that jumped over the moon has inspired many a poet, artist, illustrator, and just plain visionary and/or liver-of-life. Because the words are very common, we might tend to overlook them as literature, but allow me to remind you how very, very good this poem is: Hey, diddle, diddle, BY MOTHER GOOSE…
How I Painted a Tree on My Ipad Pro with the App Procreate and Apple Pencil – Using the Bardot Brush Set Gouache Paintbox
A few years ago, I painted an illustration of a ladybug in watercolor–the traditional way. Ladybug Lou Hollers Yoo-Hoo! – Jacki Kellum Watercolor Illustration When I studied art in college, there was no such thing as an Ipad or a painting app like Procreate. Years later, I have decided to pursue getting some of my…
Register Today for the Linda Camacho & Dakotas SCBWI Webinar
Although she has held other positions in the publishing industry, Linda Camacho is currently an agent with Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. Her Wish List is Published Here: “Linda Camacho, agent with Gallt & Zacker, graduated from Cornell with a B.S. in Communication and has held various positions at Penguin Random House, Dorchester, Simon and…
An August Calendar from Jacki Kellum for You to Print
The long, last blast of summer now, I hear an autumn call. Soft and quiet, like silver thread, Wings come whisper to my bed, And one sole star above my head, Goodnight, Goodbye, my sun. – Jacki Kellum – I know that I am not the only person who is happy to see the summer of…
Oklahoma SCBWI Annual Spring Conference for 2020 Is Rescheduled As Online in October – Includes Special Features for Illustrators
Because it was postponed due to the coronavirus, Oklahoma is having its annual spring conference in October. The dates are October 2 -October 3, and the events will be held online via Zoom. Click on the following link to register: Oklahoma Regional Fall Conference I attended Oklahoma’s Spring Retreat in 2019, and I had registered…