Happy New Year!

What did you do to close out the old year and ring in the new?

I was at a friend's house, playing games, laughing and generally having a great time. I also tried sushi for the first time. Which made me realize I might share something with this character --

Happy New Year!
Let's dream big and see what happens!

P.s. Want to dress your own penguin? He's available at ValerieCoulman.com.

A literary frog

I think I'm starting to get a grasp on why children's writing is the right spot for me. It seems that I have an overdeveloped sense of the absurd. The idea's too ridiculous? Ridiculous! Too far-fetched? Fabulous! Let's stretch our imaginations and make silliness sacrosanct.

Why? Because I think when we laugh, we learn too. It's the spoon full of sugar. It's the rainbow in the rain. It's the soft fondant center in the Easter Creme Egg.

So with that thought in mind (and, I'll confess, an Easter Creme Egg as an occasional diversion), I've been having some fun in my sketch pad this week. Here's what happened on Monday:

I call it "Reading Past Bedtime" and it's once again available as a coloring sheet on my website.

But for now...it's late and I have a good book waiting for me. I hope it's a silly one.

A Christmas coloring page

I did this little sketch awhile ago in prep for a painting I was working on for a local event. It's nothing terribly fancy but I really enjoyed the process of painting this candy cane. (I'll post the finished painting later.) But for now here's the sketch which is also available as a coloring page on my site. Maybe you know a little artist that would have fun with it this holiday season too.