Bring Back The Blog!

I have no idea if blogs of this nature are relevant or checked or followed at all anymore with the onslaught of social media. This one here has laid dormant for long stretches of time, as I neglected it and wondered about such things. No more! I've officially decided that henceforth, anything I post on Facebook and/or Twitter that has any general amount of substance, I shall also post on my blog! Starting now.

What follows are drawings I did just for fun. Not on assignment, under contract, commission, etc.. I like to, whenever she will allow it, sit down with my 5-year-old daughter and just draw. Usually with her Crayola crayons or markers, that's the way I like it. Last several times I've done this, this Mouseknight has materialized on my paper. Not that it really matters, but I fancy this Mouseknight a lady Mouseknight. A la (perhaps) Brienne of Tarth.

What does it mean? Will this turn into a book? Maybe. Maybe not. For now... bring forth the Mouseknight!

First batch of hello! hello! art is en route!

Last week I had a book deadline to complete, so the orders for my "buy a copy or copies of hello! hello! = get free art" campaign were piling up. By the time it reached 21 orders, I was finally done with that book-in-progress. It took a while to complete all the watercolors and assembling of stuff and the packaging itself on all this took its own mammoth amount of time. But it's been so much fun and so worthwhile connecting with picture book lovers on this here project.

So, if you would like a free watercolor (as shown on the top of the stack in the photo) or a free proof from hello! hello! or free signed bookplate(s) and postcards, please see this blog post that lays this offer all out on the table. The thing ends on November 30, so act now!

HELLO! HELLO! art exchange, SLJ, school visits, oh my!

As I'm preparing final art for a picture book, I thought I'd pop in and update on a few things.

First, I'm nearly finished collecting and finishing up art for an amazing amount of takers on my "buy a copy--or copies--of HELLO! HELLO! and I will give you some art for free" deal! I'm so thrilled with how many people have taken me up on this offer in its first week. If you haven't read about this, please check out my blog post here. Buy 1 book gets you a signed book plate and art post cards. Buy 2 books gets you a signed proof of one of the spreads from the book. Buy 3 books and I give you a hand watercolored drawing (the drawing is printed, the watercolor is not) of Lydia riding atop her horse! I ain't even playing. If you partake, I just need to see receipts for book purchases at mattthew@matthewcordell.com. And act now, because this offer is only good until the end of November! Get your holiday shopping done here!

A whopping stack of stuff getting ready to pack up and ship out. Thanks SO much, everyone! Keep 'em coming!!

Secondly, a great new review just came in for HELLO! HELLO! from School Library Journal:

.K-Gr 6—Bored with her electronic equipment, a girl finds a new world to explore in this nearly wordless picture book. Cordell uses pen-and-ink and watercolor snapshots in a sea of white space to great effect, along with text in an old, impersonal computer typeface, to show the distance between the child and her parents and baby brother, all of whom are absorbed in their own devices. A colorful leaf blows through the door inviting the child outside where she encounters the sunny natural world in a spread that bursts with color. The limited text is now warm and handwritten. The girl says hello to a ladybug, a flower, and a horse. Her imagination soars as she rides the horse through this bright expanse and meets many animals-until her cell phone rings. The text goes back to the bland computer font and the page turns white as the horse stops suddenly, bringing the whole experience crashing to a halt. The girl rushes back to frantic, worried parents and the gray, electronic home she left behind. She gives her mother the gift of the leaf in exchange for the laptop, her father a flower in exchange for his phone, and introduces her brother to the ladybug. Together the family enjoys the outdoors. In fewer words than the standard tweet, Cordell shows how members of a family can reconnect. This is a must-have for starting a conversation about what can be experienced and shared with others once the electronic devices are turned off and the imagination is turned on.—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

Thirdly, I just did my first school visit where I read and discussed HELLO! HELLO! with the kiddos, teachers, librarians, and parents at a k-2 school in Glencoe, IL. It went ever-so-swimmingly. The school's lovely librarian, Julia Eidelman, was kind enough to provide the following pictures.

My first school visit reading HELLO! HELLO! was 11/13/12 in Glencoe, IL! Here I wow the kids with my tales of epic character development.

Ok then, Let's Draw!

Cracking myself up with this weird on-the-fly drawing-on-demand mustachioed basketball playing horse. Um, yeah.

It was so much fun reading HELLO! HELLO! to the kids and teachers. I also picked up a few new tricks I can do while reading it. And hey, lookit, my arm makes a shadow!

One more drawing-on-demand. I ask the kids to give me a favorite animal. Then I ask the kids to tell me what their mom or dad does for work, if it's something cool. This is a moose who engineers airplanes. His name is, of course, Mark.

If you would like to have me come speak at your school, please get in touch (matthew@matthewcordell.com) and let's discuss my availability, fees, and presentation. I am all about spreading the gospel of this book and I'd love to meet your school's students and teachers and librarians!

hello! hello!

IF YOU WERE A CHOCOLATE MUSTACHE

Out now is my newest book, IF YOU WERE A CHOCOLATE MUSTACHE. A spectacular collection of poems by our brilliant Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by yours truly.

portrait of J. Patrick Lewis from jacket back flap

self-portrait from jacket back flap

Here's what folks are saying about it...

"...poetry (and silliness) seekers will find much to feast upon. Cordell’s scribbly illustrations bring the master (Silverstein, who receives a tribute poem here) to mind and are the goofy icing on this goofy cake." -Kirkus

"Lewis is not only one of the most prolific, comic poets; he’s also one of the funniest and most inventive. The collection will serve as a strong resource for creative-writing prompts. A great big feast of poems." -School Library Journal

"In offbeat poems that include haikus, limericks, riddles, and wordplay of every kind, current children’s poet laureate Lewis offers quirky contemplations, silly vignettes, and improbable events...Cordell’s pen and ink cartoons have an improvisational energy that complements Lewis’s off-kilter verse." -Publishers Weekly

And here are some of my personal favorite spreads, poems, drawings from this weighty collection. Click images to zoom in.

IF YOU WERE A CHOCOLATE MUSTACHE  is available now wherever books are sold.

Mustache!

From the Drawing Board

Just a couple of random recent samplings from the drawing table. I'm scribbling like mad these days. I'm in finishes (watercolors) on a picture book, finished drawings for a 160 pp poetry book, and sketch revisions for another poetry book. Drawing these days with whatever makes an interesting mark. Pencil, sharpie, but mostly bamboo pen. Bamboo (essentially it's like dipping a stick in ink and pulling it across paper) is horribly frustrating, but when it's good, it's so good. What matters... keep the line loose, fresh, varied, and beautifully ugly. If that makes sense...

My 2012 offerings (and more) at 7-Imp!

Please take a moment and head over to one of THE best kidlit blogs in the biz, 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Today, Julie (Jules!) Danielson has posted an extensive interview that talks up and shows off the books I have coming out in 2012. As well as my road to publication, my process, my filthy cluttered studio, and a weird bit about turkey butts. Jules does an amazing job, and it always shows. Please have a look here and leave a comment if just to say, "what up, bruh?"!

BAT AND RAT in spring 2012

I've noticed this cover's been popping up at various online booksellers, so I reckon it's safe to show here now. I love how this looks and I'm psyched about this picture book I illustrated by the great Patrick Jennings. It's been called a, sort of, modern, urban FROG AND TOAD (Lobel... sigh). Ask for it at your favorite bookseller when it's out May 1, 2012!

(click it, make it bigger)

ANOTHER BROTHER pulls down a star!

Good lawd, man! I just found out that my second picture book offering as author-illustrator, ANOTHER BROTHER, received a starred review from the most excellent Kirkus! Very exciting, friends. Here's how it reads, and here's a sample page (a personal favorite). ANO BRO is out 1/31/12 from my friends at Feiwel and Friends.

(click it, make it bigger)

Davy, a little sheep, has trouble adjusting to the arrival of not one but 12 baby brothers in this humorous twist on the tried and true new sibling theme. Although Davy was his parents’ adored only lamb, “things change.” In the space of two page openings, he suddenly has a dozen little brothers wagging their tails behind him. True to their ovine nature—and much to his chagrin—the little sheep copy Davy’s every move. When he complains, his exhausted parents say that his flock of siblings imitates him out of admiration, reassuring him that as they grow and find their own interests they will let him be. This can’t happen soon enough for poor, beleaguered Davy, who can’t even groan without a dozen echoes of “ugh” bleating forth—or can it? When the day comes that his brothers do stop mimicking him, Davy feels alone and bereft until he hears a voice echoing his once more—but this time it comes not from another brother, but from a new sister, a downright “darling ewe.” This is not just another new-baby book: Cordell’s humorous text and mischievously silly, expressive cartoon art will have readers bleating to read it again and again. (Picture book. 4-8)

Something else to look at

Hey, guys. This is a little teaser image I'm posting for a great picture book I finished somewhat recently. It will be out May 1, 2012 from Abrams. Um... save this space? By the great, Patrick Jennings! (Click it, make it bigger.) Very, very fun.

Here's a link for ref. But for the love of Pete, please buy books from whatever local bookseller you've got!

Something to look at

This is a piece for a book I'm currently working on. (click it, make it bigger) Super, super jazzed. It'll be my third author/illo pic book, this one with Hyperion. Out in a year. (sigh)

Sleepwalker

Up to the Moment

It feels as if I've neglected this blog. It's been about 2 and half weeks since my last post. Seems longer. I tend to use Facebook as my news poster these days, which, I'm not so sure, is even a good method to go about posting news (if you know much about the Facebook news feed, your post just keeps going down, down, down into the abyss of News Nowhere). But then again, who even pops on over here to the blog? At any rate, I'm probably coming across as negative here. Not my intention.

Here's a smattering of good, recent news to put forth:

Recently delivered art on a supercool picture book with Abrams, called BAT AND RAT, from supercool author Patrick Jennings! Here's a sample piece. (Click it, make it bigger. Oh and please ignore the levels/color balance. This is a crude photo I shot before shipping art.)




LEAP BACK HOME TO ME has been enjoying a bit of fun things around the web. Including this video spotlight on three pic books from local NYC news channel, NY1.

Love o' my life, and most talented author, Julie Halpern has a brand new young adult novel coming out called DON'T STOP NOW. It's really cool, really funny, really good. The fam was just up in Rochester, NY for Stephanie Squicciarini's TEEN BOOK FEST to promote DSN as well and other Halpern classics, GET WELL SOON, and INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER. A very fun family trip! Check out Julie's blog post from when she got her advance copy of DON'T STOP NOW. I love this cover!



I just sent in my first sketch dummy for what will be my THIRD written and illustrated picture book, called HELLO HELLO. This one's with Disney-Hyperion and I'm working with the wonderful Kevin Lewis! Super excited about this one. It's a bit of a departure for me, in that it's more serious than my previous offerings. A sneak peek sketch (click it, make it bigger):



And NOW, I'm reading the manuscript for the sequel to JUSTIN CASE by the dependably brilliant, Rachel Vail. Soon to be in sketches, with art to deliver later this summer! Love that JC!

Whew. Back to work.

p.s. If you read this blog, and are interested in "following" (which, I think, means you'd be notified when new posts are up), please check out the new widget-y thing I set up in the right sidebar. (Scroll around a bit and you'll find it.)

cityscape

(click on image for zoom)

Stampede at Sunset

For a better view, click on that image above. It's actually pretty big.

It's important to me to have a certain level of spontaneity in the look of my drawings. As an illustrator, this can be difficult. Final art is not created out of thin air. A first sketch is created out of thin air. A first sketch is completely spontaneous, but every step after can eliminate more and more of that look and vibe. Break it down:

A. Sketch 1--spontaneous
B. Revised sketch (a sketch based on a sketch)--most likely, less spontaneous
C. Final art (finished drawing based on a sketch of a sketch)--perhaps not very spontaneous

Add more revisions between B and C and spontaneity may be more and more corroded. I don't always have the courage or time or faith to experiment with this in contracted work, but I do like to play around between jobs and see how I might achieve more spontaneity in finished drawings.

For me, final art is pen/ink drawing with added watercolor. One way to reach this goal, is to eliminate the pencil drawing or planning stages (not possible, actually, in illustration) and draw right out of the gate in pen and ink (which, as we know, cannot be corrected). The drawing above was done with no planning whatsoever. No pencil ever touched this paper. (And, in spots, it certainly shows. But in my mind, these are some of it's best moments.) Also, very little image reference. Most of it came from memory and mental pictures.

More or less, this is pure spontaneity in final art. Does it work? Who's to say?

These are good little brain-limbering excercises that shall go unpublished. Good for the blog, though.

Confetti Mouse

self-indulge

After I finish a job, I find several of these laying around among the wreckage. Little sheets I keep to the side to do a few test strokes before touching nib to final art. Some of them, like this one, end up looking sort of interesting. In an accidental art kind of way.

Maybe posting this is a little self-indulgent? Eh... that's blogging.

Self-Port w/ glasses

Unicorn Love

Don't hate on the unicorn, bro.

Some New Drawings

Playing with style/contrast. Drawings with quill. Drawing with a bamboo. Loving the bamboo!

Click images for better views:

ITSY-BITSY

Here we have, ladies and gents, a slightly blurry photo of a scattered stack of final illustrations for a newly finished picture book. This one is called ITSY-BITSY BABY MOUSE, by author Michelle Meadows. To be published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers in, if memory serves, spring 2012. Don't hold me to that. I mostly just remember my deadlines. For me pub dates usually come to light closer to pub date. And I digress.

Huzzah!