my first REAL BOOK!

Hi all (if there's still anyone out there that follows this little blog). It's been a while...quite a while!

Things have been busy to say the least. And things are only going to get busier. If you don't follow me on Instagram, (which, honestly, is the only thing I post on these days) then you've missed a lot.

Besides our second round of Bellissima Art Retreats, the highlight of 2017 was writing my FIRST BOOK! A real book...not a print a few copies or a one-of-a-kind book...a real to be published and in bookstores/on Amazon BOOK! 

See that cover to the right? THAT'S MY BOOK! It's still pretty surreal seeing it and knowing that it will be in actual stores and online in less than 3 months. WOW!

So...the full story...around last May, I was contacted by the sweet folks over at Quarto Publishing asking if I'd like to write a book on modern drawing techniques. It was right when I was getting ready to leave for Italy so I was a little pre-occupied and ended up emailing them in between retreats to get more information and ultimately say YES. 

What followed was a whirlwind 4 months of drawing, writing, editing, submitting, revising and losing a fair amount of sleep. Modern Drawing is more than just a book on drawing...there's my tips and tricks, how to turn an ink drawing into a painting, adding color, sketching on the road and with drawing challenges. Plants, animals, people, buildings...I swear, there's SO MUCH drawing instruction in this one book! 

I'm happy to share that after those few crazy months by book, Modern Drawing, is coming out on June 5th! You can pre-order it on Amazon, Amazon UK and Barnes & Noble now! It's pretty crazy that I can freakin' type in MY NAME on Amazon and MY BOOK comes up. Yeah...a little crazy. 

And...since crazy seems to be the reoccurring theme of my year, I'm actually in the midst of writing a 2nd book right now! Back in January, the day before my 30th birthday, I got yet another email from the lovely Quarto folks asking if I would write another book...Your Year of Art! This book will be completely different. It's a book to help combat artist's block and blank page anxiety so it's filled with 52 prompts, one for each week of the year, to keep you creating and drawing all year long. It's so crazy to be back in this process again already, in the midst of getting ready for my first year attending the National Stationery Show in May. 

Yeah...it's a little crazy around the art bubble these days. I'm still doing my best to keep up posting on Instagram so that's the best way to stay on top of news with the books. I will try to post over here more often in the land of no algorithms (I'm looking at you, Instagram...).