Support your local bookstore!

My favorite local bookstore* is Schuler Books & Music.**
It's just a 20-minute drive from my house.

My critique group (The World's Greatest Critique Group -- that's its name but it's also true) has met at Schulers for the 10 years since I joined them.

Before the Eastwood Towne Center store was built, and before the Okemos store moved into Meridian Mall, Schulers had a lovely store next to Meijer, and I visited often.

Over the years we've gotten to know the staff at the various branches.
I put one staff member, book buyer Rhoda, in the art for my Leopold the Lion book.

If you know real-life Rhoda, you know that this doesn't quite look like her.
Real Rhoda has glasses but the publisher wanted no glasses on Mom and no facial hair on Dad.
Real Rhoda is blonde, and I wanted darker-skinned, darker-haired characters for this book.
Otherwise that is definitely Rhoda.
And it's her on the page where she's fixing a bike, too -- Real Rhoda is tough and she plays sports.

If you want to buy any of my books, Schuler Books is likely to have them in stock.
They always do.
Thank you, Schulers!

To buy online -- only $1 per book for shipping! -- go to
http://www.schulerbooks.com/search/site/barshaw

To buy one of my books at the store, just walk in and find it on the shelf.
If you want, Rhoda will probably autograph it for you.

*actually two bookstores -- one Schuler Books & Music is 20 minutes away and the other is about 25 minutes away.
**I love Schuler Books. I love a lot of other fine bookstores, too. Schulers is closest.

Hug a dumpling today

Sketch -----------------

To Finish ---------------------------------------------------

Monday, September 26 is National Dumpling Day. Go hug your lil' dumpling. :) 

Finders, keepers?

I found this little toy fox in my studio.
I don't know how it got here.
It's less than an inch tall.

If one of the little kids who visits my studio regularly claims it on the next visit, I'll hand it over.
But I hope they forget about it for a little while because I love it.

Pensive mouse

I was thinking about how to draw something, and then I thought I'd draw a mouse thinking about how to draw something, and then I figured out how to draw that other thing, so I stopped drawing this. 

And that's why it's unfinished. 

(I do highly recommend both thinking and also drawing.) 
(also mice)

Time to post some art

I never know where to post the little art pieces I draw and paint while trying to figure out bigger paintings and stories. Usually I post them on Facebook and forget about them.
But it seems to make sense to post them here.

I drew this giraffe as a sketch in my Story Ideas notebook. Then I redrew him as a black and white dry brush sketch. Then I decided to paint him and add to his story.
Here he is.

And this is a detail of his little baby, picking up good reading habits from Papa.

This is pen and ink and watercolor plus a smidgen of colored pencil.

I think this little guy needs a name. (Or is she a girl?)