Ken Priebe's Blog

Let There Be Owls Everywhere, the companion volume to Gnomes of the Cheese Forest, is now available for pre-order!

Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Releasing on Halloween 2019, this is a second volume of illustrated poetry to delight young readers of all ages. Here there be monsters and bumps in the night, including a ghost train, a closet full of skeletons, a princess, a dragon, a shepherd, the wretched horrible Hickle-Snort, and owls. Owls everywhere.

Six years in the making, Gnomes of the Cheese Forest and Other Poems is finally here!


It's been a whirlwind couple of months, going through a few proofs and such, but I've finally flicked on the switch and the book is now available to order online at: 
Amazon.comAmazon.co.ukAmazon.com.auBarnesandNoble.com
Jars full of gratitude to everyone who has stood by me and lent their steadfast support and encouragement!  
There is so much more I could say, and probably will soon....but for now, keep following my social media channels as the best place for random updates. 

It's a TBT to the summer of 2014, almost mid-way through the many-year production of this book. My daughter Ariel was 7-years-old and went through a phase where she would always draw a butterfly in the right corner of all her drawings. This became the inspiration for one of the poems I wrote for the book, and Ariel got to contribute her own illustration as well.




Here is A Butterfly in the Right Corner, also narrated by Ariel (who is now 11), the subject of the final teaser trailer leading to book release.



The first physical proof is currently being shipped to me to ensure final approval. Stay tooned!

Another trailer! Keep following on Facebook and my new Instagram channel for updates.

Listen in close...the gnomes are coming!

Behold, the first teaser trailer for Gnomes of the Cheese Forest and Other Poems, coming soon in 2018. More updates to come...

In book news and some new online developments, much is happening and I hope to have something definite to announce here in the near future.

In other news, it's that time of year again for INKTOBER and I'm drawing everyday. Follow me here to check out the things.

#Inktober2017 #Inktober SHYA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Oct 7, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT

Time for an overdue update. I had some animation projects that kept me busy through the spring but in the last few weeks I've been getting back to the book and getting some new illustrations done.

Here's a few details.

Gettin' there... #illustration #inprogess #books #drawings #storytelling #cheeseforestA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Jun 25, 2017 at 9:24am PDT

At it again... #drawing #illustration #books #roughpencilsketch #cheeseforestA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Jul 4, 2017 at 10:34pm PDT

Getting there... #drawingdetail #inprogess #illustration #books #cheeseforestA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Jul 16, 2017 at 3:14pm PDT

Ever feel like someone's watching you? #illustration #inprogess #drawingdetail #books #cheeseforestA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:21pm PDT

Drawing on the deck... #drawing #illustration #books #cheeseforestA post shared by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Jul 3, 2017 at 3:53pm PDT

Here is a video I posted on Facebook Live recently, the inking of a book illustration in progress...

 

Posting a few updates. Progress has been steady on the book in terms of writing, re-writing, editing and re-illustrating. The title poem in particular has been getting a major make-over in terms of the drawings, and I'm really happy with how they are turning out. I've been showing little snippets online so I've bunched them all here.

All-natural, solar-powered light table. #drawing #illustration #artworkA photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Aug 10, 2016 at 5:03pm PDT

Gnomes in progress... #drawing #pencildrawing #pencilsketch #books #illustration #cheeseforestA photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Aug 23, 2016 at 9:54pm PDT

Back at it... #ink #drawing #illustration #books #cheeseforestA photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 24, 2016 at 2:40pm PDT

...and here is an illustration for a new poem that has made its way into the book.

Stages of drawings... #books #illustration #pencilsketch #ink #cheeseforestA photo posted by Ken A. Priebe (@ken.a.priebe) on Sep 11, 2016 at 7:03pm PDT

I'm hoping to start posting more on the blog again soon, once I sort out a few important things on the overall plan and progress for how it's all going to come together as a REAL BOOK! It will happen, by hook or by crook.

In other news, I'm doing the #Inktober challenge again this year, so follow me on Instagram and Twitter for daily drawings all through this month.

...and here is the third and final page spread for Waiting , continuing from Part 1 and Part 2 before it.

(Click the image to view larger)

















A few words on the inspiration behind this poem and illustration: it's kind of a mash-up of images & ideas invoked by an old LP album cover of Saint-Saens' The Carnival of Animals and the song Look at the Animals by Jethro Tull. I wanted to create something with the same feel of absurdity, plus I just love the idea of animals wearing people clothes, especially really fancy ones. I have no idea what kind of show they're waiting in line to see...that's up to you.