After I’m finished with my preliminary drawing my next step is to transfer that drawing to a nice piece of watercolor paper.  I use a 300 pound hot-press paper, made by Fabriano.  It’s a very thick paper with a flat surface.  The flat surface is much easier to draw on than the rougher cold-press papers and the thickness allows it to absorb a lot of water and paint without buckling.

I use a lightbox to help me trace the drawing onto the watercolor paper with a hard (H or 2H) pencil.  I like the harder pencil in this case because leaves a light line which I can easily erase.  When I’m tracing, I try to do it quickly and accurately, but I try not to get to hung up in details, because with the light shining from behind the image I can’t really see the paper very well.  After I’m done tracing, and I take the paper off the lightbox, then I very carefully add details, and adjust the drawing.  This is the final step before I start applying paint, and I want to be sure everything is just the way I want it.

When the drawing is done, I soak it in water for 5 minutes and then staple it(while  it’s still wet) to my painting board.  The board is 1/2″ plywood.  After the paper dries, it will be ready for painting.  Because it’s been presoaked, the paper the surface will remain flat as I paint on it.

This preliminary drawing is the last thing I do before I start painting and I try my best to work out as many details as possible in this drawing.  Since I work in watercolors, it’s very hard to go back and change things after I start to paint.  When the drawing is finished, I use a lightbox to transfer it to a nice piece of watercolor paper…but that’s step two, and I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

Read the full study at pnas.org

“…this book [is] one that you will want to read over and over again. The adventure is beautifully depicted by illustrations that will leave readers in awe…”

and

“The book’s content, graphics, and unique presentation earned it a place as one of the NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books for 2010″

It’s great to get such a strong endorsement from the experts!  You can read the full review on the NSTA website:

http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=19803

By now, everyone knows that increased carbon in our atmosphere is causing global temperatures to rise, but many people don’t know about another major impact that it is having on our planet: acidification of our oceans.  When carbon in the air makes contact with sea water, a certain percentage of it is absorbed, and as the amount of carbon in the sea increases, so does the acidity of the water, putting ocean life in grave danger.  At greatest risk are shell forming creatures, such as coral, clams, shrimp, snails and various forms of plankton.  High acidity makes it very difficult for these animals to form their shells–and acidity that is too high will cause their shells to literally disintegrate.  Fortunately we haven’t reached that level yet, but unfortunately we are well on our way.

What will the mass extinction of crustaceans mean for life on earth?  Disaster.  These animals are an integral part of the ocean food web.  Animals like corals and pteropods are at the base of the food chain, and removing them will cause a ripple affect up the chain affecting untold numbers of species, from tuna to humpbacks, dolphins to octopi. But who is at the top of the food chain?  You guessed it–we are.  Millions of people world wide depend on the oceans for their daily bread.  Coral reefs are some of the most endangered ocean environments,  but they are also some of the most valuable, accounting for $29 Billion of net benefit yearly according to a joint report from NOAA and other organizations.

This is a urgent problem.  The science is irrefutable (it’s basic chemistry, really) and the consequences are already being measured.  The good news is that we know what we have to do–we must decrease the amount of fossil fuels we burn– and we know how to do it: increased efficiency (CFL bulbs, hybrid cars, Energy Star appliances), reduced personal use (shutting off the lights, choosing to walk instead of drive), and changing from polluting power sources (coal, oil) to non-polluting sources (wind, geo-thermal and solar).  The first two are within the control of each and every one of us, but to tackle the third we need smart, courageous leaders to implement laws that will force us into a green energy future.

Read more about ocean acidification:

Reading to the crowd inside the subway car

This past weekend I presented Redwoods at the New York Transit Museum.  The Transit Museum’s main attraction is their collection of old subway cars (which are really cool) and I got to read the book to a crowd of parents and children in one of them.

Drawing dinosaur-land!

After the reading, we did an art project.  In Redwoods, the main character’s world changes outside the subway car window as he reads the book.  For our art project the children suggested ideas for things that they might see outside a subway car window (imaginary, of course) and I drew their ideas to a piece of paper taped over the subway window.  On our trip, we went to dinosaur-land.  There were volcanoes, a stegasaurus, palm trees, the requisite T-Rex and a time-traveling robot.  Thanks to the Transit Museum and everyone who attended–I had a great time!

You can see more pictures of the event on the Transit Museum’s Flickr Album.

Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children’s books. According to the Notables Criteria, “notable” is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.

I am excited to announce that this Saturday (Jan. 23) I will be presenting Redwoods to parents and children of all ages at the NY Transit Museum.  The presentation will begin with a reading in one of the museum’s historic subway cars, followed by a presentation of the art of Redwoods, and conclude with a group art project.  It is a public event and all are welcome–I hope to see you there!

The Conservation Fund calculates that over two years, its forest has soaked up an extra 350,000 tons of carbon. That’s roughly equivalent to taking 80,000 cars off the road for a year.

Turning forests into “carbon banks” may be an economically viable proposition.  With the prospect of a climate change bill being passed this year, a carbon marketplace (where “carbon credits” can be traded) is looking very possible. When those regulations are in place, forests will have economic value beyond the price of their timber, and that’s what the Conservation Fund is banking on.

Listen to the full report on NPR.org