Kevin Sylvester's Blog, page 24

I had an AMAZING week.It started with the Near North Scho...

I had an AMAZING week.
It started with the Near North School Board tour of Parry Sound and North Bay.
Here's me in front of the Bobby Orr Community Centre!



Then it was time for the Neil Flambe and the Crusader's Curse book launch!
Mabel's Fables put together a tour and we talked about food to more than two-thousand readers throughout the week. Here's the crowd at All Saints (with 800 more via video-link).



And then the launch yesterday. We did mix and match jelly-bean tastings and also some drawing lessons. (Lovely wife Laura helping out.)




Today... rest. (And I'll be calling my mum of course!) Of course, I'll also be drawing, drawing and drawing....



Thanks to everyone at Mabel's... Simon and Schuster (especially my guide Rita Silva!) and all the great fans who came out to say hi!

The amazing gang at Mabel's Fables has filled an entire w...

The amazing gang at Mabel's Fables has filled an entire window with Neil Flambe´!

WOW.

I was there today and dropped by for a photo op. MF is also going to be there for the Neil Flambe and the Crusader's Curse launch - Saturday, May 12th at 10 am at the Northern District branch of the Toronto Public Library.

We will be doing some cartooning and eating lots of jelly beans!

(I also added a Neil Flambe picture to the amazing authors/illustrators wall upstairs at the bookstore. Drop by and see if you can find it.)

I was at the DSBN Silver Birch blowout today in Niagara o...

I was at the DSBN Silver Birch blowout today in Niagara on the Lake. Neil Flambe and the Aztec Abduction was the Niagara region winner! They also had a couple amazing food-inspired workshops based on the NF capers. Kids made pasta sauces from a series of ingredients (and I was one of the judges). In the other, they made guacamole and salsa and fried plantains.

Speaking of food and Neil... here he is with Su Style Chicken.

Took a little Neil cutout along for the ride to China. Lo...

Took a little Neil cutout along for the ride to China. Lots of pics on the NeilFlambe.com website... but here's one of Neil getting a little too close to the many lions around town in Suzhou.

Just returned from China where I was giving a series of w...

Just returned from China where I was giving a series of workshops at the Shanghai Suzhou International School. I talked to about a thousand kids over the week! Here's the poster for my visit. I'll post more pics later but you can see some pics of Neil Flambe in and around China on the Neil Flambe website.

Needed a lift

I had a great visit today to Whiteoaks school. Ms. McGibbon (the awesome librarian) got all the kids to watch the "how to draw Neil Flambe" video on the neilflambe.com website... then they drew DOZENS of Neil pics for my arrival! WOW!

City Love...

That was the topic this week at Blown Covers. I'm one of the runner-ups. :)

Blown Covers submission

The topic was the Trayvon Martin shooting in trigger-happy Florida.

Inspirations (many seem to go by initials)

I've had a few readers (and bloggers here!) ask me about my "inspirations". There are many, many. As a writer, nothing wrong with FW. Dixon, JK Rowling, E Colfer... and I aspire to approach the elegance of an FS Fitzgerald or G Green. Sick of the initials yet?)

As an illustrator there's Ronald Searle, Charles Schulz, Aubrey Beardsley, and above them all EH Shepard. All my books have maps at the beginning and end. Look familiar?
And if you've ever attended one of my drawing classes... you might see some similarities in my style and the far superior Shepard.

I love the active lines, the sketchiness that doesn't look accidental. The energy of the lines contrasted with the tranquility or maybe silence of the scene... wow.

Someday, if I work hard enough....

KS Sylvester

Can't wait!

Dr. Who season 7 trailer is out... Here's a rock star pic I drew of Matt Smith!