Friday, April 29, 2011

alison rhodes new release!


Alison Rhodes is a renowned child safety expert known as the "Safety Mom". Her new book Honey, I Lost the Baby in the Produce Aisle!: The Safety Mom's Guide to Childproofing Your Life was just released and features my illo of her on the cover!

This book is a great resource for new and expecting parents who are looking for guidance on how to baby-proof their house and lives. From the pregnancy to parents' first night out without the baby, this book covers it all!

When creating this illo of Alison, I wanted to make sure I captured her beautiful eyes and approachable personality!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

soul surfer - the movie

©2011, Monika Roe

Have you seen this movie yet? In theaters right now, it's the story of Bethany Hamilton a teenage surfer girl who loses an arm to a shark attack yet summons the courage to continue surfing and inspire people everywhere.

I had the honor of illustrating a series of Bethany's inspirational books a few years ago. A couple titles I worked on are Rise Above: A 90-Day Devotional, Ask Bethany: FAQs: Surfing, Faith and Friends and Soul Surfer Bible: With Bethany Hamilton, along with the designs on the covers of her novels which include Burned, Storm, Crunch and Clash.

It was a very inspiring project to be a part of!

Friday, April 22, 2011

roasted asparagus

©2011, Monika Roe

Oh yum! Head over to Danielle Michaan's blog, A Fig-Mint of My Imagination, to get her recipe for roasted asparagus (and see my illo again!) Her technique is so simple but yields delicious results! The perfect side for a delightful Easter weekend!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

april - how humiliating


Slipping in the school cafeteria in front of boys! How humiliating!

This is one of the April illos I did for a monthly column I illustrate for a young teen magazine. Kids share their embarrassing and gross moments and the editors select a couple for me to bring to life. Vomit, boogers, messy sneezes, farts and diarrhea, I've drawn it all! Very fun!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

journey



For this week's Illustration Friday topic of "journey"...

Thursday, April 14, 2011

bottled

©2011, Monika Roe

This week's Illustration Friday topic is "bottled". I chose to illustrate the holy grail of the beauty industry, youth in a bottle!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

my favorite things in Solvang, California

©2011, Monika Roe

When Nate & Salli of TheyDrawandCook.com told me they were starting a new site called TheyDrawandTravel.com that featured illustrated maps I couldn't wait to contribute! My first map is of Solvang, a little piece of Denmark in California.

It isn't your typical street map but more of a collection of my favorite things that are found in Solvang. My mom is from Denmark so Solvang has a special place in my heart. 

When my grandparents (her parents) would visit, we would make the hour and forty five minute drive to Solvang. Olsen's Bakery was always our first stop. The "Seven Sisters Butter Ring" from Olsen's is the first thing I drew in this illo. It's divine with it's individually iced tops and creamy filling! Growing up (and even now) my goal was to get the middle piece!

Solvang used to be the only place in California that you could get the salty licorice that my mom craved from her homeland. Now there are plenty of online sources, but nothing beats a trip to Ingeborg's Danish Chocolates to buy it by the pound. I used to hate that double salted licorice but now I love it. It took me many, many years to acquire a taste for it!

Another place worth noting is The Little Mermaid Restaurant. Their coffee tastes exactly like my grandfather made. It's shocking and almost disturbing. I don't know how they do it because I can't recreate it at home. (Don't get me wrong it's good coffee!) My grandfather passed away a few years ago and drinking coffee at The Little Mermaid brings me great memories of him. I like to imagine that he's back in their kitchen looking through the door at me and smiling. As far as the menu goes, their leverpostej (liver paste) tastes like my grandmother's made-from-scratch-recipe. Absolutely delicious. Even if you don't like liver (and I hate it) I recommend that you try their leverpostej open face sandwich. So now when I tell you that going to The Little Mermaid Restaurant is like going to visit my grandparents, you know why!

About the illustration: My inspiration for this artwork was the traditional folk art of Scandinavia along with the bold graphics found on Danish tourism posters from the '50s and '60s that I love so much. I wanted to combine the two influences and create a new, contemporary look. Instead of the traditional flowers usually seen in Danish folk art I used wildflowers, poppies and lupin local to the Solvang area. I also chose a fresh, bright color palette. The original illustration had fuschia pinks instead of reds. I changed it because my mom thought the Danish flag absolutely had to be accurate. "The Danish flag isn't PINK!", she said.

Here are both versions, which do you prefer? (Click to enlarge.)

©2011, Monika Roe

©2011, Monika Roe

Monday, April 11, 2011

my illos in Family Circle magazine


The May issue of Family Circle has hit the stands and my illos can be seen on page 124! I illustrated how to cheer up your makeup routine with spring pinks in the Beauty Basics section. Take a look next time you're at the store!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

duet

©2011, Monika Roe

This week's Illustration Friday topic of 'duet' gives me the chance to pay tribute to my beautiful friend Michelle who just had twins! Now that's a duet! Congratulations Michelle, Scott and big brother Benson!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

scholastic candy apple book series

©2011, Monika Roe

Here are three new books I did the cover illos for! These are part of Scholastic's Candy Apple Book series. Written for girls ages 9-12, these books are about the summer vacation adventures of 3 friends. They exchange postcards from their destinations so I designed a cute Candy Apple cancellation mark to stamp the covers with.

Friday, April 1, 2011

map of madrid

©2011, Monika Roe

Maps are a lot of fun to illustrate once you get over the fact that to make them look good and fit into a certain space most can't possibly be drawn to scale. This is a map of Madrid I illustrated awhile ago. It's one of my favorite maps I've done so far.

I'm posting this particular illo today to celebrate the launch of Lena Corwin's book Maps. I became aware of Lena's illustrated maps when I saw them regularly in an interior design magazine. They are clean and colorful, reminiscent of Scandinavian design which I'm a sucker for because I'm Danish! It's a real treat that she's put them all together in a book! Congratulations Lena!