Over the years, many fans of Sora and the Cloud (story inspired by my son) have asked “Hey, when is it Yume’s turn?” My daughter has been patiently wondering, too… Well, I’m excited to announce that I’ve started working on a new story inspired by Sora’s little sister Yume and her own adventures on the Cloud! It is still a work in progress, but rather than wait until the manuscript is finished, I wanted to get back into illustrating and exploring some imagery. Here is a first glimpse of what has been stirring in my mind and the origin story of the inspiration.

save the date…

From September 29th – October 13th, 2018 some of these new original artworks will be on display along side other talented artists. Learn more about our group show at my Leaf Palette Exhibition page. Location is at spaceIN art gallery in Pleasanton.

origin story…

As you can see, this illustration may feel more whimsical from what I normally create. Well, I had some help. In 2010 my husband posted an “art series” of drawings that our son, Sora created at age 4 at the time.  Over the past 8 years, I’ve always thought about these drawings. 

I scanned and printed out Sora’s drawings and pasted them into a scrapbook.

Sora’s original drawing of “Sro,” age 4.

Thumbnail sketch of my own idea of “Sro,” age !?! uhhh… never mind.

Recently, I took a fresh look at Sora’s drawing and imagined “Sro” as an underwater sea creature. Its back “humps” reminded me of the rocks protruding from the ocean. Compared to Sora’s other characters, “Sro’s” feet are drawn asterisk-like in shape instead of “L” shaped. I thought they may be webbed for swimming.

Thanks for your patience, Yume especially. Stay tuned for more new illustrations to come!