childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas
John Aardema
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illustration - The Spirit of Christmas-The Spirit of Christmas is everywhere. But we have to 
look for it. I think most people don't see it at all. But for 
the very young--or young at heart--they can find it.

I drew this in three parts--the buildings were one part, 
Santa, the boy, and his mom were another, and the 
crowd, another. I combined them using Photoshop. I 
find that's easier when the backgrounds are complex. - Aardema, John
The Spirit of Christmas is everywhere. But we have to look for it. I think most people don't see it at all. But for the very young--or young at heart--they can find it. I drew this in three parts--the buildings were one part, Santa, the boy, and his mom were another, and the crowd, another. I combined them using Photoshop. I find that's easier when the backgrounds are complex.
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Next four illustrations from John Aardema:
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - pussageno-Of course, Papageno is the bird-catching character from Mozart's "The Magic Flute".  I must tell you that inspiration for this picture also came from Nick Cave's Soundsuits.

How many birds do you know?

A robin?
A black-capped chickadee?
A blue jay?
A red-headed woodpecker?
An owl?
A red-winged blackbird?
A parakeet?
A parrot?
A quail?
A grackle?
A cockatoo?
A toucan?
A sparrow?
A pheasant?
A cardinal?
A bluebird?
A kingfisher?
An oriole?
A purple finch?
A yellow finch?
A scarlet tanager?
A creeping nuthatch?
A ruby-throated hummingbird?

See, I bet you know a lot more than you thought you did!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - the wizard's chair-Happy Halloween! What happens when a girl wanders into the Wizard King’s haunted house, puts on his hat, and sits in his chair? I have no idea, but it doesn’t look like anyone in the house does either.

I’m not sure, but I think a story is starting to form. I was only making a painting for my October postcard, but it looks like I’ve got a children’s book along with it, to boot!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - claude claude the vampire moth-This is Claude Claude. He's the main character in my picture book dummy--Claude Claude, The Vampire Moth-- which won first place in the 2006 SmartWriters.com book dummy division! Yay, me!
illustrator - portfolio - Aardema, John - claude's class-This is Claude Claude's classroom. He's not there because he's skipping school. He must be celebrating the fact that I won first place in the 2006 SmartWriters.com book dummy division.
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas
childrensillustrators.com - illustrator - John Aardema - The Spirit of Christmas
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