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Interview with Illustrator Bob Ostrom And Author Mary Jane McKittrick

Mar 3rd, 2010
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deskofZulahI’ve been working on a series of kids books with super talented author/creator Mary Jane McKittrick. There are 3 books in the series so far with several more in the works.

One of the characters in the books, Zuhma Talmadge,book3blog1 is the editor of the local paper in Shady Pines. This is a fun little interview Mary Jane and I did with editor Zulah Talmadge…

Author, Mary Jane Mckittrick and illustrator, Bob Ostrom about the latest offering from the Boomer and Halley© project. A series of Little Lessons. Big Results.™ stories for children 4-8 and the adults who love them.

Zulah: Mary Jane, how did you come up with the idea for the “Boomer and Halley – Election Day” book?

MJSmall

Author Creator Mary Jane McKittrick

Mary Jane: During a phone conversation with Bob.

Bob: Yeah. We were talking about the craziness in politics and I said, “We’ve got to have an election in Shady Pines.”

Mary Jane: The challenge was to include lasting values, like we do in all Boomer and Halley stories, and make that work in a book about politics.

Zulah: Especially politics in a small town.

Bobblog

Illustrator Bob Ostrom

Bob: This is why I really like this project. We take topics that people are talking about and make it possible for adults to talk to kids about them in a different way.

Zulah: So true. A book about an election that includes lessons about honesty and forgiveness is a neat trick.
Let’s take a short break. We’ll be back in a moment.

You can find the original post here: http://blog.boomerandhalley.com/

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Posted in: Interviews.
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Tara Reed talks to Expert Daniel Tardent about SEO.

Feb 22nd, 2010
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Bob-ostrom-studio-seal-of-approvalIf you ever had any questions about SEO you’ll want to check out the excellent interview Tara Reed did with SEO expert Daniel Tardent. This interview definitely gets the Bob Ostrom Studio Seal of approval. It answered a lot of nagging questions I had about SEO and best of all I didn’t have to run all over the internet collecting tidbits of convoluted information. It was all there in plain English. Can it get any better then that? Sure can, not only is Daniel an SEO expert he also specializes in helping artists create beautiful websites.

You may have heard me talk with Tara on the podcast  Creative Independence (episode 202). She is a wealth of knowledge and information. If you are not following her on twitter or her blog check her out. You’ll be happy you did. Here are just a couple of the many places you can find her:

@ArtistTaraReedArtist-Tara-Reed
Art Licensing Blog

SEO-Artist-program-daniel-tardentHer interview with Daniel Tardent is here on  Tara’s Website. To listen to the recorded interview make sure you sign up for the free audio replay.

If you are even the least bit confused about SEO this interview will help straighten things out for you. Daniel puts things in simple to understand terms that any artist can appreciate and learn from. Listening to Daniel speak about SEO really helped clear up a few things for me and I’ll bet it will do the same for you.

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Posted in: Uncategorized.
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It’s Promo Time Again

Feb 18th, 2010
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bobopromo

That's me at the desk putting in another late night.

It’s that promo time of year again and I’ve been working on this year’s submissions.  Most of them are in production now and will soon be on their way to the printer.

Here’s a piece that didn’t quite make the cut. You might remember it from an earlier post. I had hoped to use it in this years promo line up but the concept didn’t quite fit the bill. I liked the way it come out though so I’ll probably use it for something else later in the year.

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Posted in: self promo.
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Mini Canvas

Feb 8th, 2010
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P3100210I’ve been having a lot of fun with these mini canvases lately. Here’s one I did with my Jerry’s class. These things are great.

Our theme for the last class was Under the Sea (I thought it would be fun to do a snail). We used acrylic paint, sharpie markers, clear gel medium, sand and glitter.

It’s a great little project. Super fun, super affordable…and I’m hooked. Here how it works. First we sketch our creature onto the mini-canvas (The one shown here is 4″X5″ and goes for about 3 bucks). The next step is to paint in the image using acrylic paint. Once you’ve finished painting it’s time to add some texture. Continue reading →

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Posted in: Classes, artwork.
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The Bob O Show on Ustream

Jan 29th, 2010
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bob-ustreamlogoI’ll be live tomorrow, January 30th on Ustream… Sorry for the last minute notice I’ve been very busy this month so I’m just kind of squeezing the show in here and there when I can.

I’ll be working on the Bob O Show logo again. This time it’ll be Photoshop. I should be finishing this up soon. Once it’s done I’ll be looking for new projects so if you have any requests or suggestions please let me know. Hope to see you then.

The Bob O Show On Ustream

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Posted in: Ustream.
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Trade with artist Cyn Narcisi

Jan 26th, 2010
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yellow hat pig

How fun is this art?

I just received my latest trading card from Cyn Narcisi.  You may be familiar with Cyn from her work with Lucasfilm, The TOPPS Company, Inkworks Trading cards, and Titan Magazines.

Cyn sent me a note last week letting me know she’d like to make a trade. I checked out here site and she has some really fun pieces. There was this pig with a little yellow hat and a striped shirt that jumped out at me right away. I was psyched when she agreed to make the trade with me. I just received the art yesterday and am looking forward to finding a spot on my office wall for it. Continue reading →

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Posted in: Trading cards.
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Speaking to Art Students

Jan 25th, 2010
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pencilquestionmarkI will be speaking to some art students this Friday. I’m sure it will be a lot of fun. I always enjoy talking to people about what I do and warping….er shaping young minds.

If you were (or are) an art student what topics would interest you most?

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Posted in: Appearances, Classes.
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Help, There’s a Gator in my Tub!

Jan 22nd, 2010
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I started this one on Ustream a little while ago. Just about ready to wrap it up. Thought you guys might like to see where I’m at. I’ll add the last step tomorrow…

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Posted in: artwork.
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If You Could Make Up Your Own Super Hero.

Jan 21st, 2010
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superheroIf you could make up your own SUPERHERO or SUPER VILLAIN who would you be?
What super powers would you possess ?


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Posted in: Questions and Answers, Uncategorized.
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The Bob O Show on Ustream

Jan 15th, 2010
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Picture 2

I decided for my first show to work on the Bob O. Show logo

The Bob O Show went live on Ustream yesterday. As far as first shows go it was a total Ustream disaster. It seemed whatever could go wrong did…

About 15 minutes into the show I lost my chat. I couldn’t understand why everyone had become so quiet. Suddenly the phone on my desk began to ring. It’s my pal Chris Wilson (you might know him better as the co-host from the Creative Independence podcast). Kind of unusual for him to call right in the middle of the show especially since I know he’s watching. I’m pretty sure I know why he’s calling though, so I answer. My headset picks up the entire conversation.

He tells me I’m still live and it’s just the chat that has cut out. We have some fun with this as I frantically attempt to refresh the chat window. The chat window is not cooperating however so I continue to click away at the refresh button. Nothing happens.

I hang up the phone with Chris and suddenly the chat window comes to life. Fifteen refreshed windows begin popping up one after another. Each time I shut one down a new one pops up. Finally I get things under control. Somebody suggests that Dani (of Dani Draws) should start a Ustream blooper reel on the Art Cast Network. I volunteer and some good natured ribbing takes place. Once again the chat room becomes a lively place.

As bad as it all sounds I had an absolute blast.  Everyone watching the show was great. Their comments were hilarious and nobody seemed to mind the train wreck. Despite the calamity it was really fun and reminded me of the days I used to work in a studio. I’d like to thank everyone who joined me and I promise the next show will be much better. After all the only place from here is up.

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Posted in: Ustream.
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