Live Scribe Denver Event

Add live scribing to Jonathan’s resume!

Jonathan was hired by Ground Floor Media to “live scribe” during an event at Children’s Hospital about cyberbullying. It’s an important topic and he made sure to prepare so that he could offer helpful and accurate illustrations from a panel discussion.

As you may know, Jonathan has done a ton of video scribing, and he’s very comfortable with illustrating topics on camera. But it’s usually just a producer and maybe one other person in the room. The live scribe event was the first time Jonathan scribed in front of a group of people. He said he was on his toes the entire time, but he enjoyed doing it and would do it again!

Children’s Hospital will own the artwork that was created (3’x4′ on wooden panel), so all that’s left is some varnishing to lock in the illustrations. Fun times.

Thanks for stopping by! We’re Jonathan and Jennifer Fenske. Jonathan is a children’s book author and illustrator. Jennifer is a novelist who is currently editing an early chapter book she’s written in-between corporate marketing gigs.

Introducing a New Scholastic Book: Barnacle Is Bored by Jonathan Fenske

Oh happy day, we get to share our special news with you! Contracts are signed and edits are underway. Drum roll…

Scholastic will publish Jonathan’s children’s book, Barnacle Is Bored, in 2016!

This will be Jonathan’s first children’s book with Scholastic. His agent, the lovely Carrie Hannigan of HSG Agency, sold the book to Katie Carella at Scholastic. I just got the shivers typing that sentence. I mean, Sch-o-las-tic! Home of Harry Potter! Keeper of book fairs across the land. Eek and eek.

So, yeah, we’re just a little bit excited over here.

Barnacle Is Bored is a tale of a barnacle who is fairly ho-hum about his life. The tide goes in. The tide goes out. One day, in the midst of his boring life, Barnacle spies a saucy polka-dotted fish. Surely this fish has a great life, right? You’ll have to follow the very bored Barnacle to find out!

We are deeply grateful that Jonathan has been granted the opportunity to work with two great publishers; first Penguin USA and now Scholastic. Writing children’s books is the very thing my sweetie was made to do, I think. And it’s really gratifying to watch this unfold right here in our little studio.

Here are a few illustrations from the book, which could change, but will give you an idea. (Savvy readers of this blog might remember that I blogged about Barnacle before.)

 

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Jonathan is the author and illustrator of Love Is in the Air, Guppy Up!, Woodward and McTwee, and A Pig, A Fox and A Box (June 16, 2015). In 2016, Scholastic will publish Barnacle Is Bored. Jennifer (that’s me!) is the author of two novels for adults and has a few projects up her sleeves, illustrated by Mr. Fenske. 

Book Launch Buttons for Book Bloggers

We’re officially getting ready for the launch of A Pig, A Fox and A Box in June! This Young Reader (Penguin USA) Jonathan wrote and illustrated features three stories with Pig and Fox and their pranking antics involving a Box.

With each book, we like to send out copies to our book bloggers who are working hard to let readers know about great books, new and old. This year, we’ll mail one of these buttons with the books!

If you’re a book blogger who would like to receive a copy of A Pig, A Fox and A Box, please leave a comment or send a note to me, Jennifer, at jennifer [AT] fatandappy [DOT] com. Thank you!

Parents and library staff, if you are in the market for an easy reader or young reader children’s book, we invite you to check out Jonathan’s other titles with Penguin, Love Is in the Air, Guppy Up and Woodward and McTwee. 

Baby’s Leaving the Crib

It’s official: baby’s flying the nest. Our third daughter, who is three, is the proud owner of a new twin bed (actually, it’s the bed her older sister used before moving into her own room). The twin bed has a super comfy mattress which is much more luxe than her natural fiber organic crib mattress.

She’s used the new bed a few nights and all in all, it’s been a success. I think she likes the “bigness” of the experience. For us, it’s not even bittersweet. I am happy that our family is growing up. I used to be sad when the kids outgrew their clothes and such, but now, with a 9, 6 and 3 year-old, I’m excited that we can drop naps and do things. We travel easier. We see movies. We don’t have all the gear. 

Friends with younger children will ask me, “When do you know it’s time for a big-kid bed?” Of course, every child is different but we generally evicted our first two girls from their cribs when a new sibling was almost on the scene.

With Girl #3, it just seemed like the right thing to do. She’s getting bigger and the aforementioned organic mattress had a groove worn in it. Baby was also waking a lot at night. We think she probably just wasn’t comfortable.

So far, so good with the new bed. She’s sleeping great and seems to understand she should stay in the twin bed and not roam around the house at night.

Here’s a link to a children’s room interior design Pinterest board I made when we set up the room the first time with two twin beds. It doesn’t look much different now. I think I’ve said it before, but the painting in the picture, above, is my favorite of Jonathan’s.

Bonus: we’re selling things on eBay to help fund our summer vacay. This is incredibly fulfilling because our basement just has too much stuff: outdoor equipment, books, kid stuff. So, that crib will get a new home and we’ll be a little closer to the beach!

Crib: Baby Mod, “Modena”; Painting: “Poultry in Motion,” by Jonathan Fenske; Pouf: Crate and Barrel; Rug: Angela Adams. 

Happy Caturday!

I found this little gem of a cat last month when Jonathan was arranging some files. I was all, “Where did THIS come from? I love it!” And he’s so modest, he was all [SHRUG.] Needless to say, there’s a story about a cat rattling around in his brain. I shall sniff it out soon.

With no more further adieu, here is a fat cat for your Caturday. And it’s lovingly dedicated to Aunt Laura who loves cats.

Character design illustration by Jonathan Fenske

Time for a Beer Run: Character Design by Jonathan Fenske

Happy Monday from the studio! I thought it would be fun to kick off the week with a few character designs Jonathan did last week for clients.

First up is “Time for a Beer Run”:

Next up is this pretty fox for a client in Fort Lupton, CO.

Finally, we have this wild guy for a client in Denver, CO.

Character design is Jonathan’s first love. It’s the thing that comes most effortlessly to him. And I love seeing these fun and zany characters roll off of the assembly line in his brain!

Jonathan Fenske and the Very Busy February

Today, Dear Reader, enjoy this roundup of February in the life of two writers/one artist/illustrator/video scribe who are keeping it together with duct tape and just a teensy bit of coffee.

First up, and most excitedly, we have SECRET NEWS to share. There is a book. A picture book by Jonathan. To be published by a FANTASTIC new publishing house friend. A WONDERFUL editor. A great STORY and ILLUSTRATIONS. But until the contract is signed and the ink is dried, I can only be VAGUE and ANNOYING. Sorry ’bout that!

Two weeks ago, Jonathan traveled to Boston to video scribe for The Big Studio. He worked for almost a week, dodging huge snowdrifts, and scribing up a ton. Here’s a snap of his work:

Traveling for a husband and father of three young, howling girls is like a vacation, Jonathan tells us. And I (Jennifer) can agree. At the end of last year, I traveled out to Burbank, CA for a few meetings with the fab startup where I am a content consultant. Beautiful hotel? Nice meals in cool restaurants that aren’t Chick-Fil-A? No one saying,”Are you awake, Mom? It’s 5:05 a.m.” Yes, please!

Jonathan also continues to do drawing and painting commissions. He doesn’t paint for galleries anymore, but he certainly always has one or more canvases in the wings. This is a drawing for a client of his daughter when she was young. There was another drawing (by a different artist) of the client’s son. So, now they have a matching pair. The client was so pleased, he commissioned Jonathan to do a painting of the kids who are now older children/teens.

During February, Jonathan also finished up another children’s book that his fabulous agent, Carrie Hannigan, has making the rounds. Hopefully good news to come, soon!

One of Jonathan’s character design clients, 3W Races, makes the BEST race medals, tees and ribbons. Here’s a recent project Jonathan did for 3W’s Prairie Dog Half Marathon series. He designed the ribbon with PeeDee, the mascot (that he also created for 3W). If you were a runner, wouldn’t you love this custom medal rather than the generic “foot and wing” medal? If you dig PeeDee, you can visit 3W’s store, here, and suit up.

I think that’s about it! We also took the show on the road last week, visiting family in New Mexico. Jennifer wrote each morning for her work and Jonathan watched the little darlings. Now that we’re back home, it’s crunch time to get some projects turned in. Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

We’re Jennifer and Jonathan Fenske, creators of FatandAppy.com. Jonathan is the author/illustrator of Woodward and McTwee (Penguin USA), among other books. Jennifer blogs about faith and life at ThePenzy.com. 

New Video Scribe: Soluto

Jonathan worked with Room 214 once again to create another video scribe. Love this one, baby!

You can see more video scribes from Jonathan here and here. If you want to work with him, we recommend Room 214 wholeheartedly.

A few other things:

• Jonathan’s newly on Instagram @jonathanfenske
• Here is Jonathan’s page on his lovely literary agent’s (Carrie Hannigan of HSG Agency) website.
• And a fun mention of Woodward and McTwee on the fabulous book site, Growing Book by Book. By the way, they have the BEST Facebook page. Check it out!

That’s all for now. Thanks SO much for stopping by!

Character Design: 3W Races

Jonathan has been working on character design for Colorado-based 3W Races, a fabulous company that offers local racing events in partnership with local businesses that benefit local charities.

Jonathan was brought on to do character design for 3W’s “Peedy” mascot, also called “Prairie Dog.” Jonathan loves working with this young company and as a runner himself, he’s completely dialed in to what they are doing.

Here’s a look at Peedy running through the four seasons:

Jonathan’s also character designed other race characters, including a one-legged chicken. Here’s a cute story about Jonathan, a race through rain and mud, and our three girls.

Thanks for stopping by, ya’ll! We appreciate your support so, so much.

Denver Video Scribe: Telespine

You may remember Jonathan illustrates video scribes (also called “whiteboard animation”). He’s done a few recently in Denver/Boulder for Telespine, Asurion and Verizon. Here’s the Telespine video scribe. Listen for the funny background words and noises. Love the post-production on this one—Room 214 does such a great job, as always.