Larger Paintings and Sketches (click below)

Mona
Poppins
Watch the making of video &
See more process photos!

The Ghost on
the Stairs
Coming Soon!

Summer playing outside on a beautiful day.

The age of Children's Books

Children's books are timeless. No matter what future technology comes along the power of children's books will always be between the listener and the reader. Bonds form when you get to act out your favorite stories, however fantastic or scary. Snuggled close or huddled around, these stories provide opportunities for us all to become a kid again, be silly, and even teach/learn life lessons. These are amazing moments in everyone's life and it is exciting to be a part of it.

When children are challeneged with the written word they often dive into the rich details of illustration. As a child, I recognized the special magic of being lost in illustration. I loved discovering every detail in the characters and at an early age I started developing my understanding of visual language. It is this love of children's books and the sense of discovery that pushes me make beautifully rich characters that tell a full visual story.

A truely original talent, Summer translates the world through her wonderful imagination and lives her style. She doesn't try to maintain a certain style, it just flows from her hands.-  Jason Kobs, Designer

Close Up of Summer's Paint palette.

Painting for a Child

Some of our earliest memories are of children's books and the connection between us and the reader. Art and story create a powerful time machine in the imagination of young children and still have amazing draw in our adult years. A story sets the stage and action, while illustrations transport us there. The flat pages take life and we have real experiences with our favorite characters. Not only do these characters stay with us in our dreams, but they often help define who we become. Many of us can remember our early t-shirts and backpacks with our favorite characters. Our school supplies keep our friends with us even in the classroom.

My experience with children's books has come full circle. For years I have been creating characters and having adventures. I started very early in life drawing. My characters have evolved over time, but I am very happy to say that my style is not something I dreamed up one day. My characters have always been mine. At times I have tried to draw a different way to fit in and it never worked, I always came back to drawing like me.

Painting for children is something that can represented in many different ways. My paintings are all hand painted with brush and board. Using traditional methods I get to feel the texture of the paint and paper. Layering of paint and mixing of colors helps create the real tactile finish to my work. Combining other mediums with the paint I have been able to push my work to a very interesting place, where many adults have no idea how I do it. This brings back a small sense of wonder for everyone. My style helps bridge the gap between the unknown origins of our favorite characters and the hard to pin-down medium in which we build stories.