A MAGICAL WHIMSY

A MAGICAL WHIMSY IS DEDICATED TO PROMOTING DOLL MAKING SITES, MIXED MEDIA SITES, AND CHILDREN'S BOOK AUTHOR'S SITES. PLEASE VIEW MY SIDE BARS FOR VARIOUS LINKS TO CREATIVE ARTIST'S SITES.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Children's Book Illustrator ----- Troy Howell

It's time I posted about someone whom I have known all of his life....and that is my brother, author, and children's book illustrator, Troy Howell.  Troy is a modest man, handsome...he really wanted to be an actor...but life chose him to be an artist.   So, he pursed his career at the young age of 17, when he became an illustrator for the magazine 'Cricket' for children.  From there on, he moved from Southern California where he was born and raised, and he moved to Virginia to be on the eastern seaboard to be closer to New York City where he was able to find an agent to promote his artist career.
Without much further ado he can be found at his site: www.troyhowellstudio.com 

When you arrive at his site please click on 'blog' and it will take you to his Penchant page.  On the right hand sidebar under his heading of: 'Pages' is his 'trunk sale'.  Click on the 'truck sale' and it will show you various  pieces of original artwork he has for sale at the moment.  He has also just recently written a children's book published by Amulet Books.  The title of the book is: 'The Dragon of Cripple Creek'.  There is a wealth of  MORE information about Troy's book on his 'Penchant' page under the list on the right side bar titled: 'Pages' Scroll down to the heading 'the dragon of cripple creek' and click on that older post.  On that post Troy talks of how he developed his characters for the book, the 'voice' he choose for the main character, pre-publishing sketches of his characters including ideas for the cover of his book.
I am adding a photo of one of his pieces of artwork which is available in his 'trunk sale' and a contrasting photograph of a tree in Africa, which I thought looked like a woman.  Please enjoy Troy's website.
I thought this photo was strikingly similar to Troy's 'Daphne' in his above illustration of 'Apollo and Daphne' published in 'Favorite Greek Myths' by Scholastic Press 1989. (Which is available at Amazon books.com). The original illustration is available in Troy's 'trunk sale' for $850, along with many other original pieces of his artwork, including a couple of original illustrations from the 'Redwall' series of books by author Brian Jacques of England, which, sadly this last spring, Brian passed away.   Enjoy!~

7 comments:

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

I am totally blown away. Your brother is extremely skilled and I have NO business thinking that I could get my scribbles published!!! WWOWOOWOWWW! EXCELLENT WORK and that tree is unbelievable! HELLO THERE DEAREST! HAPPY THURSDAY! Anita

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Dearest Teresa,

Thank YOU for stopping by last night! Clair de Lune as that affect on me. After 53 years of hearing that piece, first hearing it when I was very little in my home, I would weep. There is something otherworldly, heavenly, sacred...about that music. Not only is it technically difficult and moody, it also reminds me of a gentle childhood that my father gave to me when I was small. Sometimes I just listen to it because I need a quiet and private space to cry!!!!!!

I return back to school on Monday for teacher meetings. My summer was unforgettable, and now I have to get used to the noise and stress. May your fall season be blessed with family and LOVE!!! Anita

gpc said...

I love the photo of the tree. How could one not be tempted to believe in tree spirits after seeing that?! Your brother's work is wonderful, I can't wait to check out his website.

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Oh my dear, dear friend!!!!

Your comment is stunning, and reminds me of the wonderful things that I have had to think of for my kids, those who finish early! Unfortunately, I do not have any teachers in my young life that stand out; my inspirational teachers came much later in my 40s while I was studying French and educational courses. But I think things work out in miraculous ways; I always say I try to give away what I never had. What a wonderful teacher Mrs. Sorenson was...to teach those who finished early to crochet..to keep those little fingers moving!!! AND FOR THE BOYS, to get their fine motor skills working! Oh yes, teachers have tricks up their sleeves and every year it gets more and more interesting. So tomorrow, I go to my first teacher meeting of the new school year and then the rest of the week is planning and preparing the classrooms. THEN, the day after Labor Day is IT!! Thank you for a wonderful summer of friendship, and I will BE AROUND MOST DEFINITELY; I think the first week of actual class may take me a while to get used to:

getting up at 3:34am to blog, workout, eat
take my husband to work eastbound
getting myself to work westbound
getting to my classroom at 6:15am. WHEW! I can keep it up, but after a great summer of having NO PRESSURE, I wonder how I'll do!!!

BIG HUGS, Anita

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

SWEET FRIEND!

Oh it was like reading a FAIRYTALE when I read your comment!!!!! WOOOO HOOOO...HEAVEN. Yes, the ultimate ending, the REAL SHOW...we are only in rehearsal down here...but the curtain will open one day...not CLOSE. NO, it will open to reveal the production of an eternity!!!!

Dream, live, learn, and mostly, LOVE.

Peace to you sweet sister! Anita

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

THERESA!!!

THANK YOU for coming by to tell me about that blog that needs a NAME for the shop, IN FRENCH!!!! I will go now.

How are you?

My first week back at school is fabulous. Now, I just need the energy to carry me through standardized tests, conferences, testing, report cards, testing....I just want to teach!! But that is part of it all, I guess!

Be well my sweet friend!!! AND THANK YOU! Anita

Anonymous said...

I love his illustration for The Secret Garden book. Is his Web site/blog still online or changed?