New Work

Here's a sample book cover I did for a project. Although it didn't get used, I still really like it, so it's going in my portfolio.

xo

nessa dee

Looky here...

My "Book Love" print is featured on Disneybaby.com in honor of National Library Week!

Check it out here.

Thanks, Amnah, for including my print!

xo

nessa dee

From my sketchbook...

xo

nessa dee

Another Glimpse

I apologize for my sporadic posts. I’ve been working like a mad woman, neglecting my family [and blog]. Just so you know that I haven’t forgotten about you, I wanted to give you another glimpse of the project that’s keeping me busy:

That’s all you get for now.

Now I’ve got to take my kids to get ice cream to let them know that I haven’t forgotten about them.

xo

nessa dee

Glimpse

I apologize for my absence lately. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks. We took a lightening fast trip to San Antonio over the weekend of which I took a billion pictures, we went out to the lake for an afternoon in 100 degree weather [fun], but mostly I’ve been working on a project with a deadline fast approaching. Here’s a glimpse of the work:

I’ll share more when I can, but until then, enjoy the suspense that I know you must be feeling right now.

xo

nessa dee

Feathers

Remember when I got eaten by the shark, and I promised you an explanation? Well, I’m finally getting around to explaining. Here goes…

My mom wrote a story, a fable about learning, inspired from what she observed as a middle school librarian. She observed so many kids who didn’t realize or seem to care when it came to getting an education, or didn’t know why getting an education was so important.  She wanted the kids to look beyond the here and now and see that school was preparing them for life. Thus, Feathers was written to share with a group of 8th graders at her school. My mom asked me to create some illustrations for her to show as she read the story. Once she shared Feathers with the group, the response was immediate. The kids really  understood the symbolism and teachers started asking for copies of the book.

That was two years ago. 

This is where the shark comes in.

Though my mom’s been begging me for years to finish illustrating her book, it took a kick in the pants for me to [almost] finish it. We were asked earlier this year to do an author/illustrator visit in Port Aransas during the school’s book fair. They didn’t threaten us with sharks, but this gave us the motivation we needed to get something tangible to present to the kids. I have to say that my mom did the bulk of the work to get this book ready and printed, while it probably would have taken “death by shark” threats to get me to work faster. [Thanks for your patience, Mom!] But it is done, and we made our deadline to be able to share the book with kids ranging from 2nd-8th grade, all of whom were able to grasp the meaning of the story. Here are just one of the many classes we talked to that day:

And the book…

If you would like to know more about the book, or are interested in getting your hands on a copy, my mom [Donna Van Cleve] is the lady to contact. Visit her site here. And while you’re there, check out her other books!

Ciao for now!

nessa dee

I’m writing this from the belly of a shark

I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. It seemed harmless at the time…

But then the shark decided he liked the taste of the delicacies that were carelessly posing in his jaws.

 

He swallowed.

Thankfully the kids were able to hold on to those massive teeth and eventually climb out of the shark’s formidable jaws, but as for my cousin and I… well it might be weeks before we’re digested. We’ve made some new friends, though. [previous victims of the shark’s wrath.] And you have to hand it to the shark, enticing people into his mouth for the perfect photo opportunity. Smart move.

I’ll tell you why we were visiting this shark’s area when I have more light to write by. [It’s quite dark in the belly of this beast.] In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a hint:

Well, I’m off to meet with my shark belly friends and see if we can figure a way out.

xo

nessa dee

The BIG News…

Over the summer I had the wonderful opportunity to illustrate two children’s books for the talented Sidonie Despax. She contacted me with her stories and the idea of having personalized children’s books with not only their names incorporated into the stories, but their faces as well. So for eight weeks I neglected my family, house, and self and went to work creating the illustrations. I am pleased as punch to finally show you the results.

Presenting the Scallywag Press books!

Finn and Audrie each received a copy of the book personalized with their pictures, as well as pictures of Mom and Dad. They were absolutely mesmerized. As a child, there’s something so fascinating about seeing yourself in some sort of media be it the newspaper, TV, or books. These books are a big hit with my kids. They can’t put them down.

The book itself, [Your Child] Gets Down to Work, is a cute poem about the child exploring what he wants to be when he grows up. The author is from Australia, so it has an Australian flare to the story, but my kids didn’t mind at all. Again, they were fascinated by the fact that their names and pictures were throughout the book.

The other book I illustrated was 10 out of 10 for [your child]. It’s a counting book for younger children, and Sidonie herself put all of the backgrounds together. I just illustrated the characters for each scene.

I’m so glad to have been contacted by Sidonie and to have this fantastic opportunity to illustrate these books. Sidonie was a pleasure to work with, and her books are sure to be treasures in any home. To find out more about Sidonie and her books and purchase information visit her site, Scallywag Press.

And if you want see a little more about me, check out the About Us page on the site.

I’m just as mesmerized seeing my face on the Scallywag Press site as my kids are seeing their faces in the books!

xo

nessa dee

Coming Soon: Big News!

In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek:

xo

nessa dee