I had the pleasure of speaking at the Writer’s Workshop at Christian Retreat in Bradenton, Florida, held January 20th and 21st, 2017. The annual workshop was hosted by Joanne Derstine Curphey and attended by writers and authors from around the country. This was my second year attending and speaking at the workshop, and it was a wonderful time of connecting with other writers, sharing expertise, and receiving inspiration from one another.
I presented information and advice about book publishing and children’s book illustration, and shared and signed copies of the books I’ve written and illustrated. I enjoyed getting acquainted with the attendees and learning about the books and works they have written, are in the process of writing, or are aspiring to write.
I believe we all have stories in life God wants us to share, and I love to work with fellow writers and authors to help bring those stories to life through books and illustrations. I look forward to continuing to do this and to all the opportunities God opens up for me to contribute to others’ success with their books and other creative projects.
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
Please sign up for my email updates at www.JoeEckstein.com/updates and like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JoeEcksteinAuthorIllustrator
The date was May 5th, 1992, a Tuesday. I was finishing up my seventh grade year of middle school in Ohio, and was riding home with my mom and siblings in our family van, most likely from one of my or my sibling’s many afterschool extracurricular activities. I proceeded to spend the long ride to our house out in the country my preferred way to pass the time—by drawing.
Pulling a sheet of notebook paper from my backpack, I grabbed a pencil and began to sketch out a most unlikely creation: a simple cartoon of a friendly, smiling parrot stretching out his wing, clinging to an umbrella, and exclaiming, “Okay—I’m Ready! Come Rain on My Parade!” I traced my pencil lines with a felt-tip marker and proudly signed and dated it, knowing I had just created something special.
This was the very first incarnation of Herby the Parrot, 21 years ago. Why a parrot? Well, I’m not really sure. I’ve always been fascinated by birds, and our family had a few parakeets as pets over the years, but from the beginning Herby has always had a life of his own. I continued to draw dozens of Herby cartoons over the next several years, even dabbling throughout my college years and beyond. I had always wanted to do something more with my cartoons, but never quite settled on exactly what.
Nearly 20 years later, I decided to finally give Herby the attention he deserves. Over the past year and a half, I’ve worked on developing a book of Herby’s cartoons, especially designed for children (particularly third- to fifth- graders), that entertains, encourages, and educates them with important life lessons and positive character values. If you haven’t had a chance yet, check out my book Herby Gets a Life and grab copies to share with the children and children-at-heart in your life!
At 21 years, Herby is finally coming of age. And he has so much further to go!
Have a good Memorial Day weekend remembering those who died defending our country and all those who have touched our lives and are no longer with us, whether we knew them personally or not. Many have gone before us and sacrificed much so that we can enjoy a better life.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are moms!
Daisies happen to be one of my favorite flowers, and I always get excited when I see the multitude of oxeye daisies blooming all over the countryside around May. They seem to embody expressions of joy, childhood, and innocence. Daisies also hold special meaning for my wife and I, a symbol of our marriage. When we were about to be engaged, I prayed for a sign that my wife was the one I was to marry. No, I’m not referring to the “she loves me, she loves me not” test! What I asked for was to spot three daisies growing from one stem. A bit silly, perhaps. But about a year later, we were engaged and scouting out the site of the outdoor wedding we were planning when I received the answer I was looking for—in the middle of our path that day, growing alone from a patch in the recently mowed lawn, were three daisies, all sprouting from a single stem.
This illustration of a daisy is a study I first sketched in pencil, then inked using a Hunt Globe dip pen. I colored it using watercolor pencils.
Beyond my affection for daisies, spring is my favorite season of the year. After the cold, barren winter, the earth gives birth to new life and new hopes. A wondrous array of beautiful flowers spring forth, and everything is fresh and alive again. It is an exciting time. Let’s celebrate the bringing forth and nurturing of life this Mother’s Day and the ultimate Source of that life.
What are your favorite facets of spring? What does springtime mean to you?
There are many things that we don’t know all the answers to, or that cannot be proven with our five senses, and that must be believed instead. No one can see love for example, but we can believe that love exists and that it is good to love other people. We can believe that it is better to do good things and share love with people rather than doing evil. Herby encourages his friends to believe in the miracle of Christmas even if it is something that happened a long time ago and takes faith to believe.
How can you know that something is true or worth believing even if you can’t prove it with your five senses? What are some things that you can’t see or prove but can still believe are true?
When we believe something is true even when we can’t see or prove it, it is called faith. Faith doesn’t have to be blind or irrational—we can believe something because we have a good reason to believe it is true, such as that you are an amazing person with a good purpose for your life, or that God exists and came to earth as a baby 2,000 years ago to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. Sometimes though it might not even seem to be true or it may be harder to believe because other people don’t believe it. But this doesn’t mean it is untrue and not worth believing. Have faith even if you can’t always see or prove it, because there are some things you have to “just believe.”
Follow Joe!