Alison Garwood Jones

Gan Arts Fest

Originally published in September 2024 in Blog, Books on Grief, Books on Parental Loss, Gift Ideas, Grief, Pen Jar Productions

This past weekend, I took the train up to Gananoque, Ontario and introduced I MISS MY MOMMY— both the book and six framed portraits from its pages — to this historic town during its annual Gan Art Fest, part of Ontario Culture Days.

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End of Summer

Originally published in August 2024 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

Riding The Cyclone at Coney Island in the 1920s

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Practice Makes Better

Originally published in November 2022 in Blog

  I almost never capture someone’s likeness on the first try. I only nail a portrait after a lot of calisthenics (unrelated mark making). Drawing, like any art form, involves a ton of unseen labour and practice.   #BrushPenArt #SharpieArt #Caricatures

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Storytime with Alison

Originally published in July 2022 in Blog

My latest title is a video book for kids. Even though I adore books on paper, I’m obsessed with experimenting with 21st-century publishing formats. I self-published this picture book through my imprint, Pen Jar Productions. Private imprints are another nod to our ever-expanding creative frontiers. When you are the writer, art director, and publisher you […]

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Kay Thompson

Originally published in April 2022 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

“Getting bored is not allowed.” Who is the Kay Thompson in your life? #Eloise  

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Art Classes: Cocoa & Paint

Originally published in March 2022 in Art Classes, Blog, Toronto Illustrators

Cocoa and Paint Jamii is hosting a series of FREE “Cocoa and Paint” workshops for people of ALL ages in our community. March 30 – April 6 – April 13, 2022 (3 evenings) from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. At the St. Lawrence Community Centre Funded by Rama Gaming House As a group, alongside artist Alison […]

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Today’s Old Master Copy

Originally published in August 2021 in Blog

Look how the dog’s ear drapes over his leg like a neck tie!     Today’s old master copy is after P.D. Eastman’s classic 1960 storybook cover, Are you My Mother?   P.D. (Phil to his friends) was an American illustrator and screenwriter who trained with Walt Disney Productions and worked with the Signal Corps […]

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Goodbye, Instagram. Hello again, WordPress

Originally published in July 2021 in Blog

What? You didn’t hear the news? Instagram’s 3-column scrolling gallery loved by illustrators, photographers and influencers alike is going away.  The very thing that makes Instagram unique — its square photo sharing feature (and filters) — is about to be wiped out and replaced by all video all the time. But why? you ask.   […]

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How I Drew This

Originally published in July 2021 in Blog, How to Draw, Illustration, Toronto Illustrators

Process Porn: I drew this landscape in the @Procreate app using the “Peppermint” pencil ✏️ (in the Brush Library under “Sketching”). Paul Cézanne was my guide. His angled brushstrokes had a consistent rhythm. They look like the wind blew them all in the same direction. I prefer Procreate’s pencil tools to it’s oil brushes (at […]

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Coco and Diana

Originally published in March 2021 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

Reading is my greatest joy. This exchange appeared in Amanda Mackenzie Stuart’s biography on Diana Vreeland called Empress of Fashion. Diana described the conversation in greater detail: “Coco [Chanel] was a nut on armholes. She never, ever got an armhole quite, quite perfect, the way she wanted it. She was always snipping and taking out […]

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