Ken W. Min ~ Illustrator for Hire

What a Long Strange Trip...

i admit, it's been a while since my last post. immediately after i returned from nyc and the conference, i moved. not two steps to the right, but a full on, "pack up the belongings and hire some movers", kind of move. then it was unpacking and trying to figure out where everything goes and before i even got settled, the antiquarian book fair came upon me.

so my head has been spinning ever since, but everything seems to be settling down and i only occasionally feel woozy.

the ny conference was really nice. interesting to attend a seminar outside of my backyard, here in l.a. but it was fun. heard a lot of good speakers, attended some good workshops and saw some of the sights of the city. because the conference was an all day event, i only really got to look around the city the last two days i was there. i've always had this bias against ny because i'm a west coast guy but i was really taken with the town, nyc, and really came to enjoy and appreciate it. something about it's aura and energy which i found invigorating (or was that just the brisk, cold air...?) it was cold while i was out there. even got to see some different weather patterns. a little rain, some snow. and i learned when someone tells you to bring a cap, they aren't talking about a baseball style cap, they mean something that will cover your ears cause i seriously thought they were going to fall off the side of my head. but it was a blast. i even got a hang for using the subway system. didn't get lost or take the wrong train once by my last day there. one small thing i took pride in...:)

so here i am, back in l.a. and trying to figure out which box i packed all my art brushes in. so in the meantime, i'll share a picture i did before my trip.

NY State of Mind

i'm headed to the big apple for a children's book conference next weekend.

i've attended the scbwi children's book conference here in l.a. a number of times but this will be my first time attending the nyc event. i'm looking forward to it. though i must say, i haven't been out east in a very long time.

the last time i went to new york, i think i was around 11 or 12. if you ask me what i remember most, you'd think i might say something like the statue of liberty or the empire state building, but no, the thing i remember is my father shouting and cursing and using a lot of unprintable words. he decided that since we were a group of 5, he wanted to rent a car and tool around the city. not sure if that was such a good idea. let's just say that driving in ny has a different..."cadence" than driving out here. not to say it's better or worse, just different. after driving around for a few hours in rough traffic, trying to figure out where he was going as well as getting cut off or cut into by other drivers, he lost his temper, rolled down his window and cursed down the next driver to cut him off. never have i heard such language come out of his mouth up to that point.

it was wild.

i'm hoping i'll have a better time this year than the last time i was out there. one can only hope.

another fun thing i'll be expecting, is to see a friend of mine who hails from illinois. this year's rose bowl game on new year's day showcased her fighting illinis of illinois and my favorite team- the usc trojans. we even had a wager on the game. loser has to wear apparel from the winning school.

ahem, let's just say the game wasn't even that close.

so if anyone who might be reading this and will be attending the scbwi winter conference in ny- look out for a young lady decked out in the colors of cardinal and gold. (the colors of usc) i'm trying to decide if i want to track down one of those greek bronze helmets with the feathered plume for her to wear all day on saturday...

ah, fun times.

 

Young Medusa

here's a piece that gestated over a period of a month but came together quickly. i was having drinks with friends when the name "young medusa"© popped into my head. i liked it but didn't have anything to write it down on. so i borrowed a pen and grabbed a packet of the coffee sweetner equal and scribbled the name on a side. that was over a month ago.

cut to this past week. i was preparing samples to send out and i wanted a new piece to enclose, which meant i had to work fast. that packet of equal had been sitting on my desk in all that time and i finally decided to address it. i had a vague, fuzzy notion of the face with the tendrils of snaking hair wriggling out and away from her head but what was her face going to look like. since i had dubbed her "young" as in youthful she shouldn't be the spiteful, gruesome gorgon we all remember her from that cheesy (but cool, fun) movie "clash of the titans". no this young lady would not be quite so despicable...yet.

no, she would still be a little wide-eyed, maybe not quite beaten down upon by life, just yet. and she would have freckles (cause i think they look cute). i gave her a pose that, to me, had a wistful, dreamy quality. (well, that's what i'm selling here :) and yes, that is her serpentine body undulating in and out of the frame.

i don't know her story quite yet, but she whispers bits of it in my ear in the dead of night. of course, i can't ask her in a face to face chat, only through a mirror, cause we all know what happens when you look a gorgon straight on...

you turn to stone.

SCBWI: Post Conference

tired.

that's the first thing that comes to mind after the 4 day conference that took place last weekend. i think that's why, in part, it has taken me so long to get back to updating this thing.

energized.

that's the second word that i think of.

who would have thought that sitting around for 4 days would be tiring. it's not like i went hiking or climbed a mountain all of last weekend. but it's the wealth of information that one takes in. of meeting new people and getting to know them and making new friends. of discovering new art and artists that inspire and make you "want to be a better person" (to coin a phrase from that jack nicholson movie) but in this case- to be a better artist. so maybe this is also where the word "energized" comes into the picture.

definitely should have blogged about this earlier in the week, when everything was fresh and new in my mind, but i had to get back to this poster that i'm working on. i'm only pausing now because i just had lunch and i'm "digesting" (yeah, right, more like goofing off :)

but, really, had a good time at the conference. learned a lot. enjoyed listening to the speakers. it's nice when you can come into a situation where you are not overly familiar with someone and they put on an entertaining presentation. that was true for a number of the speakers most notably peter brown, kadir nelson, allyn johnston and marla frazee, larry day and john green, 

peter brown is a writer/illustrator (who also happens to hail from my alma mater- art center). he is the author of three books currently out on the market. "flight of the dodo", "chowder" and "the fabulous bouncing chowder". i'm fond of all three of his books but i think that the new one, "the fabulous bouncing chowder" is the best yet. he gave a great presentation of his career up to now but it was in his individual workshop that we got to see inside the process- of how he worked to develop his style. he showed us what other artists influenced his look, and it wasn't just any one person, but rather he took a little from a variety of artists and created an amalgamation of those different styles and channeled them into what would become his art. when i look on his work i see smooth playful colors depicting fun, whimsical images. and textures. i love textures if you haven't guessed from my own work. check out peter's work at: www.somebrownstuff.com

kadir nelson is an illustrator who has worked on some really fine books. passionate comes to mind. passion in the subject matters and passion in the art. the art is big and broad and bold in it's expression and pallete.  very good, hearty stuff. he also has a new book coming out centering on the negro baseball league. being a huge baseball fan, and specifically the dodgers who helped integrate baseball when they signed jackie robinson, i look forward to reading this one.

i admit to some bias when it comes to marla frazee. i took a class under her at art center on children's books. so much of what i know came under her tutelage. she and her editor at harcourt, allyn johnston, did a little presentation on their working relationship as author/illustrator and editor. they had a little back and forth banter going which really highlights their friendship but also their mutual respect for one another's talents. you can also tell that in their working relationship, they draw the best out of the other. marla has a new book coming out in the spring which looks to be a lot of fun. view marla's work at: www.marlafrazee.com

larry day was not an illustrator that i was familiar with before the conference. he won an award during the weekend and so i decided to take in his workshop. he's quite the cool character. he's an ad guy from the windy city, chicago, and he has a book out called "not afraid of dogs". working as a storyboard guy, day has a quick, sketchy style which is what you want with storyboards. but when he slightly modifies that approach with his books he creates something that has the quality of energy and movement with a narrative that is direct and conveys the story easily. he's working on a new book about the duel between alexander hamilton and aaron burr. the sketches he showed along with a couple of finished pieces automatically puts this on my wish list. it's a great period in history to depict and i often think of that hilarious commercial that came out years ago based on those "got milk" ad campaigns. here's a link to youtube with said commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JyOMJsPMM

john green is the author of "an abundance of katherines" and "looking for alaska". he gave a very earnest and endearingly funny talk about his work and process. i'm not familiar with his novels but just from his talk, i'll be looking to do some catching up on his books. john green's site is at: www.sparksflyup.com/

i apologize for expounding on the illustrators and just only, apparently, highlighting the writers. (actually make that writer. looks like i only mentioned one writer and 4 illustrators) eh, sue me, i guess you know where my heart lies...:)

but i did take away a lot of things from the conference. new books to look at, new experiences, a very cool moment that happened on saturday, new friends and also some good practical advice. if you want to get better at your craft you need to immerse yourself in the field. to that end, this one particular author, linda sue park, said that if you are a writer of young adult novels you need to read 500 novels in your life. and for picture book people, you need to read 1000 picture books. and when i thought about it, she was right. i do read picture books but not to that degree. her advice was absolutely practical. in order to get better at writing (and illustrating) picture books, one should read all sorts- the good ones and the "not so good" ones (so as to see what doesn't work) invariably, it comes down to making you better at your craft.

stuff to work towards, i think.

k

p.k. (post ken)

i made a new friend who resides in the midwest. even though she is a writer, i think she harbors art chick aspirations. she "claims" to be an expert palm tree illustrator, so i put her to the test. now i possess an original drawing by "j". as you will note, in the bottom right corner, i've already priced it for auction. i'll be throwing it up on ebay in the coming weeks. thanks "j", you are going to make me a rich man.

(just kiddin' "j". i'm not going to sell it...maybe trade it for a hockney :)

Under the Sea

here's another piece i'm doing for the 'ol portfolio. the scbwi summer conference is coming up so i like to do some new things for it.

i don't know where the idea for the image came from. i think i was staring at a fish in an aquarium and it's little one-sided eye was staring back at me and i wondered what it must have been doing before it was put in this tank and then the fish spoke to me and said, "how is my family?" which really spooked me and then i...

o.k. i actually made that story up. i really don't know where the idea for the picture came from. although, have you ever worn a diving mask while in water and stood in a pose where half the mask was in the water and half above it and it's like you could see clearly into two worlds? i think part of that memory played into this image. i think that's why the ocean floor is shallow and so close to the surface. i also wanted to get a strip of sky across the top. and i personally like the way the little girl's hair came out. weightless, unbridled, free.

anyways.

i've posted the pencil and final image for your perusal.

SCBWI

what is it and does it have a catchy nickname?

for a while now, i have been gearing my artwork towards the children's market. that's why you probably won't see a lot of pictures of superheroes wearing spandex on this site. (not that there is anything wrong with that. i still read the funny books. just check out my bio) but, as was explained in a prior post, i'm about making art (and one day books) for children.

which brings me to SCBWI. SCBWI stands for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. (look for a link to the organization- stage right -->) i have been an associate member now for 5 years. it's a great place where people with a love of children's books can gather and share in their joy of the medium. it's also a great place for networking, gathering resources and information, and just to get a general idea and feel for the children's book industry.

i have met some really nice and talented folks through this organization. people who have made me a better illustrator. (of course i wouldn't tell them that, it would just go to their collective heads :)

but it's a good group to be a part of.

plus, this august, their annual summer conference is taking place here in los angeles. if you have any interest in the field, you should definitely look into it. it's 4 days of talks, workshops, good information, a portfolio display of the best up and comers along with some laughs, good stories, parties and my personal favorite- drinks in the hotel bar after it is all over. that's when my friends and i unwind and relax while waiting out rush hour traffic. check out the SCBWI website for more information.

now, if only there was a catchy nickname for 'SCBWI'. i've had friends refer to them as "squibly" or "squeeby". (i don't think the higher ups in the organization would be too keen on those names :)

alas, we'll just have to keep working on it.

Who am I, what am I, how I came to be?

well, i suppose since i am starting this blog/portfolio site, i should give a little background into who i am. you can read a little about myself on the "About" page, but, as i'm sure you will see, it's a bit tongue in cheek. in fact that's the first thing one will take note of yours truly, i try not to take myself too seriously. not that i can't be serious when serious needs being. or responsible. or diligent in my work. (by the way, that's a note to any art directors or editors who might be reading this. he does his work and gets it done in a timely fashion :)

but, yeah, i like to keep things light.

another thing one might not pick up from reading me- i'm a shy guy. if you meet me for the first time, don't expect a lot of jokes or funny noises. at least not until i'm a little more comfortable around you. that's the funny thing about blogs, one can escape one's own sense of being. we don't have to be exactly who we are. we can be a little freer in our personality. which is actually nice. it's a good outlet. especially for me.

"so why does he do all the kid's art?"

good question. as whitney houston (pre- bobby brown era) once sang, "the children are our future. teach them well and let them lead the way..." i'm not saying that song changed the course of my artistic life, but it sums it up pretty succinctly.

late in the 80's, i was working in a retail bookstore and had to clean up the children's section. i'm sure most of you will understand, this area falls apart pretty easily and quickly. as i went about straightening up the section, i came across a copy of william joyce's "george shrinks". wow, what a pretty book. the illustrations were vibrant, the story was charming and i thought the plot had a clever device. the story is a reading of a note from george's parent to take care of some chores and his brother while they were out. but the perspective from which it is illustrated gives it a whole new, and exciting meaning. i was hooked and found a medium that i wanted to play in. namely, to one day put out a children's book of my own. i figured, if this book brought me a little joy, i'd like to pass that experience down to another generation.

of course that was, oh, about 17 years ago.

well, a lot of this and that has happened, but i've probably spent the last 5 years working towards this goal.

so someday, someday i hope to tell you all about a book i'm going to publish.

 

Bienvenido!

it's a small world after all.

hello and welcome to my redesigned website.

as you may have guessed, it also serves as a blog as well. i went to this format mainly because i learned of how easy it was to upload and swap out images on this particular blog host. (it's all about convenience, baby!)

still, i figured, if i have a forum that is a blog, then occasionally i should have something to say...o.k. well, maybe not this minute...but i hope to have something to say...maybe later.

but it won't strictly be about words, cause that's not necessarily my forte. i do hope to put up sketches of projects that i'm working on. things that i wouldn't necessarily display on the ol' portfolio page. so what i may lack in verbiage, i hope to make up in pictures. as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

thanks for visiting. i hope you come around again and often.

k