IF: cultivate

I quite like this idea that I came up with for this week's IF; it's very quickly executed in my terribly swollen (and quite difficult to make scans from) sketchbook, but I'm thinking of doing a better version of it.  It might not be a bad idea to make this into a series of four seasons- this being the summer.  I like the strangeness of it. 
Speaking of strangeness...sometimes I wonder whether I'm just kidding myself. Is there really a place in kiddie lit for me?  Is that, in any case, what I'd really like to do?  Ideally, I know that I'd rather illustrate picture books for teenagers and adults...yeah, that's a lucrative market- lots of THAT kind of stuff around... I often feel as though my style is unfortunately between markets- too weird/creepy/non kiddie for the kiddie market, too naive,not slick (or sophisticated or collage-y or urbane or whatever, depends on the moment) for the editorial market.  It seems as though I'm just missing the mark everywhere... but what to do? What I do is what I do...and it seems to me that to be myself is the only way to proceed.  Some people will like it- it's just a matter of finding those people. 

My focus for the next little while is going to be developing new pieces for my portfolio.  I feel as though I haven't changed things around for a while- not that I haven't been doing anything, it's just that so few things have, shall we say, 'made the cut'.  I'm pretty happy with a number of the ideas that I've come up with recently just playing around and sketching (this IF being a good example).  Here is another recent sketch:

...which I developed further into:

(not sure that I'm happy with this, though...)

Another that I'm considering doing a 'good' version of:

 Well, that's all the news of note for the moment.  I am continuing my valiant (if insufficient) attempts to augment my online presence- I'm considering joining either lunarize (their winter 'publisher' gallery was sold out) or hire an illustrator (in order to further the aforementioned presence online).  I must follow up on mailings.  Oh, and do some more DRAWING, too... further sketching for client, pencils for dummy, pieces for portfolio.  Bonne semaine!