Of all the useless items that floated down from above, Sheldon knew he’d hit the jackpot when this one landed!   And with his biggest voice he said:
I’m gonna give you to the count of 10, to get your lying, yellow, no-good ectothermic carcass off my property, before I pump your scales full of lead!
1… 2… 10!
Keep the change ya filth chum bucket!

For all of the Home Alone fans and fish enthusiasts!

Last year I participated in the ABC Childrens Picture Book Competition Round 4… and what do you think happened?

A hurricane named Ike came right through Houston and knocked the power out, leaving us with no lights, no water, no air conditioning for two and a half weeks. Yep… right in the middle of  the competition!!  There was no way to promote much less find out what was going on in the outside world!

So this year… I’m back for Round 5 of the competition!

I’ve been chosen to illustrate a scene from Sorry Doesn’t Clean It Up by Wendy Rogalinski. It’s an adorable story about a whirlwind of a boy who blows through rooms leaving a mess in his wake! Talk about a hurricane!!

• The voting starts on Sept. 20 and ends Oct. 4, 2009

• Only one vote per day, per IP address

• Please tell everybody who is planning to vote to make sure they have their computers/Internet browser set to “allow cookies” or their votes will not register.

Also, if you would consider highlighting “Sorry Doesn’t Clean it Up” and the competition on your blog… or post this picture below to your side bar through October 4th….I’d be be so grateful!
# Voting link:

http://www.abcbookcompetition.org/5th_comp/SorryDoesntCleanItUp.html

…weather permitting… that is!!!

So would you like to buy some cheese….

If it looks like a rat. If it sounds like a rat. If it smells like a rat…….It’s a rat!

BTW…. I really like rats!

So for the last four days I’ve been painting non stop on this under the sea mural for Aubrey.

Some of the pieces were cut out of plywood, painted and attached later for added dimension.

The fish are glittered to catch the light and the bubbles have an iridescent undercoat.

Four days of working until 1:30 AM… and Liv asleep in her jammies on the floor in a sleeping bag.

Surprise with a big pink bow!

This is my gift to you Aubrey!

xoxoxoxoxo

Patches always had a habit of getting wrapped up in his work!

Looky, looky… I had an illo that would work and I’d never posted it before.  I seem to be crazy busy right now…. how about you?

With renewal and an additional five extra pictures, I was going to just add more images. Instead I did a complete overhaul. I hope you’ll get a chance to check it out!

www.childrensillustrators.com/illustrator.cgi/rbaird

This lovely award was given to me by some of the most delightful artists… Vanessa Brantley Newton, Indigene and Sherry Rogers.

These ladies are the epitome of kindness and generosity, not to mention they’re so darn talented! Needless to say, I’m honored.

This award was created by Ces in honor of dear  Bella Sinclair.

I also received an additional award from Sherry.  This one is The Superior Scribbler Award.

1. Each Superior Scribbler must, in turn, pass the Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy buds.
2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this post, which explains The Award.
4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List (!?) at the Scholastic-Scribe’s blog. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives this prestigious honor!
5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

I am please to pass this to award on to some wonderful blog  buddies who have inspired me with their wit, their perseverance and of course their super talent!

Linda Silvestri – Sketched out
Nikki Shoemaker – What Comes from Nikki’s Pencil
Caroline Soer – Caroline’s Studio
Edrian Thomidis – Edrian Thomidis Illustration Art and Graphic Design

There once was a pretty young lass
Who wore shoes made only of glass
What began as a dream
Wasn’t quite as it seemed
Now Prince Charming has run out of cash!

A preliminary sketch for an upcoming project.

I’ve been painting my front door red…. and after what seemed like 365 coats I think I ‘ve got it right!

I painted the porch and added a new outdoor seating area and ta da!

Guess where you’ll find me and my sketchpad in the late afternoon hours….