Branches Atelier Wall Art

Here are several paintings on wine crates I created for Branches Atelier preschool.

Post-its for Giant Robot Post-it Show

Montana Avenue Art Walk 2015

The Montana Avenue Art Walk is Thursday, July 16th from 5-9 pm. There will be music, refreshments, and artists in stores and all along the street, including many of my cohorts from Ten Women Gallery. I'll be stationed at the adorable girl's and mom's clothing boutique Pink Chicken (between 15th and 16th streets) with original paintings, prints, and cards, and will also be taking commissions for family portraits, such as the one below. Hope to see you there!

Invitation to Tea

Here's a recent invitation I made for the Ten Women Gallery Mother's Day Tea!

Holiday Ornaments

Here are a series of ornaments I made, available at Ten Women Gallery in Santa Monica.

Emerging from The Mama Cave for Mentee Day

I haven't written in the blog for some time, but I have a good excuse! Here he is, with his big sister.

Born January 25, at 9 lb. 12 oz, Raphael is a healthy, unusually large baby, and I am definitely falling in love.

I decided to poke my head out of the mama cave this weekend by meeting up with a bunch of fellow SCBWI mentees in San Diego at Mentee Day, planned by David Diaz, our Master Mentor. Among other things, David took us to visit the home of uber agent Steven Malk. I spent most of the time in the hallway bouncing the baby, listening to snippets of wisdom from Steven, and ogling his collection of original art in his front entry (lovely pieces from Carson Ellis, Catia Chien, and Jon Klassen, to name a few).  We also got to peak into his baby daughter's bedroom and see her amazing wall of books. That will be one well-read little baby. Below is the pic Steven snapped of us, in front of his Kadir Nelson painting:

(from left: Brooke Boynton Hughes, Erin O' Shea, Eliza Wheeler, Arree Chung, Christina Forshay, Rodolfo Montalvo, Kimberly Gee, Maple Lam, Karyn Raz, and David Diaz)

It was great to reconnect with the tribe.

Ten Women Gallery "Shop Small" Poster

Here's a poster I created for Ten Women Gallery's upcoming "Shop Small" event for Small Business Saturday. I had a hard time choosing a background, but ended up with the green...All of my paintings, and most items in the store will be 10% off! Hope to see you there.

Wear Several Hats

Here's a doodle from the recent SCBWI conference that emerged when one of the speakers, Peter Lerangis, mentioned the importance of wearing several hats when promoting your book as a writer/illustrator.

I'm in the Window at Ten Women

The theme is "Wanderlust." All pieces are painted on wine crates and available for purchase. The work will be up through July 1st so come check it out! Ten Women Gallery 1128 Montana Ave, Santa Monica CA 90403.

Mother's Day Party at Ten Women

Here's the poster I designed for this Saturday's Mother's Day Party at Ten Women Gallery on Montana. Join us for bonbons and gifts for moms! 2-5 pm at 1128 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403

Sowing the Seeds of Love

Created for the cover of the Branches Atelier auction book. Prints available at Ten Women Gallery on Montana.

Valentine's Tea & Kidlit Artists Interview

Two pieces of news! First off, you're cordially invited to a Valentine's Tea on Sunday, February 10th from 2-5 pm at Ten Women, the gallery I'm now very excited to be showing in. Below is the invite, which I designed.

Also, here's an interview I did on the Kidlit Artists blog. It's made up of fellow SCBWI mentees, and offers a great deal of info about both the business and creative aspects of the children's illustration world.

Exciting News from SCBWI Summer Conference!

Last weekend I attended the SCBWI 2012 Summer Conference, where I was thrilled and incredibly honored to be a recipient of the 2012 Mentorship Awards.  Along with four crazy talented co-mentees, I had a critique session from an awe-inspiring pack of industry pros: David Diaz, Priscilla Burris, Laura Godwin, Cecilia Yung, and Pat Cummings. There was a lot of consensus about what direction my portfolio needs to go in, and I'm excited to get cracking. I'm also really happy to be joining the larger mentee community, and to participate in the mentee blog, kidlitartists.com. It's a great place for tips, resources, news and inspiration for picture book illustrators.

The 2012 Mentees, from left to right: Lisa Anchin, Jen Betton, Karyn Raz, Maple Lam, and Brian Won, who is pictured via his business card triptych and who wasn't there when this pic was taken. Photo by SIDEKICKS author/illustrator Dan Santat.

Mentee Winners and Portfolio Display. Photos by I'M BORED illustrator Debbie Ohi.

Here are my TOP TEN QUOTES from this year's conference:

1       1.  “Fill your portfolio with what you LOVE to do.” -Lauren Rille

2       2.  “Work every day.” - Melissa Sweet

3       3.  “What would ten-year-old Tony want that old Tony can make?” - Tony Diterlizzi

         4.  “Be a boxer.” - Dan Gutman on rejection

         5.  “Quiet is the door into the temple.” -Deborah Underwood 

         6.  “Aim to exceed expectations.” -Steven Malk
 7. “Write about something you care about deeply.” -Arthur Levine 

         8.  “Reveal yourself.” -Ruta Sepetys

         9.  “Don’t doubt your book can change a child’s life.” –Gary Schmidt

        10.  “Some go ankle deep, some go waist deep, some go to the top of the\ cliff, jump off, go all the way in, and commune with God." - Bryan Collier on the creative process

        For more conference take-aways, check out the awesome blogs of my pals

        authors/illustrators Mary Peterson and Ken Min.

Harbinger Interview and Exhibit at Hive Gallery

Here's a piece I created for the Hive Gallery exhibit for Sara Wilson Etienne's amazing young adult book, "Harbinger." Artists were asked to recreate a moment from the book. You can check out all the art created for the show, as well as my interview about the piece, my process, my studio, and more on the Harbinger website.

New Dog Portraits for Holiday Show

These are going to be available at Cactus Gallery for their holiday show, "Tiny Treasures."

The opening is December 10 from 7-10. All pieces in the show (including these) are below $100.

Cactus Gallery

4534 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041

(323) 256-6117

I'm now happily accepting doggy portrait comissions! Know someone who would love a portrait of their dog? E-mail a photo and I will create a pen and ink portrait. These make great, personalized gifts! Write me for more info at karyn@karynraz.com.

Holiday Art Show at Cactus Gallery

I am participating in "Tiny Treasures" at Cactus Gallery in Eagle Rock!

Please join us for our 6th Annual "Tiny Treasures" Art Exhibit -- this year we are showing the original works of more than 55 artists. This is a "cash and carry" style show so come early to find your favorites first!

Handmade ornaments, acrylic paintings and oil paintings on canvas and wood, collage, photographs, mixed media, sculpture, jewelry and more. All works $100 and under.

Give the gift of art!

Bearded Men

I've been working on a series of portraits chronicling the hirsute men of our era. Can you think of any interesting additions to the series?

Hadassah Magazine piece

This is a recent piece for Hadassah Magazine for an essay by Leora Eren Frucht
recalling the time her son was in the hospital during Passover. He is adopted, and she references the story of Moses in his basket, thus the reeds and river. It's a beautifully written story with many interweaving images.

Vows

I was asked to illustrate a set of wedding vows recently. The images include places and things that had meaning for the couple, including their Georgetown home, their awesome red truck, and the gorgeous University of Virginia campus where they fell in love.

Village Voice piece

Check out this week's Village Voice for an illustration I did for for a book review by Sarah DiGregorio of the book "Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal" by Tristram Stuart. The review is about the myriad, at times whimsical ways in which the Western world wastes food (ie. farmers forced to throw out thousands of carrots because they are curved and not straight), and the devastating effect this has on developing countries and the environment.