Chemers Gallery Exhibit Opens December 1

Just wanted to spread the word about an upcoming exhibit I'm really looking forward to- the 21st annual Children's Book Illustration exhibit at Chemers Gallery in Tustin, CA. It's a group show featuring original artwork by 5 contemporary children's book illustrators, E.B. Lewis, Sylvia Long, Chris Sheban, Boris Kulikov, and me. 

We'll all be there for the opening on December 1. So if you're in the Los Angeles area,  please come join us! It should be a lot of fun.

I already sent some of my artwork, and today I'm preparing another batch. Here's a sneak peek...

some of the artwork I'm sending to Chemers Gallery

Fall Events Schedule

At Book Ends in Winchester, MA in 2010 (I'll be there on October 20 at 1:00 pm!)

I'm just about to start final art for my current picture book project, so I don't have a ton of events planned for this fall... but I will be traveling around a little bit, with events planned in New York, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and California (but oddly, none in Maine, which is where I live...). 

So if you happen to be in or near New York City, Winchester, MA, Newington, NH, Waupaca, WI, or Tustin, CA, please come join me for one of these fun events! Here's where I'll be:

October 6	12:00-2:00 pm, book signing and talk with author Doreen Rappaport on our new book, Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, at Books of Wonder in New York City.
October 12-13	Waupaca Book Festival, Waupaca, Wisconsin.
October 20	1:00 pm, book signing and talk on Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, at Book Ends in Winchester, MA.
October 24	School visit, Mast Way School, Lee, NH
October 25	6:00 pm. Opening reception for "The Original Art 2012: Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration". Original artwork from There Goes Ted Williams will be included in this exhibit at the Museum of American Illustration, at The Society of Illustrators in New York City. The juried exhibit will be on display October 24-December 22.
November 17	1:00-4:00 pm, Barnes and Noble, Newington, NH, book signing for Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, part of a book fair for Wells Elementary School.
December 1	1:00-5:00 pm, Opening reception for 21st Annual Children's Book Illustration Show, Chemers Gallery, Tustin, CA. This is a group exhibit featuring original artwork by 5 comtemporary children's book illustrators: E.B. Lewis, Sylvia Long, Chris Sheban, Boris Kulikov, and Matt Tavares.
December 7	6:00-9:00 pm, reading and signing my Christmas books at Barnes and Noble in Newington, NH, part of their annual Polar Express night. I read at 6:00, then there's a reading of The Polar Epress, and lots of other fun stuff (like free cookies and hot chocolate!)...

This Comes Out Today!

"Swashbuckling gusto and a poignant finish should make this a new favorite."
*Publisher's Weekly (starred review) 

It's the mini, stocking-stuffer, gift edition of The Gingerbread Pirates, written by Kristin Kladstrup, illustrated by me, and published by Candlewick Press. It's just like the original version, but a bit smaller and much cuter. (And it's only $8.99 in hardcover... not too shabby!)

You should be able to find it at your local bookstore, or any of the usual places online.

Another Star for HELEN'S BIG WORLD!

"The full images, without borders, invite children into Helen’s world, while showing how big it truly became.... A dramatic spread shows the pupil and teacher in a boat, majestically cresting a wave, emphasizing what the youngster does experience more than what she does not. While there are many books available about Helen Keller for this age group, this title offers a unique and beautiful perspective on her life."
*School Library Journal (starred review)

Starred Review in The Horn Book!

I'm always happy when my issue of The Horn Book Magazine arrives in the mail. But it's especially exciting when this is inside:

A starred review in The Horn Book Magazine (!!) for my upcoming book, Helen's Big World, written by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by me, published by Disney-Hyperion. Here's a snippet:

"Tavares's illustrations for Helen's Big World are, per the title, big and bold and often in intense close-up. Stirring and awe-inspiring..." *The Horn Book (starred review)

Thank you, Horn Book!

Helen's Big World also got a nice review in Publishers Weekly this week. I especially like their description of this illustration:

"Dark and almost demonic, it conveys instantly both the catastrophic nature of Helen's disabilities and the steely will that raged to be unleashed." -PW

I almost scrapped this picture and started over, because I worried that it was too dark. I like it now, though.

"The Puddle Jump" etching, 1995

Here's another one I found when I was looking through my old portfolios. It's an etching I did in college, of "The Puddle Jump" a crazy annual tradition at Bates College.

Every St. Patrick's day, a hole is cut in the ice on Lake Andrews (aka, The Puddle), and in a strange sort of cult ritual, students take turns dunking into the icy water. I never participated, but I did go watch and take pictures, which I used as reference for this etching. 

The Puddle Jump, etching, 4" x 6", 1995

High School Self Portrait

Cleaning my studio, I was just looking through an old portfolio from high school and found some artwork I hadn't looked at in a really long time. Here's a somewhat melodramatic self-portrait I drew during my junior year in high school, when I was 16.

I think I added the globe in the background so it would look like it was "about something", but I was really just covering one eye because it was much easier to draw myself in a mirror with one eye closed. Looking at it now, I really like it. Just wish I hadn't put the earth in the background! Oh well...

self portrait, 1992, pencil, 18" x 24"