Ruth Sanderson's Blog, page 2

NANCY DREW

In the early eighties I illustrated a number of Nancy Drew stories for the Wanderer series. I did covers and interior art for #57-#60. I recently partnered with Drewtique, an online shop that has a license to sell items based on the published work. I created quality prints from the covers based on good high resolution scans. You can find them here at DREWTIQUE

New for 2024: FARM ANIMALS BOARD BOOKS

Just released in November 2024! Written by my daughter Whitney, these two boards books were really fun to illustrate. Starring a diverse cast of kids, the stories encourage children to imitate the animal characters along with the characters in the book. ORDER THE SET OF BOOKS with a sketch of an animal in each book. Purchase a signed copy from Interlink Books.

GOOD NIGHT FARM ANIMALS

This sweet and inclusive story encourages children to yawn, stretch, and breathe along with characters in the book as they act out the movements of farm animal friends winding down before bedtime. Can they quack a goodnight song? Curl up like a sleepy kitten? Good Night, Farm Animals is just right for bedtime reading. I had fun collaborating with my daughter, Whitney Sanderson, on this board book and GOOD MORNING FARM ANIMALS. PURCHASE A SIGNED COPY FROM THE PUBLISHER

GOOD MORNING FARM ANIMALS

This playful story, inclusive of children with differing abilities, encourages children to move, moo, and stretch along with the characters in the book as they mimic the movements of farm animal friends in the morning. Can they frolic like a lamb? Balance like a goat? Good Morning, Farm Animals is perfect for home or classroom reading. PURCHASE A SIGNED COPY FROM THE PUBLISHER

New Edition of The Golden Key in 2024

George MacDonald (1824-1925) was a Scottish author and clergyman. He wrote many stories for children, and his work has inspired authors such as C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L’Engle. In addition to writing The Golden Key, his stories for children include At The Back of the North Wind, The Princess and the Goblin, and The Princess and Curdie. The Golden Key has always been one of my favorite fairy tales, and in 2012 I decided to illustrate it in scratchboard, and break it into chapters for an older-than-picture book audience. I worked on it for years, creating forty-five illustrations for it, and it was finally accepted and published in 2016 by Eerdmans Publishing. It went out of print recently, and I decided to put it back in print on Amazon in their print-on demand service, KDP. Here is the link to Amazon US. Here is the Link to Amazon UK If you are in another country, email ruthsanderson@me.com and I can send you a link to your country’s Amazon. Here are some reviews of the original edition:  “Now with the wonderful illustrations of Ruth Sanderson, I think we can see a real balance between Art and Literature….Ruth’s extraordinarily detailed creations are as multi-layered as the story itself.” — Christopher MacDonald (George MacDonald’s great-grandson) “Sanderson’s illustrations are deeply textured and dramatic, enhancing the vivid imagery of the narrative with many full pages and spreads.” —School Library Journal “Sanderson’s dramatic black and white scratchboard illustrations bring grace and depth to this story.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

SPRING 2024 NEWSLETTER

I’ve finished all the artwork for two board books written by my daughter Whitney, Good Morning Farm Animals and Good Night Farm Animals. The publisher, Crocodile Books, plans to release them in the fall. These were great fun to work on this past winter. (The are my early mock-ups so the text design will be better.) ****************************************** After working on a writing a novel for young adults for TEN years, I’ve finished a draft and am currently working on polishing it to submit to agents and publishers. I was inspired to create a potential cover for it in scratchboard, shown above, which of course may or may not be used depending on the publisher. I’ll update publication news in future newsletters. If you are interested in updates as they occur, I am starting a separate mailing list for this project alone. Email ruthsanderson88@gmail.com. The Mirror of Truth is a retelling of the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The premise is this: What if the evil stepmother’s magic mirror were created by the youngest of the seven dwarves, who has no idea of the terrible consequences of his actions. (And as you can see by my cover illustration, my dwarf character is NOT a Disney dwarf. He is half-human and stands a bit under five feet.). better.) ****************************************** If you are an artist interested in developing characters for a children’s book, I’ll be teaching a week-long intensive workshop at Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. 9-5 Mon-Friday from June 24-28. The cost is $750 for the workshop, plus housing and meals. ($675 for Hollins grads.)  CLICK HERE For more information and to register. ************************************************ Those are some of the highlights of what I’ve been up to recently.I’m fortunate to be still working as a creative person in this changing world. Happy Spring! Ruth

SPRING is coming!

Ten years ago this month I created this symbolic painting of the personification of spring. I have versions of summer and fall as well, and some day I will create one for winter. Don’t be fooled by the snow, this is depicting the end of winter, ushering in the new spring growth, which to me seems always to appear like magic at this time of year. I am always amazed to see crocuses popping out of the snow in my garden. I am offering this large limited edition archival print on sale for the month of April for 40% off. Click on the SHOPS link for the Print Shop.

NEW PRINTS and BOOKS added to SHOPS

I’ve added more signed, out of print books, coloring book packages, new original art and prints to my online store. Click SHOPS to browse!

HOLIDAY SALE–20% off through Dec. 10, 2023

I’ve added more signed, out of print books, coloring book packages, new original art and prints to my online store. Click SHOPS to browse! COUPON CODE: 8CFP3UD5

Beautiful Birds!

My new coloring book for 2023 is Beautiful Birds, a grayscale coloring book for adults. The images are from many different picture books I’ve done over the years that have images of birds in them. The Secret Garden, Five Nests, and The Golden Mare, to name just a few. There are 24 images in all, in both lighter and darker grayscale. Available on Amazon and as a PDF on ETSY. Look in FUN STUFF for a FREE PDF to download and color!