Dear Friends, From April 1, 2010 until September 29, 2010, I will be donating $5.00 from the sale of each of my prints to Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital’s most urgent needs. As many of you already know, after the birth of my son Luca, unanticipated complications put my life in serious danger. Were it [...]

This video shows illustrations by Irene Luxbacher that were turned into an animated song. It’s called “Monster in my Closet” written and performed by Juno winner Jen Gould from her CD “Music Soup”.

You can also watch it on Irene’s YouTube Channel.

Here are some comments from the book blogging community about “Mattoo, Let’s Play”.

• “Such a great example of a child’s imagination!”
• “I absolutely love the illustrations in this book.”
• “I love how the illustrations show imagination at work.”

Mattoo, Let’s Play! is the first picture book that has been both written and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher. Mattoo, Let’s Play! is published by Kids Can Press and is now in stores (February 2010).

Here are a couple of early reviews of Mattoo, Let’s Play!

Print these fun free art and storytime activity and sticker pages to extend your child’s experience.

Send in pictures of your art inspired from any of Irene’s art books to post in the “Your Art” gallery.

Ruby can’t understand why her cat, Mattoo, never wants to play. Ruby is good-natured but is perhaps too boisterous. Will Mattoo ever want to play with Ruby? Will Ruby ever win Mattoo’s affection? With striking acrylic illustrations, Mattoo, Let’s Play! is a visually rich story that shows how playing carefully and gently with a pet can make all the difference…

Have a look inside The Imaginary Garden, illustrated by Irene Luxbacher.

Theodora loved her grandfather’s old garden. His new apartment’s balcony is too windy and small for a garden. But what appears to be a drawback soon leads to a shared burst of creativity as Theo and her Poppa decide to paint a new garden. As they work side by side — sowing seeds with brushes and paint — a masterpiece begins to take shape that transforms the balcony into an abundant garden. When Poppa goes away on holiday, Theo helps nurture the garden and it begins to take on a life of its own. This garden grows not from soil but from love, imagination and creativity. Readers will marvel at each stage of this fertile garden as it grows from seed to full flower, revealing the power of art to enrich our lives.

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) serves as the U.S. national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), which was founded to promote international understanding and good will through books for children and teenagers. The IBBY Honor List is a biennial selection of outstanding, recently published books honouring writers, illustrators, and translators from IBBY member countries. The Imaginary Garden written by Andrew Larsen, Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher published by Kids Can Press has been been chosen for the 2010 USBBY Outstanding International Books Honour List…

The nominees for the Governor General’s Literary Award in Children’s Literature, Illustration, introduce young readers to an eclectic cast of characters, including a hungry frog and a big fat momma, and send them to far-off locales including an island in Nunavut and, er, Newfoundland. Mark Medley of the National Post spoke with the five artists about their work.

Hannah Sung looks at the Governor General’s Literary Award finalists in the category of children’s literature - Illustration   Here are five books you might like. They’re finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards in the category of children’s literature — illustration. The award will be announced on Tuesday, November 17, and we’ll be speaking with [...]

Irene was a finalist in 2009 for a Governor General’s Award for her illustrations found in The Imaginary Garden.

Toronto, October 14, 2009 – The Canada Council for the Arts today announced the finalists for the 2009 Governor General’s Literary Awards. The finalists include authors, illustrators and translators from ages 27 to 78. The English and French awards are in the categories of fiction, non‑fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation. In total, 70 books are shortlisted…

I love Larsen’s story, its celebration of the rich imagination of children, and I love Luxbacher’s art here, rendered in pen and ink and multimedia collage. It’s an absolute feast for the eyes, with her generous—but well-composed and not too overwhelming—splashes of brilliant color. (The forget-me-not spread, “Poppa’s favorite flower,” puts the pop in eye-popping.) I hope that Luxbacher, who also teaches art, does even more children’s books.

“…But what made me LOVE the book were the illustrations. Oh my goodness, they are simply gorgeous. Luxbacher uses pen and ink and multimedia collage, with bold, deep colors. The flowers, in particular, positively leap from the page. These are pictures that I would put on my wall in a heartbeat. Theo and Poppa’s bodies are rendered using colorful collage, while their faces are drawn in more refined pen and ink, a contrast that works well.”…

Painting is fun, and 123 I Can Paint! by Irene Luxbacher captures all the fun of painting sceneries and exploring art with 8 great lessons for children ages 4 to 7. Each project explores a basic painting technique and demonstrates how colors affect the mood and atmosphere of a painting. Art teachers, homeschooler, and parents of young artists have much to gain from 123 I Can Paint! The supplies needed for each project are very basic items. The instructions are also very easy to follow and teach to young children.

Teach young children the basics of sculpting with 123 I Can Sculpt by Irene Luxbacher. 123 I Can Sculpt by Irene Luxbacher is a great introduction to sculpting. The projects are fun and interesting. The format is also easy to follow. For teachers and home schooling parents, each sculpting lesson can easily be worked into an existing reading, natural science, or social studies lesson. For parents, there is no better book on the market that shows kids how to have fun while sculpting their favorite animals.

The Jumbo Book of Outdoor Art encourages kids to always keep their eyes open for natural materials that can be used in art projects while also reminding children not to harm or damage their natural environment. This book also teaches children to try new tools and techniques, and serves as an excellent resource for art teachers. The Jumbo Book of Outdoor Art is a fantastic and versatile book that can be used across curriculums: mythical creatures for language arts, prehistoric images for history or social studies, and decomposition for science. Highly recommended for educators, the home school curriculum, and curious children.