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Kitty Kitty Rescue Me

Recently we discovered an author named Jaimi Ilama. Her last name is an acronym for “I Love All My Animals”. As she explains it, “I have eleven animals right now in my home. Three cats, two dogs, and seven turtles. I have written a series of children’s picture books called Rescue Me. There are five stories in all, and they all have an animal as the main character. The books are made to help parents and teachers talk to kids about ‘life struggles’ that both humans and animals go through sometime in their life. The themes that are discussed are facing fears and change, abandonment, prejudice, homelessness and saying goodbye to a loved one.” The first book in the series is called The Upstairs Cat (illustrated by Audrey Miller), and it tells the story of a cat named Amazon and how she deals with her feelings of loneliness when ‘her boy’ moves off to college. Can she find the courage to explore the rest of the house — let alone the outside world? At Mousebreath.com there’s an interview with Jaimi about this and other upcoming books in the series.  Check it out — and meanwhile, take a look around the rest of Mousebreath. The web site describes itself as “an award-winning lifestyle magazine by cats, for cats and cat lovers”.

image c. 2016 Open Door Publishing

image c. 2016 Open Door Publishing

Portraits of Your Pet in Paint

Sarah Prescott is a professional painter who specializes in watercolor — and these days, in original pet portraits. “The daughter of renowned artist Larry Gluck, Sarah’s love for painting developed as a child growing up around the smell of turpentine and oil paint in her family’s living room, which doubled as her father’s art studio. In 1975 Sarah’s parents founded Mission: Renaissance Fine Art Classes and, after graduating from Hoover High School and attending Cal State Northridge, Sarah formally trained in her father’s method of art instruction and opened  her own Mission: Renaissance studio in La Canada in 1992. It was through teaching children that she discovered her passion for watercolor. ‘The kids I taught were so full of life, it inspired me to paint children and watercolor was the perfect medium.’ She went on to paint commissioned works for her many clients and also vignettes and landscapes. The Prescott family’s 3 dogs inspired her ongoing series of animal portraits and the formation of her company: Unfurgettables.” Her web site shows many of her works, available not only as originals but on bookmarks, note-cards, and other such items.

image c. 2016 by Sarah Prescott

image c. 2016 by Sarah Prescott

The Sunny State Gets Schooled

You’d be hard-pressed to think of more famous “ancient world” anthropomorphic stories than the fables of Aesop. Needless to say, they’ve had numerous illustrated presentations over the centuries! Well here’s a very recent take with a particular spin to it: Doug Hansen is a California native and an art instructor at California State University at Fresno. In his spare time he created a new hardcover illustrated book called Aesop in California. “Guess who just arrived in California? Aesop! Here among the plants, animals, and places of the Golden State, his timeless fables from ancient Greece take on a new vitality and immediacy. From blackberry-munching grizzlies to Hollywood house mice, this is a book to delight the eye, stimulate the imagination, and teach us some very important lessons.” Find out more about the book and the artist at the publisher’s web site. (Hot tip: He also created a book called Mother Goose in California!)

image c. 2016 Heyday Books

image c. 2016 Heyday Books

*Boing!* Surprise!

Somehow we missed this one, but we’re glad to find out about it now. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman (world-famous for his multi-award-winning comic Maus) has created Jack and the Box, a full-color story comic for entry-level readers. “Jack just got a new toy, and it’s full of surprises. Each time the box pops open, there’s a new and bigger surprise. Is it a silly toy, a scary toy… or something else entirely? With a limited vocabulary and unlimited imagination, Art Spiegelman applies his out-of-the-box thinking to a book that has all the surprise and bounce of a Jack-in-the-box.” Check it out over at the publisher, Toon Books. It’s available now at numerous sites, in trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Shapeshifters Have Rights Too!

Imagine a world with no domesticated dogs — only were-dogs. That’s what the artist known as Kez thought up for his largely monochrome on-line comic Until The Last Dog Dies. “Port Jude is a utopia… if you’re human. In a world split down the middle between humans and dog shapeshifters, there is little justice to be had when domesticated dogs have no rights, no citizenship and no life to call their own. Cage is a wild dog who has always seen himself as free, until he strikes a bargain with the devil in the form of a wealthy businessman named Dmitri Molokov. Now, he must risk his life with the cruelties of the illustrious dog fighting rings for his one shot at a better life for himself and his family.” The official web site has the continuing comic, as well as backstory and a link to an introduction video on YouTube.

image c. 2016 by Kez

image c. 2016 by Kez

Man. And Bear. Both Bare.

Okay, this is decidedly adult-oriented! There’s this comic called The Corporeals, “a web-comic featuring the pre-historical, often homosexual, always science-fictional citizens of Bakersfield, Earth”. Really. Here’s how creator Dave Quantic and artist Bill Ferenc describe it: “Howdy! My name’s Manny! I live with my husbear in prehistoric times. We’re members of an alien race from Jupiter called The Corporeals. Our leader, Kaa’laa brought us to Earth and created bodies for us so that we could experience physical pleasures like sex and cheese fries. Yummy! Bear and I live together in our cave. We have a great group of friends I can’t wait to introduce you to.  Like Jane and Eve, our lesbirific neighbors and Uni the Unicorn. He’s so silly.” So, check out their web site if you’re curious.

image c. 2016 by Quantic & Ferenc

image c. 2016 by Quantic & Ferenc

Worlds of Watercolor

Kendra Minadeo is a freelance illustrator based out of Southern California, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. As one can see on her web site, her specialty is watercolor paintings — with more than a splash of cuteness thrown in. Her Etsy store features many of her paintings in print form and on buttons. What’s more, she’s even been working on a series of art how-to videos for YouTube.

image c. 2016 by Kendra Minadeo

image c. 2016 by Kendra Minadeo

Neener? Neener Neener!

From the web page of The Neenerbot Shop: “Jeannine Schafer is an SF-area based illustrator. As a child she was torn between being a zookeeper and an artist, but for reasons she can’t quite recall she eventually abandoned her dreams of opening the world’s first underwater zoo to pursue art. She continued to study and draw the animals she loved and discovered her focus as an artist in this passion. Today she strives to create stylish and fun illustrations that will also help raise awareness and interest in the animals she loves.” To that end Ms. Schafer creates and sells numerous “funny animal” prints, and some of her works are also available on T-shirts and even pillows.

image c. 2016 by Jeannine Schafer

image c. 2016 by Jeannine Schafer

He’s An Alien, But He’s Different

Wrench is a new full-color comic series in development, created and written by JB Potter and illustrated by Jake Slingland. “The Iludi race have developed their planet Groc down to the very last inch to make one giant city. When daredevil mechanic Mala damages his antennae, he develops something rare on his world: A conscience.” You can keep up with the creative team’s progress over on the official Wreck Tumblr page.

image c. 2016 by Jake Slingland

image c. 2016 by Jake Slingland