Almost two years ago, I pitched several manuscripts through #PBpitch, and although my overall success was minimal that day, I landed a once-in-a-lifetime contract offer from Frances Gilbert, who is the Editor-in-Chief for Doubleday for Young Readers, which is a division of Penguin Random House. She purchased world rights for a manuscript that I almost…
Category: Jacki Kellum Picture Books
A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words: Why Images Are Important in Social Media
I essentially have 3 master’s degrees – English [writing], art, and information technology, and while I use the skills from both my writing and art study daily, I can honestly say that when it comes to getting attention on social media, it is how I present my art and writing that grabs the most effective….
Wacom Cintiq 16 – Pushing My Traditional Watercolor Illustrations to Another Level
Boy with Curls Jacki Kellum Traditional Watercolor Sketch Painted in 2018 I have always liked the wispy, fresh and almost tentative look of watercolor, but I originally trained as an oil painter. In fact, I trained as an abstract expressionist. When I began writing picture books, I switched to watercolor. At that time, traditional watercolor…
Super Turkey – Jacki Kellum Digital Illustration – The Evolution of a Character
Super Turkey – Jacki Kellum Digital Illustration Created in Procreate on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil August 16, 2020 If you would have asked me about my art and my illustration routine 3 weeks ago, I would have said nothing about digital illustration. Well, that is not exactly true. I would have said that I…
Learning to Use My Cintiq 16 – Which Is Better, Procreate or Wacom Cintiq 16?
Mrs. Cow Down Home – Jacki Kellum Illustration Created with the App Procreate on an Ipad Pro About two weeks ago, I decided to make some radical changes to my illustrating routine, and I began teaching myself how to create digitally. I began my journey with my iPad Pro and the app Procreate. https://x55.68c.myftpupload.com/at-the-age-of-70-i-decided-to-give-digital-art-a-whirl-comparing-6-of-my-illustrations-in-procreate-and-painted-traditionally/ When…
At the Age of 70, I Decided to Give Digital Art a Whirl – Comparing 6 of My First Illustrations in Procreate and Painted Traditionally
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 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…
What Are the Chances You’ll Get Your Debut Picture Book Published? How I Slipped Past the Odds
Although it probably isn’t wise for picture book authors to waste a lot of time thinking about it, somewhere along the way most of us begin to wonder: “Do I even have a chance of getting my debut picture book published?” Part of me wants to scream: “NO!” Getting a debut picture book published by…
The Rooster, Who We Have Always Counted Upon to Wake Up the Sun, as Symbol
Last night, I was watching an old movie, and Robert de Niro, as one of the stars, held an egg in his hand and said: “You know, some religions think that the egg is the symbol of the soul, did you know that?” – Angel Heart I immediately thought about a picture book that I admire, First the…
Miss Maple’s Seeds Are Being Born in My New Front Front Yard
Tomorrow, I’ll begin moving to my new, 125-year-old house in the Ozark Mountains. Yesterday, I was wandering around in my new front yard, and I paused for a moment beside the huge, old tree, where the daffodils are blooming, I knelt low, and I couldn’t help but notice that my big, old tree has a…