Dreams.

Today Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona, so I owe the internet a baseball illustration. It's tradition, after all! But I will be honest, I was stuck for a while. What baseball art could possibly meet the moment, when my government is being dismantled with gleeful hostility, in order to extract the highest possible harm to the most vulnerable people?

Then I remembered that we lost the great James Earl Jones last year, and inspiration struck. Baseball brings me joy. Art brings me joy. Stories bring me joy. We need joy right now.

Also! Never forget that  Field of Dreams is a movie about book banning. Be like Annie and fight for the right to read.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024]

Still Life With Baseball Idioms (or Spring Training 2024)

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day 2024! Has a baseball term ever made you hungry? This post's for you! How many idioms can you spot in this illustration?

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

The weather's not so fair.

It's a little bit this:

And a little bit this:

But mostly this: 

My team will be bad this season. But baseball's back. But being a fan of a losing team is agony. But even the worst teams win 60 games a year, and winning is thrilling. But there's no end in sight to the losing. But I love this beautiful, frustrating game. But but but but. 

Welcome back, baseball. Here we go again. 

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022]

Hey now, you're an all star

Since 2008, I've been creating a new baseball-themed illustration each year on the occasion of the start of Spring Training, celebrated on the day that pitchers and catchers report to camp-- the idea being that pitchers need a little bit longer to get ready than the hitters (and they can't do much of anything without their battery mates behind the plate.) 

This usually takes place in mid-February. But in early December, as negotiations began on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the MLB owners locked out the players, and the start of Spring Training was delayed. The two parties recently came to an agreement, so all our favorite players are now hanging out in Arizona and Florida, stretching and running drills and getting ready for the season to start next month, only a week or so behind the original schedule. But there was never an official "Pitchers and Catchers Report Day" like usual this year, so I've decided to squeeze this annual tradition in before exhibition games start up tomorrow.

I love baseball because I always have, because I was raised in a family that loved baseball and in a geographic spot that gave me easy access (both in-person and on the radio) to one of the game's most storied teams, the Cincinnati Reds. I watched a lot of losing teams in my formative fandom years (ages 13-26) and so I learned how to love the game without any expectation of "winning it all" or a "pennant chase" or... what exactly is a "World Series" anyway?

One thing I ❤️ about baseball is that even the worst teams win 60 games a year. Your team can be a disaster and still put on a hit parade on any given day. If being a fan is supposed to be fun, this seems like a big plus in baseball's favor that doesn't get discussed much.

— Elizabeth Metz (@finestmuffins) April 17, 2018

The Reds, after years of futility and rebuilding, made the playoffs in 2020 and were in the hunt for a playoff spot for most of 2021. And yet they're currently being dismantled for parts. The whimsical and colorful illustration above represents how the start of a new season usually makes me feel (momentum! stardust! POSSIBILITY!) But there's a 65% chance another beloved favorite will leave my team in the time it takes me to type this blog post, so I'll go ahead and also share a slapdash sketch from a few days ago that more accurately represents my feelings about baseball circa March 2022:

There's always next year, I guess? Meh. Okay.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021]

P.S. Updated to add: the title of this post is a reference to this song that I will forever associate with my first favorite baseball team, the splendid but tragically doomed 1999 Cincinnati Reds.

Take me out to the ballgame (... someday!)

Last year for my annual spring training illustration, rather presciently, I drew a couple of kids playing indoors. 

A (very long) year later, I thought we'd check back in on these characters, see how they're feeling in 2021, now with masks and home haircuts and a bit of optimism for the year ahead.

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day 2021! Here's to sunshine, new seasons, and dreams of celebrating wins together sometime soon.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020]

I'm late, I'm late, but I'll still celebrate!

It's that time of year again... baseball's back, and with it, my annual illustration in honor of pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training camp. Unfortunately, my go-to online resource led me astray, so I missed my favorite team's actual official "Pitchers and Catchers Report Day" this morning.

Nevertheless, a tradition is a tradition, and I did have a piece underway, which I can now proudly present! Happy 2020, sports fans. Play indoors as winter wraps up, sure, but try not to break any cacti.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019]

It's been a while!

I don't post here much anymore, but I'm still making art! Some catching up...

I did a few pieces in response to illustrator Lily Williams's #KidLitSummers illustration prompt. I drew some childhood summer memories, like running through the sprinkler:

And listening to baseball on the radio:

(And then I bought an iPad and an Apple pencil and did some experimenting in ProCreate to update this one in color!)

And soft serve ice cream, mmm: 

I was commissioned to illustrate a postcard for a Kickstarter campaign for a short film about baseball legend Jackie Mitchell: 

And had some fun with idioms:

This piece will be featured in my local SCBWI chapter's 2020 calendar:

And I channeled my inner Maurice Sendak for a family project:

Whew! That's a wrap on summer and fall 2019!

Pitchers and Catchers Report Today!

Happy spring! For this year's Pitchers and Catchers illustration, I thought I'd finally round out a collection I didn't set out to create. I've illustrated hitting, pitching, base running...

  

... so now defense! 

I love a diving catch, a pick and throw, a robbed home run. Here's to highlight reel plays in every game of 2019.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018]

Still Life with Cactus and Grapefruit (or Spring Training 2018)

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day 2018! This year, I went with the first fully formed idea that popped into my brain. Sometimes (especially when one is in the middle of a difficult baseball-themed picture book dummy) it's nice to not think too hard about scenes and movement and characters, and just play around with color and shape and mark-making and wink-wink whimsy 

So go forth, young pitchers and grizzled catchers (and vice versa.) Get thee to the Cactus League of Arizona and the Grapefruit League of Florida. Bring on the baseball, universe. In so many ways, I'm ready for spring.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017]

So long as you come home at the end of the day.

For my tenth (!!!???) year celebrating the start of spring training with an original baseball illustration, I've kept things simple. This is for one very practical reason: I made an inter-city move in the last year, my art supplies (along with many of my worldly possessions) have been in storage for the last few months, and I only just retrieved my pastels and paper over the weekend.

But in a year that saw me return to my hometown, I like the symbolism. I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice that home plate is shaped like a house. There's a lot of poetry in "getting him home," and "home run," and "safe at home." Heck, I got to repurpose a Hamilton (née Sorkin) lyric for my title up top, and it completely works. I just love this game so much, you guys. Happy spring training!

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016]

Fine art print of this illustration is available over here.

On Deck

Pitchers and catchers for my favorite baseball team report today to Goodyear, Arizona (in the, ahem, CACTUS League) which has long been regarded by the most devoted fans, and by this blog, as a celebrated holiday. It's been a long, dark winter, but finally spring is on the horizon... and also possibly (hopefully maybe someday eventually) a brighter future. It won't be a particularly good year for my guys, wins and losses-wise, but if there's baseball being played, I'm there. Let's go. Batter up.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015]

Fine art print of this illustration is available right on over here.

Books Read in 2015

I've neglected this blog lately in favor of (a) more writing than artmaking, and (b) more sharing on Instagram and Twitter. But it's a new year, and that means it's long past time to take a look back at the books I read in 2015.

Last year, I somehow (shockingly) only read 16 books all year long, so this year I stepped up my game. As usual, my favorites are in bold:

• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
• Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett
• The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
• Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley
• El Deafo by Cece Bell
• Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
• Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature by Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. Sieruta
• The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall
• The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side by Agatha Christie
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper
• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
• A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
• The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
• Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner
• Up, Up, & Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, & the Ill-Fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos by Jonah Keri
• Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer
• The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makai
• Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
• The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
• The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Severn
• Veronica Mars: Mr. Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
• Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner
• The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

p.s. If you're wondering about the inspiration behind the illustration above, you won't want to miss THIS.

Redleg Annual (and Happy Opening Day!)

The last two years, I've illustrated the cover of an e-book called the Redleg Annual, which previewed in eloquent and entertaining fashion the Cincinnati Reds of 2013 and 2014.

For this year's zine, which is still available for purchase as any number of e-formats HERE (seriously, it's only $5...GO HERE!)... I did two interior illustrations instead and got to step into the weird and whimsical zone a little, and it was a ton of fun.  

For an article on Reds All-Star catcher Devin Mesoraco (titled "Devin Goshdang Mesoraco") I was tasked with envisioning a Lovecraftian creature that could appropriately accompany an article containing lines like this:  

Devin Mesoraco is feared. By pitchers, sure, but also by children, beloved family pets, and young Victorian-era adventurers unjustly denied their inheritance. There is a rumbling of the earth and a black skein over the sun when Devin Mesoraco digs in. (words by Asher Kohn)

Hence:

This one's a bit experimental for me, because I used a larger variety of media than usual.  This one included gouache, Colourfix primer, pencil, permanent marker, and pastels.

And for an article introducing new Reds players, I got a little punny welcoming Mr. Marlon Byrd, because sometimes I just can't help myself:

Today is Opening Day for my Reds and most of the baseball world, so happy 2015 season to all you baseball fans out there, and happy lovely spring day to everyone else!

Rally caps! (Spring training 2015)

Pitchers and catchers report today to Goodyear, Arizona, kicking off spring training (and therefore the 2015 baseball season!) for my favorite team.  Since 2008, I've marked this day by sharing a baseball illustration.  After several years spotlighting players for this annual illustration, this year I want to celebrate fans.

(I'm also using this an opportunity to play around with some character design for a picture book manuscript I have in the works.  This devoted baseball fan is named Ruby, and she's my protagonist.)

So let's hear it for the fans.  Fans who care about the game way more than is reasonable, who cheer on their team through good times (1999! 2010! 2012!) and bad (2000-2009), who follow hundreds of games over 6+ months, and who (like Ruby here) put on their rally caps in critical dramatic moments because they can't stand to not do something to influence the game they love so much.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014]

Rally caps!

Rally caps are more effective when everyone participates, right?

Worked on this one for a while this spring, but forgot to post when it was finished!  It's the first illustration that really let me play around with my Wacom tablet (though it's still mostly traditional hand-drawn pastel work).  My next promotional postcard:

SlydePress Redleg Annual 2014

It's been out for a few weeks now, but in case you missed it:  I was excited to once again create the cover art for this year's SlydePress Redleg Annual, an e-book with lots of different articles by lots of different terrific writers, previewing the upcoming 2014 season of my beloved Cincinnati Reds. (I did last year's cover, too.)

The theme this year was keeping the window of contention open.  As you can see...

This was the first illustration I did on pastel paper I made myself using watercolor paper painted over with Colourfix primer. You can see the plethora of textures (watercolor paper + brushstrokes + the tooth of the primer + pastel) at work here-- or at least I can!

And here's the illustration in context:

Here we go, 2014.

Print available for purchase at Imagekind.

This is my seventh year commemorating the start of spring training ("pitchers and catchers report day" for my favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds) with an original baseball-themed illustration.

This year's gesture drawing-inspired illustration features the fastest player in baseball. Seriously, watch Billy Hamilton run. It's a thing of beauty. And he'll be a key factor, one way or the other, for my team this season. So on your mark, get set...  GO BASEBALL GO!!!

Also: I realized after drawing this that I've now done illustrations of the platonic ideals of running, hitting, and pitching (faceless, identity-less everyplayers who were, nevertheless, modeled on Reds!) Next year... defense?

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013]

Gestures

                                  

  

Sneaking in some gesture drawing practice with the speedy Billy Hamilton (or, rather, with videos of him!)

Congratulations, Red Sox! From your friend, the Reds Ox.

Wish it could've been my team to win the World Series last night, but I'll live vicariously with some visual wordplay and hope for good things in 2014. :)

Roar.

Wear it on a button!

Don't get me wrong:  I think this guy is adorable.  But those short arms mean he can't hit the ball hard, so his slugging percentage will be abysmal. He's working on his bunting, clearly, but the T-Rex was likely a slow lug of a dinosaur, and apparently took eons to turn a corner. And a tall body means he'll have an enormous strike zone, so he's not likely to take a walk. This guy's going to set records for low OPS. Who's the dummy who thought to put a bat in his hand? Oh. Right.

Still, that tail will come in handy on defense.