Michelle’s Book

Michelle in her studio with I Heard You Can Draw.

Hi there! I post about my plein air paintings with Lena, but did you know that I also wrote and illustrated a book? Let me give you a little background about this project, one which is so close to my heart. As a kid, I loved to draw. I would draw everything that I saw and everything that I remembered. I drew illustrations for stories that I wrote, and like many kids, I copied cartoons for fun (back then, my first cartoon characters that I copied were Fred and Wilma Flintstone). In school, the kids knew that I could draw, and I would often draw things for my classmates. At one point kids would bring in plain t-shirts and I would take them home, and then draw their favorite cartoon character on them with puffy paint (see below).

I still have one of the shirts that I made in elementary school. My classmates would bring in t-shirts to give to me. I would take them home and with puffy paint I would draw cartoon characters on them! I love this Ninja Turtles shirt that I still have.

As an adult, I became an art teacher. Over my 15+ years of teaching, I would (every now and then) come across a kid that was the “class artist”, as I like to call them. This is the kid who loves to draw, and everyone goes to them for help if a class project involved any type of drawing. Sometimes the kids would commission a custom drawing just for fun.

One day, after a lifetime of both being the class artist and then noticing them in my classes, I had an idea to write a story about the trials and tribulations of a “class artist” – a very specific group of gifted children who are talented in drawing. And while their peers admire them, those peers also unknowingly start to take advantage of the class artist’s talent and generosity.

So after many years of thinking, planning, rewriting, researching the self-publishing market, and vacillating on whether or not to put it out into the world, (I know, I need to grow a thicker skin as they say), I was finally able to bring my book to life. My little book was published in 2013 and has been available for little artists ever since. I present to you now, dear readers, my book, I Heard You Can Draw: A Story for Class Artists Everywhere.

The cover.

A page from the book.

So, if you know any little artists who would totally appreciate this story and relate to its protagonist, Sarah, order your copy here on Amazon. I would so appreciate your love and support.

Always,

Michelle