Leaving the cradle...

Today will be my first book event outside of my comfortable little bubble of West Michigan.  I'll be doing a reading/book signing at Tree Town Toys here in Ann Arbor at 11am (https://treetowntoys.com/).

I'm still having a blast with promoting and selling the book, but the fact that it consumes so much time that could otherwise be spent working on new creative pursuits is truly frustrating.  I'd say that has been the biggest pitfall to self-publishing: lack of time to do new stuff.  Aside from working on new book ideas, I'm also doing a large watercolor painting as a wedding gift for my sister and her soon-to-be husband.  I REEEEEALLY need to finish it this week so I can get it scanned and framed in time for the July 16th wedding.  I'm a counselor at a church camp all next week, so that puts an even bigger crunch on the whole project.

Oh well!  Time to get serious, I guess.  I'll paint for an hour before I have to start prepping for my event.  Here we go...  

You can buy the book on Amazon now!

I recently joined Amazon Advantage, a system offered to independent publishers who would like to see their work sold on  Amazon.  Here's a link to The Woodcutter and The Most Beautiful Tree!

Advantage is a relatively easy system to sign-up for and use:

1.) Make an account
2.) Add an item (media)
3.) Amazon places orders
4.) Print shipping label
5.) Send to Amazon

Amazon will then either send you a check or deposit funds directly into your account each month as your items sell.  As an independently published author/illustrator, it's really nice to have access to a market as big as Amazon.  I've mostly stayed away from trying to get my book into the large chain stores (B&N, Borders) for a few reasons (poor sales outlook, books getting leafed-through and damaged), so it's so nice to have online distribution aside from my charming, but super-tiny, website.

So please, check it out on Amazon.  And if you're feeling super-generous and would like to write yourself into my heart forever and ever, please feel free to write a review (good, bad, or ugly...just let 'em know what you think :-)).

2 months since last update. I am sweeeeet!

Here is a piece I did for a friend.  She was involved in this year's West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church, and asked if I'd help out with some of the stage design.  She was on a committee and they were interested in having me incorporate my illuminated circles into the theme for the conference: "Take My Hand."  The vision was to have my design (on 16"x 20" watercolor paper) scanned and printed on four 4' x 20' banners featuring this image:

 So, I started with the background...

Added the hands and pen work...and finished!

Yay!

UPCOMING EVENTS! O_O

I'll be selling and signing copies of The Woodcutter and The Most Beautiful Tree in Grand Rapids and Rockford on Saturday, April 30th.


Minds in Motion (28th St. in Centerpointe  Mall)
11am-1pm




Rockford Frame & Mat Shop (downtown on the corner of Courtland and Main)
6pm-8pm
*Also selling signed and numbered prints from the book, as well as original artwork




Should be some fun times.  Stop by and say hi!

-Robb

Boniface I

There is another Beksinski-inspired theme I've been working on for a few years now.  Here are some pics of the process (you can see some of the watercolor work as well as sketched outlines and masking fluid.  Masking fluid is great because it lets you work quickly without having to worry about getting paint where you'd rather not.  And when you're done...you get to peel it off!):

Aaaaaand, here she is all finished and weird:

Boniface I
16" x 20" 140 lb. Watercolor block
Watercolor and Pigma Micron series

I'd never done such fine (as in "detailed") work with watercolor before.  I gotta say, I was surprised how well it went.

It's springtime somewhere, I'm sure

A friend from high school just had a birthday and her husband asked me to paint a piece for her. He had a general idea of what he was looking for, and this is what I came up with.

The inspiration came from the Japanese tradition of Hanami, or “flower-viewing party”. Hanami is a springtime celebration in which families, friends, and co-workers gather in groups, large or small, and picnic beneath the sakura (cherry blossoms). It’s a time to enjoy food, drink, and good company all under the beautiful pink canopy of the cherry trees. During my time in Japan, I was fortunate to participate in two hanami seasons, during which I went to several parties.

One such party took place in one of the larger parks in Tokyo: Ueno. The trees were truly magnificent, which easily explains why the park was so incredibly crowded with hanami-goers. Every inch of soil even remotely near a cherry tree was occupied by a cluster of people enjoying the spring weather. It was really something to see.

I much preferred the hanami in Tsukuba: quieter and MUCH less crowded. I guess this painting is supposed to reflect this more intimate side of hanami. That is, reflecting on and enjoying the beauty of spring with someone(s) you love.

***Thoughts and prayers continuing to go out to people in Japan dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, and the ongoing nuclear catastrophe.***

End of March ALREADY?!

Where DOES the time go??  It seems like I have been too preoccupied with book related things(school visits, mailings, promotions, and the like) that I've had very little time to create anything new.  That changed last week when I sat down and wrote the rough (and I mean ROUGH) draft of a new story tentatively entitled "The Most Beautiful Tree Saves the Day."  I also just started painting a piece that I has been outlined and ready to go for, oh, let's say...5 weeks?  It feels so good to be working on a piece again.  

Over the past few weeks, I've had a few school visits and a book signing event.  Here's a picture from the latter:

Robb N. Johnston "The Woodcutter and The Most Wonderful Tree."  Fantastic!

Aaaaand, here's my favorite art teacher!  Mr. V, with his new book "Eye Can Find That!"!!  How crazy is it that I was signing books in the same store, at the same time, as my childhood mentor...?

VERY crazy.  :-D