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In July and August, I traveled to North Carolina and the Midwest to spend time with family and friends, attend a conference, and enjoy some much-needed rest and relaxation. Among the highlights of the trip were a visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and a five-day hike along the Appalachian Trailwith a group of youths from New Zealand. It was a wonderful experience, and I relished the time spent in God’s beautiful creation—a tremendous source of inspiration for me and the work I do.While on my trip, I also gave a reading and book signing at Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers in Upper Arlington, Ohio, near Columbus. Having grown up in the Columbus, Ohio area, it was great to be back sharing my book Herby Gets a Life. This was my first visit to this fantastic children’s bookstore, and I loved reading to the children and demonstrating for them a drawing of Herby the Parrot. Presenting and getting to meet and share with children and parents in person at live events is one of my favorite things to do.
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In addition to illustrating children’s books, designing book covers, formatting books, and more, I also began another year of teaching art and theatre part-time to Kindergarten through 8th grade students at Sunshine Christian Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Working with children, encouraging their creativity, and helping them develop their God-given talents is something I am extremely blessed to be able to do.And (if that weren’t enough!), I’m also currently performing in a production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at The Players Centre for Performing Arts Sarasota, Florida, through October 6th. It’s a super-fun production that is giving me a wonderful outlet to continue to pursue my love for theatre, music, dance, performing, and entertaining others.
Needless to say, I’ve been up to much, and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I have to use my expertise and make a difference with the arts! As we head into the beautiful autumn season, I pray you and your loved ones are safe and blessed.
I’m excited to announce the release of another children’s book I recently illustrated! The Max Stories was published at the end of 2016 by Harmonic Press.
Written by Florida author Julie Miller, this is a series of amusing tales about a mischievous boxer puppy named Max, who’s adopted by a family in order to bring more excitement into their lives—and ends up giving them much more than they bargained for! Based on the true story of a real-life family the author’s parents knew when growing up and their unforgettable dog, and written in verse and rhyme, the book is enjoyable to read to young children and also a wonderful book for early readers.
As the book’s back cover heralds,
Max is a puppy who loves to run free, but trouble will follow like fish to the sea. Here is his story, and everything’s true. You’ll smile and laugh—all the way through!
This book was an absolute joy to illustrate. After determining the look of the characters and developing pencil sketches, I created the illustrations using pen and ink line work finished with washes of acrylic paint. It was both fun and challenging to depict Max’s crazy antics along with the book’s various settings, from the family’s “quiet abode” to Slingerlands Elementary School and beyond.
If you’re interested in purchasing this book, visit www.JoeEckstein.com/books/the-max-stories
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I had the delight of illustrating an entertaining children’s board book, Animals: Counting, Colors & Sounds, which was published at the end of 2015. Order it here!
I was initially approached by the publisher with the concept of a board book that could be read to young children featuring and teaching the names of animals as well as the sounds they make, numbers, and colors.
The publisher had found my website through an internet search for illustrators of children’s books. As they looked through my gallery and images of my work, they were impressed with what they saw and thought I would be the person to create the look they wanted for their book.
After some initial conversations, I was given the ability to collaborate significantly with the publisher on the book and granted creative license in producing the fun artwork.
On each spread of the book, a group of animals is displayed and every animal has the word next to it that represents the sound it makes. The book begins with the number “one,” and the first illustration features one red rooster who makes the sound, “Cock-A-Doodle-Do!”
From there, the story proceeds with two orange cats, each one with a cheerful “Meow!” Then, three yellow lions each “Roar!”. This is followed by 4 green frogs, 5 blue birds, 6 pink pigs, 7 brown dogs, 8 gray owls, 9 black bears, and 10 white lambs, each with their respective sounds.
Ideally, the reader of the book would point to and count the number of each animal, along with the child they are reading the book to. As another activity, the reader could point to the animals again and imitate the sound, giving the child the experience of counting the animals and hearing the sound they make, one time for each animal represented. The child can then interact by mimicking the sound themselves.
Something I love about the book is the happy expressions I was able to achieve on the faces of the animals. I used a simple, rounded style for the art that is very fun, colorful, and appealing to young children.
I can imagine the pleasure of a child who is looking at these pictures and hearing someone playfully making the sounds. The child’s experience of identifying the animals, counting, recognizing colors and hearing the variety of sounds and learning to mimic them would be very enjoyable, as well as educational.
In fact, while visiting family over the holidays, I was able to present the book to my 19-month-old niece, who thoroughly enjoyed it and did quite well at imitating the animal sounds.
This sturdy little book is large enough to accommodate the illustrations, but small enough to fit comfortably in a young child’s hands.
As always, I loved doing the research for the artwork. It was a fun challenge to create a collection of animals that have individual characteristics, but all seem to “go together”.
I established the concept for each of the animals and illustrations by first sketching them out in pencil. When I was satisfied with the image, I scanned them into the computer and created the final artwork using Adobe Illustrator.
Some of the reactions I’ve received to this book are:
“Cute!”
“Cute critters!”
“Fantastic!!”
“Awesome. I…need to buy one for my classroom!” —Preschool teacher
“What a great cover Joe. I love your artwork.” —Donna Nelson Gauntlett, author, illustrator & artist
If you’re interested in purchasing this book, you can go to my website, www.JoeEckstein.com, and fill out the contact form.
Please consider signing up for my email updates on my website. It would also be great if you would like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JoeEcksteinAuthorIllustrator
Another children’s book I’ve had the pleasure of illustrating this past year has been released!
Stanley’s Colors, written by Al Reeder, is about a snail and artist named Stanley who must rise above his fears to follow his dreams and fulfill his potential. Afraid of birds, he hides under his rock by day and only ventures out at night. However, he longs to experience the world in light and color, and only when he faces his fears does he discover more than he ever imagined!
This is a fun story with a wonderful message, which I thoroughly enjoyed illustrating. After sketching the scenes and characters in pencil, I used pen and ink and then watercolor pencil to finish the illustrations. Color was an important consideration in the artwork for this book, and one of my objectives was to contrast the drab grey tones of Stanley’s nighttime existence with the rich, fully saturated colors of the day.
Interestingly, there was a particular shade of watercolor pencil I used for the nighttime illustrations—sort of a cool, purplish-gray. There were many illustrations that were set at night, so I quickly used up the pencil to the point where it could no longer be sharpened. It came from a watercolor pencil set I’ve had for many years, and when I tried to look for a replacement, I was dismayed this particular brand of pencils had been discontinued for years and a replacement was nowhere to be found. I was using this specific color heavily for this book and still had many illustrations left to complete. What was I to do? I asked around until Bibi Coyne of S2dio Supplies came to my rescue by providing me with not one, not two, but three pencils that, when used together in combination, were able to achieve the color I needed! Sometimes solutions aren’t what we’d expect, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
This book has a particular personal significance for me. In a way, Stanley’s story mirrors my own journey these past few years of facing my fears and stepping out to do the things God has gifted me to do and placed on my heart, including illustrating children’s books and otherwise helping to make a difference in the world. God gives us all dreams, but we must inevitably overcome our fears with faith in order to pursue and achieve them. There’s only so much that can be done hiding under a rock.
Here are some words Amazon.com reviewers have had to say about this book:
“The author did a wonderful job in telling his story. The illustrations were both bold and colorful, enhancing the tale. What a sweet story for children as well as adults.”
“. . . fantastic, light, cute, and still meaningful! And kudos to Eckstein for the great illustrations!”
“Great story for kids! Love the illustrations.”’
Stanley’s Colors is available now to order from your favorite bookseller.
Over the past few months I’ve had the pleasure of working with The August Derleth Society to illustrate the cover and interior of the brand-new edition of the book The Ghost of Black Hawk Island by author August Derleth. Originally published in 1961, this is a mystery novel perfect for older children and teens, set in rural Wisconsin in the 1920s. The main characters, Steve and Sim, are best friends and amateur detectives that get caught up in a hair-raising case that has them running for their lives!
“Trouble always seems to find Steve Grendon and Sim Jones. This time, they are far from home on an island right smack in the middle of the Wisconsin Dells they thought was deserted. They just wanted to get away for some camping and fishing, to do something besides let their summer vacation slip away from them. But they didn’t expect to encounter the ghost of an Indian chief who made it very clear he did not want them on his island! Undeterred, the boys quickly find themselves on the trail of the ghost and, before they know it, discover they are the ones being hunted.”
This book is part of a 10-book series about Steve and Sim called “The Adventures of the Mill Creek Irregulars.” As Robert Hood with the New York Times described when they were first published, “Steve and Sim, the major characters, are twentieth-century cousins of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer; Derleth’s minor characters, little gems of comic drawing.” I like to think of these books as Huck Finn meets the Hardy Boys.
August Derleth is the author of over 100 books spanning a wide array of genres, including detective & mystery fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, biography, and non-fiction. He was well-known as a leading regional writer of his day and even Stephen King has mentioned him as one of the authors that influenced him. Derleth passed away in 1971, and today the August Derleth Society continues to draw attention to him and his work and to keep it available in print.
While working on this project, I had the opportunity to visit the Sauk Prairie and Dells area of Wisconsin to get a feel for the setting of the book. Sauk Prairie is also the area Derleth called home. As an illustrator, I wanted to be able to authentically capture the essence of the locales referred to in his books and to experience, as much as possible, what Derleth himself and the characters in his books experienced. I could think of no better way than to immerse myself in the rich settings of this pleasant part of the country.
It was a pleasure creating the artwork for this book. The first step was coming up with a concept for the cover we hoped would draw the readers in to discover the mystery and adventure awaiting them on the pages inside. After I sketched some ideas out, we chose a direction and I painted the final artwork in acrylic. I also created engaging illustrations for each of the chapter headings depicting the various settings and situations throughout the book. These were rendered as pencil sketches, which I feel appropriately reflects the rustic charm of the characters, setting, and story.
The Ghost of Black Hawk Island is now re-released in time for the Walden West Fest going on in Sauk City, Wisconsin this weekend. This is an annual event held by the August Derleth Society to celebrate Derleth and his work, with a nod to his influences including Thoreau. You can order the book through your local bookstore, through online retailers, or by contacting the August Derleth Society at www.derleth.org.
I am honored to contribute my talents to such a wonderful collection of work by this celebrated author and to be part of the great community that surrounds it.
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