Marilee Sketches

What I'm working on...

2012-01-30T07:21:00.001-08:00

More Hidden Pictures for Highlights Magazine!

Jungle Bop

2011-11-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first piece in a new series I'm working on - jungle animal scenes done in oil pastels.

Yuletide Treasures

2011-11-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

It's time for the annual Yuletide Treasures show at the DuPage Art League. This year I'll be selling cards, giclee prints of my "Cat Dreams" series and others, along with an original watercolor. Stop by and see!

Cat Dreams

2011-09-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

A new personal project rendered in colored pencil. I'm doing a whole series, possibly to print on note cards.

New Sketches

2011-08-02T12:21:00.001-07:00

Some sketches from a new book I'm working on...

What I'm working on...

2011-07-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a piece from the new reader I'm working on about a school gardening project.

GCU Design of the Day

2011-06-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Wow - A nice surprise!

A greeting card I recently created has been chosen by GreetingCardUniverse.com as Design of the Day.

Educational Art

2011-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's part of a piece I just finished for the United Methodist Publishing. It will appear on the Sunday School Attendance Chart for their Spring 2012 quarter.

Ahoy Again!

2011-06-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

It seems like every couple of days lately, I've been selling one or two pirate birthday cards on my Greeting Card Universe site. I finally realized that maybe it's because a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie has opened. Anyway, I printed up a number of them, along with some of my other cards, and took them to the gift gallery at my local Art League to sell. I'm also considering opening an Etsy shop. In any case, I'm putting more effort into my greeting cards and licensing art, and if I can figure it out, I'm planning on revamping my MarileeDesigns site soon. Keep tuned!

New Hidden Picture

2011-05-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

A relaxing summertime scene, recently submitted to Highlight's Hidden Pictures.

Hooray for Teachers!

2011-05-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Another recent project... this one a cover for a teacher's monthly planner calendar for Positive Promotions. ( Homage to Mary Englebreit!)

New Hidden Picture in High Five

2011-05-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

One of my simple Hidden Pictures for pre-schoolers appears in this month's High Five Magazine. The spread is too large for my scanner, but here's part of it!

What I've been working on all this time!

2011-04-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

I've been missing in action for a while, but I HAVE been busy working on a number of projects. I hope to get to posting some of them soon. Here was one of them: illustrations for another self-published book from WinePress, "Not His Valentine".

More new books!

2011-03-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

This is the series I was working on last summer for ABDO Publishing : "Growing Up Daisy", written by Marci Peschke. I received samples of the complete set - six books in the set, all hardcovers, to be used in schools as third grade readers. I'm very pleased with how they turned out. The writing is funny and warm, all about a Latina girl named Daisy and her family, friends, and their adventures at school.

Some interior art

2011-03-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

A couple of pieces of interior art from "Cave Wars".

New Book

2011-02-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

I just received a sample of the book I was working on last summer for Harper Collins: "Cave Wars" written by Gillian Cross.

What I'm working on...

2011-01-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

A fall/Thanksgiving scene for a greeting card.

New Greeting Card Samples

2011-01-20T09:20:00.001-08:00

A couple of samples of my greeting cards from last year...

What I'm working on...

2010-12-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

Finally finishing up the illustrations for "The Christmas Mouse", to be published by WinePress for a self-publisher. Here's one of them...

Merry Christmas to all!

2010-12-23T08:42:00.001-08:00

What I'm Working On

2010-12-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

Another Younger Hidden Picture submission for Highlights...

New Book!

2010-11-22T09:47:00.000-08:00

"ParaPup Reports for Duty" has just been released by Pleasant Word Kids, a division of WinePress Publishing. Written by Elisa Vertuli and illustrated by myself, this book should be a comfort to all kids who have parents serving overseas in the military. I also designed the plush doll that goes along with the book. It's a great concept and a cute set that I hope might be marketed to stores on military bases nationwide.

ParaPup plush doll

2010-11-22T09:46:00.001-08:00

One more Christmas card...

2010-11-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

I should have started these back in July! Anyway, this is the last new one for this year. I have to work on Thanksgiving dinner for my whole extended family now!

Halloween to ... Christmas already!!

2010-10-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm working on Christmas cards already... actually, I should have started on them in July. Seems like Christmas comes faster and faster every year!

Halloween is coming!

2010-10-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

See some of my Halloween cards for sale at:

www.GreetingCardUniverse.com/MarileesCardShoppe

What I'm working on...

2010-10-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

A new story by a self-publisher about a stuffed mouse sent to a US soldier in Afghanistan for Christmas. Here's a first sketch of one of the illustrations.

New promo art

2010-09-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here's the new image I'm sending out on my fall promo postcards...

New Book!

2010-08-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

I just received copies of my latest book published by Sterling: "Animal Friends", a Hide and Seek Puzzle Book. These are fun scenes of different pets, farm animals, and wild animals, with all kinds of objects hidden throughout.

My favorite puzzle: the Slithering Snakes one, because I used my daughter Laura and her pet snake, Phil, as models!

And finished!

2010-08-15T18:39:00.000-07:00

Cover art from Daisy's Fall Festival, available January 2011 through Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Publishing Group. (http://www.abdopublishing.com/)

What I'm Working On

2010-07-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

More sketches from the "Growing Up Daisy" series, available January 2011 through Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Group. This book: Daisy's Fall Festival - fun to work on!

What I'm Working On

2010-07-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Some more sketches from the "Growing Up Daisy" series I'm working on, available January 2011 through Magic Wagon, a division of the ABDO group.

First tries at oil pastel

2010-07-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I took an Oil Pastel workshop with Maureen McKee at the DuPage Art League. I'm looking for a new creative outlet, something completely different from my usual pencil/pen/ink/watercolor illustration... something to force me to loosen up. Well, it IS completely different! Just figuring out how color and value work is completely different. I have a lot to learn and I'm going to have to keep working with it, but here's one early attempt.

Saturday afternoon in Caribou Coffee...

2010-06-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

...an interesting-looking older guy.

New portfolio sample

2010-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

A portfolio peice I've been working on... actually, the cover art from my unpublished picture book, "Becka's Birthday Balloon".

Sketching at Herrick Lake again...

2010-06-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

New art

2010-05-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Inside illustration from "The Best Mother's Day Ever", published by Kane Press.

What I'm working on...

2010-05-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

A new series for ABDO Publishing: "Growing Up Daisy", about a ten year old Latin girl named Daisy Martinez, her family and friends. This is a sketch from "Daisy's Summer Essay", the first book.

New Book

2010-05-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Also, just in time for Mother's Day, here's the lastest book I've illustrated for Kane Press: "The Best Mother's Day Ever", a very funny and clever story written by Eleanor May.

Mother's Day

2010-04-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Mother's Day, I posted a new card on Greeting Card Universe. (http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com) Brings back memories!

Old Art

2010-04-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Sorting through some old art, I came across a poster I did years ago... This is a printed sample from the publisher. Unfortunately, they "photoshopped" it on me - squeezed it hoizontally to fit. It doesn't look too bad, but the art is more elongated than it was originally drawn. Fortunately, I haven't had such problems since... knock on wood.

Dragons are hot right now

2010-04-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

A concept for Valentine's Day...

Another recent greeting card

2010-03-29T07:05:00.001-07:00

Back to greeting cards...

2010-03-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

... and back to Christmas. (It will be here again before we know it!)

Finished Art

2010-03-09T06:49:00.000-08:00

... but I always like my sketches better.

What I'm Working On...

2010-02-10T07:57:00.001-08:00

New Art

2010-01-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

A finished art sample for a new book dummy I'm working on...

Back to Greeting Cards

2010-01-21T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well, again, it's been a while since my last post... I was swamped trying to finish up that big Hidden Picture Book for Sterling - quite a job. But now I'm back to generating more work for myself - and that means back to coming up with greeting card concepts to submit. This is one for a juvenile birthday card.

Looking back

2010-01-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

The new year is always a good time to sort out old art. I came across these concept sketches, done over 20 years ago, for a company that produced tops for candy containers. I always keep all my old sketches - never throw anything out! You never know when you might need them again. I'm thinking I'll recyle some of these characters and reuse them for greeting cards or puzzles.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

It looks like we'll be starting off the New Year with a lot of cold and snow around here!

Happy Holidays to all!

2009-12-24T04:28:00.001-08:00

New sketch group

2009-12-13T04:58:00.000-08:00

I just found a new sketch group at a public library near me, meeting once a month to sketch a model. The best part is that it's free! I had been going to the DuPage Art League, but the model fee went up, which I completely understand. Everyone has to make a living. This group gives me a chance to practice sketching with a posed model. A step up from sketching at Starbuck's where everyone keeps moving around!

Another piece from the ParaPup book

2009-12-04T13:25:00.001-08:00

What I'm working on

2009-11-28T09:36:00.000-08:00

I just finished the final art for the ParaPup book. Here's one of the pieces...

What I'm working on...

2009-11-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

A new book for self-publisher WinePress: "ParaPups", a very timely story about a secret Army unit of stuffed animals that comforts kids who have parents in the military. These are some of the sketches. I'm painting the final art right now.

Even More Hidden Pictures...

2009-11-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

One of my puzzles is on the cover of Highlights Hidden Pictures, Volume 3 for 2010. I'm proud to be among the artists represented - great illustrations and fantastic puzzles!

BOO!

2009-10-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Have a spooky Halloween...

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Perky

2009-10-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Our little parakeet Perky died last week. We weren't sure how old he was, since we inherited him from my Dad, but we think he was about 8 or 9. We were never able to teach him to talk, but I miss his chatter and twittering. The house has become so quiet...

What I'm working on: Laura and Phil

2009-10-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

My daughter Laura and her pet snake Phil (see August 4 entry) are going to be in the new book I'm working on for Sterling. It's a book of hidden pictures puzzles with scenes of kids and their various pets. One scene called for a pet snake, so who else but Laura and Phil as models? This is the rough sketch.

New Hidden Picture

2009-09-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

The September 2009 issue of Highlights Magazine has one of my Hidden Picture Puzzles in it - kind of a dream come true for me. It's cool to think that my work is in the offices of pediatricians, dentists and orthodontists across the nation.

Last Days at the Beach

2009-09-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

Another piece from the archives... a part of a piece, actually. The original was printed on a floor puzzle for a self-publisher. Summer sure flew by this year, plus it was mostly cool and cloudy around here - not a lot of real beach weather.

Down on the Farm

2009-09-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

Cleaning out files, digging through old art...

New Books

2009-08-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

I just received samples of some new Bible Fun Stuff books I illustrated for David C. Cook - Hot Crafts for Cool Kids and How's Your Serve? - full of activities to be used in church school and youth groups.

Greeting Cards

2009-08-10T08:43:00.000-07:00

Since I have some time between projects, I've been working on greeting cards again and trying to license my own designs. Anyway, I decided to post some of my older designs, previously published by Gallant Greetings. These were a couple of kid's birthday cards.

New art

2009-08-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

Has it really been over a month since my last post? I'm sorry I've been missing in action for so long! I've been working like crazy to finish up final art for another fun Kane Press book. Now that I have a little breathing space before my next project starts, I'm hoping to work on my writing, another promo postcard for September, and possibly start a new blog with my greeting card samples. In the meantime, I'll post a piece from another book that is just being published : "Terrible Trouble in Room 2A", a cute story about a snake loose in a classroom. I was working on this art months before my daughter decided she wanted to buy a snake as a pet. For years, I said "no snakes" to my son, but since Laura was moving into her own apartment at college, it was out of my control - lol! It was just a little creepy for me having Phil the Snake living here for a week or so until she moved...

What I'm working on

2009-06-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'm finishing up some art for a PreSchool Educational job. This piece reminds me of my truck playing days with my son. We spent many happy hours in the sandbox making up stories about good, heroic trucks and evil, troublemaking trucks. He was so into trucks when he was 2 and 3 years old, I was sure that's what he would end up doing as a career. But he just graduated from college with a degree in Forestry. At least he still gets to drive some types of trucks, and owns a pickup!

New Art

2009-06-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

I just received a sample of the July 2009 issue of Highlights High Five Magazine, which has a spread of my art - a "Guess My Riddle" puzzle. I couldn't fit the entire spread on my scanner, but here's most of it. It was fun to work on, especially researching all those cacti. Having been born and raised in the Midwest, I've never acually seen a desert, but I hope to one day!

New Book

2009-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

I just received a printed sample of the new book I illustrated for Kane Press. The Yum-Yum House is a "Math Matters" book written by Nan Walker - a very funny and clever book that actually makes math fun!

Sunday Afternoon at Herrick Lake

2009-06-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

There was nothing much going on last Sunday afternoon, so I decided to go to Herrick Lake and do some people sketching. On such a beautiful, sunny day, it was crowded - people jogging and walking their dogs, fishing on the shore or canoeing on the lake, lots of people just sitting in lawn chairs reading...

Spring Promo Postcard

2009-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

I finished that painting I started a while back, and had the postcards printed and sent out by USPS to all my clients. Here's the final result. USPS always seems to print darker or with more blue than the original art, so I'm not totally thrilled, but for the price and convenience, it's okay. Of course, this was a night scene, but I'll scale back on the blue for the next postcard.

The boy graduates!

2009-05-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

My son Matthew graduated from Southern Illinois University last weekend with a BS degree in Forestry. We were so proud of him - and no more tuition payments - yay! The day before, a huge wind storm had blown through Carbondale creating a lot of destruction and knocking out all power, but the University still managed to have graduation. It will be one to remember!

Starting a new book

2009-05-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on my blog in a while and the next few weeks are going to be busy for me : a family wedding, moving my daughter out of her college dorm and back home for the summer, traveling to southern Illinois for my son's graduation from SIU... In the meantime, though, I'm happy to start work on another book for Kane Press. Since I feel that this blog should be a record of what I'm working on and how I work, I'm posting my first sketches, even though they look like a bunch of chicken scratchings! I always start with sketches of the main characters so I can get an idea of how they'll look...

I also do thumbnail sketches of the entire book, in this case using the manuscript and layouts provided by the publisher. This gives me an idea of how the illustrations will flow, so I have variety in the compostions. I also decide what parts of the story I want to emphasize with the illustrations.

And then there's all the reference research for specific objects, which I mostly do on the computer now. It's much easier - I just google in something like "photos of girl sitting cross-legged" and I get tons of photos! I can throw out my boxloads of xeroxed references! Anyway, you can see how much work goes into the book even before I start drawing something serious.

From Easter back to Christmas

2009-04-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some greeting cards again. Yes, we're already working on next Christmas! This is part of a holiday card I finished recently : Christmas time in the city.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Aother promo postcard

2009-04-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Time to send another promo postcard to publishers. I try to send one quarterly, or at least three times a year, to drum up business. I like to use direct mail Premium Postcards from USPS because it's so easy. Just upload my art and addresses, and they take care of the rest, including postage. And there's no minimum order, which is good. I never need 500 postcards because I target my market to children's book publishers. I usually send out about 80. My agent sends out postcards, along with PBAA, too. It all helps get my work out in the marketplace. Here's my final sketch - I'll be working on painting next week.

Even more Hidden Pictures!

2009-03-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Work is still rather slow, so I'm doing Hidden Pictures again. I've done so many, I thought it might be fun to do a Step-by-Step post on how I come up with them. I keep just about all of my old sketches, so sometimes I dig out one of them to use as a starting point.

I've enlarged the original sketch a bit and altered it to fit the required size. Then I traced over it, adding a tent, animals in the woods and clothes to the bears. I was going to dress them as Scouts with "Smokey" hats, but thought that might infringe on Smokey the Bear copyrights, so...just regular clothes. Now I have the basic subject matter for the puzzle.

Now for the fun, or tricky part. I have to hide about 18 objects in the scene, things that wouldn't normally be there, like a leaf. I can find shapes in the drawing... like a triangle becomes a party hat. I trace over, simplify lines, and add more lines and shapes to confuse kids!

The final sketch! Now I send it off to Highlights and see if they accept it!

Life Drawing

2009-03-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of the year, I've been going now and again to a life drawing open studio at the Wheaton Art League. I thought I'd post one of the drawings I did last week. This was an hour and a half pose, but I was more or less done in an hour. I tend to draw fast, probably from all the years of working as an illustrator under deadlines! I'm going again tomorrow. I have to tell myself to relax and slow down... Drawing from life is great therapy for an artist. Rather like yoga. Good exercise for the brain.

New Book!

2009-03-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

I just received printed samples of the Kindergarten Memory Book that I illustrated last year, published by Annotation Press. That's my daughter Laura's photo added to the front cover. I think it turned out really well and Delane Pennington did a great job with the writing and concept. I hope to be doing more in the series!

Lazy Jack and other nursery tales...

2009-03-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some fairy tale or nursery rhyme samples. I remember Lazy Jack being one of my favorites as a kid, along with The Gingerbread Man. I was always hoping the Gingerbread Man would get away, instead of being snapped up by the fox - what a violent ending! Another favorite was The Little Engine That Could and now I don't know why. When my kids were little they begged for it every night, too, and I hated it! I took to hiding it, or if they did find it and I was forced to read it, I changed the words to "The Stupid Little Engine That Could", or used funny voices for the characters. That really got them angry, but probably saved my sanity!

A look back...

2009-03-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Looking back through my sketchbook from last year, I found a couple of sketches I never posted. This is my daughter Laura, sunbathing just a few days before she left for college. It's her Spring Break now and I bet she wishes she was doing this in Cancun today! Alas, she's stuck in still-frosty old Illinois. Warmer weather HAS to be coming sometime, though!

And another Ed sketch. He's one of my favorite models... never complains, holds the same pose for hours... Okay, I'm exagerating there, but now that he's 12 years old, it does seem like he spends most of his day sleeping!

Caribou Coffee, Downers Grove

2009-03-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since it was a rather boring, cold day on Saturday, I decided to hang out at Caribou Coffee and sketch people hanging out at Caribou Coffee...

New Promo Piece - finished

2009-02-25T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the final piece. I built up layers of watercolor, then darkened linework with pencil and added some Prismacolor pencil. You can see the entire process in reverse by scrolling down!

New Promo Piece

2009-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

I print out my line drawing onto Strathmore paper and underpaint the shadow areas with Dioxazine Violet watercolor.

New Promo Piece

2009-02-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

I trace over my sketch in pencil, scan it into my computer and clean up the linework in Photoshop.

New Promo Piece

2009-02-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a new promotional piece, so I thought I'd show a work in progress - how I work from beginning to end. This is my rough sketch. I'm actually working up an illustration from my Dale the Snail picture book dummy.

Monkeys!

2009-02-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a new Hidden Picture for Highlights Magazine. Here's a part of it with a few hidden objects.

What I'm working on

2009-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

This is part of an illustration I've been working on for Highlights High Five magazine.

From Dale the Snail to Perk the Jerk

2009-01-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

I just realized I've never posted some sketches of our other family pet, Perky the Parakeet, affectionately known as Perk the Jerk. I keep thinking I could come up with another story book idea centering around him. He's not easy to sketch! He hops around a lot, you know. But he has so many great expressions on his face (really!) and funny body language... Like when he's comfortable and relaxed, he's all fat and fluffy. When he's frightened or upset, he's real skinny and tall. And when he's angry - watch out- he really bangs his mirror around!

What I'm working on

2009-01-23T05:06:00.000-08:00

Working on a new concept for a picture book in the New Year...

Old Man Winter

2009-01-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

I wish it was more fun like this outside! We've really been socked in the midwest: more blizzards tomorrow and sub-zero temperatures. This is one of the worst winters in thirty years. Good time to stay inside, read, write and illustrate!

Into the New Year

2009-01-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

I've finally recovered from the Holidays - visiting, parties, family get-togethers, children home from college - and hoping to get back to my blog on a regular basis. I never officially make resolutions, but this year I'm going to try to keep the blog current, do more writing, finish up some book projects I've started... plus get more exercise and drink more orange juice!

Happy Holidays to all!

2008-12-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

From my house to yours!

New Books

2008-12-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

I just received printed samples of two early reader books I illustrated last year. It's nice to see books in print because I always wonder how the colors will turn out, and if they'll be close to looking like the way I painted them. These are pretty good!

What I'm working on...

2008-12-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's December already? I've been swamped with work this fall! The first half of the year was slow, but it suddenly picked up the past few months. I can't complain! Anyway, I'm working on the art for two early readers and this is a piece from one of them.

November

2008-11-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is an older piece, but it captures the weather today perfectly! Brrrr...

Autumn leaves

2008-11-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

Autumn was beautiful around here this year. I don't remember the colors being so intense in a long time, and most of the leaves clung to the trees until now. Today a strong wind and rainstorm have blown the rest of them down. I always wish fall could last a little longer. It's one final, defiant burst of color before the landscape lies drab and bare for five or six months.

There, wolf!

2008-10-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Whew! I've been busy. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I had a bunch of nasty deadlines, all at the same time. Sometimes that happens when you're free-lancing. Anyway, this is the very last Halloween post. (for this year!) This is a sketch I did on speculation for a possible job I didn't get... sometimes that happens when you're free-lancing, too!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Stuff

2008-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's just about my favorite Holiday coming up and I have some of my art printed on various spooky things for sale online. Check out:

www.cafepress.com/marileeshop

and

www.zazzle.com/marileeharraldpilz*

for T-shirts, totes, Halloween cards and more...

and

www.greetingcarduniverse.com/marileescardshoppe

for Halloween Greeting Cards!

Happy Haunting!

A Green Halloween again...

2008-09-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a piece in color from the new picture book I've been working on...now off to the publishers.