"tis the Season

Here we go!!!!

xo

What no one will ever know...

I am thrilled to be working on a picture book about Henry Ford as a young inventor. 

This week I have devoted several days to research, trying to find out what his first "tractor-ish" (that's my technical term for it) contraption looked like. After countless hours and consulting with the author, editor, and art director, we have come to the conclusion that no one really knows.

So, I am free to interpret (and hope the expert readers when reviewing the sketches don't reeeeaaally know either)…

And in the Fall of 2015, when a young reader is looking at the small, "tractor-ish" contraption in the lower corner of a two page spread that child won't know that this illustrator spent countless hours trying to figure out what no one really knows :-)

Also, just a personal note…

I had the most incredibly annoying helper today!

 ZZZZZZZZZZZ

Bravery

Today I submitted my character sketches to the publisher. No matter how many books (or whatever) one has published, no matter how much fame and fortune one has achieved, I feel that sending your work out for critique is always a very vulnerable thing to do. 

So, if you are reading this little blog of mine, and you, too, seek to bring your creations to life, give yourself a little pat on the back for having the confidence to share your work with the world...

It is, in my opinion, a very brave thing to do.

Diving In...

This is how I feel...

I finally, FINALLY, replaced my old pc with an iMac.

 

Problem--- I've been a Corel Draw gal since art school. 

Challenge--- learn Illustrator, InDesign... oh my. 

Feeling a little bit like an old dog trying to learn new tricks!

Spring Hare

 

This wonderful Spring air, has inspired this Spring hare.

He hopped out of here today on my latest promotional mailer.

   

Happy Spring, everyone--- enjoy!

Celebrating Birthdays

My talented friend and fellow illustrator, Claudia McGehee, posted the artwork on her blog that she created for her daughter's birth announcement in honor of her birthday in October. I wanted to give Claudia props, because I'm totally copying her thoughtful idea.

Here's the artwork I did for my little girl's birth announcement (although you can see by her size and weight that she has never really been "little"!). I scanned this from a printed piece. I know the original lives in a drawer somewhere as a cut-up, glued down, dog-eared hodge-podge of pre-computer typesetting.

 

Today my daughter turns 17--- 

Happy Birthday to my lovely girl!

Reborn

Big news! I have an all-new web page design thanks to the fabulously talented Ken at Rain Shadow Web Design! He is both brilliant and PATIENT. 

I began by saying... "I want it very simple".

"Easy". 

"Just artwork". 

"And here's some old wallpaper that you might want to use for the background". 

"And I'm going to send you some artwork for the homepage--- maybe some frames". 

"And a cat... 

or two... 

 or three...". 

Ahhhhhh thank you, Ken. I love it. It makes me smile! Hope it does you, too. Please check it out at

at JBReinhardt.com

Alien Encounter...

It's not very often that I see a creature that I've never seen before.

And even less often that it's standing on my front porch.

Yesterday, I went to close the inside front door and there was this thing standing on my porch, nibbling my pansies. It was bright yellow with stripes and spots and I couldn't help but think that it looked like some odd combination of salamander and squirrel. 

 

It had such a distinctive, graphic pattern on its back--- yellow stripes with polka dots!

 It turns out that it was/is a Thirteen Stripe Ground Squirrel. They don't really thrive around here, but are prominent in the Dakotas.

He's really quite cute---

Once I realized that he wasn't a mutant, alien, deranged, newt-rodent!

Joy To The World!

And Joy to you!

I wish you peace and happiness this holiday season and lots of laughs, love, hugs, and pleasant surprises in the New Year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit here!

Proud Ballerina

The other day I did this watercolor. I was inspired by an old photograph I have of a little girl that I don't know. The girl in the photo looked so proud. You could just see that she felt absolutely glorious in her fancy recital tutu. 

It made me think of my mom. 

She was skinny and gangly. 

She thought herself clumsy and awkward. 

Of course she's not. 

She's tall, and beautiful, and carries herself with class and confidence. But I remembered her telling me about when she was a little girl, a little dancer...

How beautiful she felt in her fancy dress. 

Holding herself with pride and grace.

And, of course,

always with at least one skinned knee. 

Maybe we should all imagine ourselves in our recital tutu everyday--- wouldn't we just take the world by storm!?

Studio Shots #1

I love seeing where people work. Especially creative people. I.e. I love peering in to studios. So I will let you peek into mine. But here's the deal... As much as I love seeing studios, I dislike contrived spaces. Cleaned, over organized, Martha-esque--- because I just don't believe it's true. So come, here are some little snippets of where I work, and what I see, what I love, and what I do.

This is my chippy, metal storage shelf. A sweet friend brought me this lovely card from her trip to England. I made the magnets for my Pop Pop not too long before he passed away. That's a copy of a beautiful, old photo of him. And, those of you who are familiar with my etsy shop, know that I named it Age Before Beauty because it was one of his favorite expressions.
I hope that you have "a triumphant day..."

Torn

I spent my morning doing illustration work. I have often said that I have creative A.D.D.. I hardly noticed that I had journeyed across my studio and was absorbed in wiring old glass rosaries together into a necklace.

I looked up and noticed this little boy sketch stuffed into a wire basket of baubles. He looked a little concerned, like he didn't belong in there. He had been torn off the page of some unneeded document and tucked away for another time.

He looked at me.

I smiled at him.

Another time...