​"Goldfish" Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor, acrylic ink, and digital drawing.

My favorite wolf returns to celebrate another big bad year. 

"He Huffed and He Puffed..." Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor, acrylic ink, and digital. 

I've kept this a bit on the down-low, but I've been working with the Children's Tumor Foundation for about a year (with plans stretching back about 2) to create a book for little children who have been diagnosed with a common illness called Neurofibromatosis 1, or NF1, which affects about 1/2500 children. It's a neurological illness that can produce tumors on pretty much any nerve in the body.
Since the illness is often diagnosed around the age of kindergarten, the CTF needed a children's book aimed for these young children, so that they could start to understand what's happening, and to have conversations with their parents, teachers, and friends. It also gives representation to kids just like themselves, which every kid deserves.
This project meant a lot to me, especially as I have been dealing with the aftereffects of a neurological autoimmune disease for the last decade now. It was a big change from my last book, and a great challenge to work on a fictional treatment of a non-fiction concept. The visuals needed to be clear and simple, and the language straightforward. My storyboards and script were run past doctors and psychiatrists before I could proceed to begin drawing. It was such a great learning experience, an overwhelmingly positive one.
I worked to make the book very friendly and positive, and used coffee and watercolor to make the book. I hope it helps some kid out there, somewhere.
"Café Au Lait: A Story of NF1 and My Special Spots" Jessica Boehman, 2023. The Children's Tumor Foundation. Purchase here for your library, child, or classroom. 

I love editing this drawing every so often to suit my mood. This year, it's gone full Halloween.

"Nothing to Fear (Halloween variant)" Jessica Boehman, 2016-2023. Colored pencil, pencil, and digital. 

Concept drawing for a picture book project. Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor, gouache, acrylic ink, ink, and digital. 

This is a concept drawing for a new story idea based on a childhood memory from when I was living in Germany, attending a Department of Defense school. 

"The Contest" Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor, ink, acrylic ink, and digital. 

A pitch for a book for my friend, a poet, for his new volume of poems. While the illustration won't get used, it was really fun to try to harness imagery from a poem of the same name. Thanks for the chance, Juan!
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"Golondrina con Ojo del Papa (For Juan and his Pop)" Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor, acrylic ink, and digital ink.

I had the pleasure to illustrate a poster for our music department, the second in a series. (Last year, it was the Art of Guitar).
I've been taking both guitar and voice lessons for nearly the last two years, so this poster was inspired by how my awesome voice coach helps us to visualize breath and sound moving through a body.
It's been so lovely learning new skills late in life, and finding my own, very new relationship to music.
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Art of the Voice, Jessica Boehman, digital drawing, acrylic ink, and watercolor. 2023.

I drew this back in the summer and knew it was missing something. The girl's pose was decidedly mythological, and made me think of Michelangelo, so I modified my original drawing to have it make better sense in my brain.

​The original looked like this:

This is what it became.
"Leda on the R Train" Jessica Boehman, 2023. Watercolor and digital drawing.
Buy a beautiful print here.​