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FOR KIDS
I published two children's books about construction toys under the title "Construction Buddies that sold 97,000 books. I also painted a 40-foot mural with kids helping for the local elementary school. Other kids' projects are shown.

Christmas "Rocking Horse" Advent Calendar
Made of 1/8 inch plywood and acrylic paints. There are 24 little hooks in the rocker and small gifts are wrapped and hung from each one for my son, Cole, to open in the days leading up to.

Christmas "Rocking Reindeer" Advent Calendar
Made of 1/8 inch plywood and acrylic paints. There are 24 little hooks in the rocker and small gifts are wrapped and hung from each one for my son, Cole, to open in the days leading up to.

Cole and Erik, With Cole's Advent Calendar

"Construction Buddies" Picture Book Series, 2000
My young sons loved construction equipment, but the only picture book that gave these machines human attributes was Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel from the 1940s! So, I decided to come up with my own picture book series. Published by Troll Communications, who named the series “Construction Buddies.” the two books I made with Lisa McCourt, who authored them, sold nearly 100,000 copiers before an interloper from Britain, Bob the Builder, arrived on Nickelodeon and killed our sales. Timing is everything.

Concept and character study for "Construction Buddies" picture book (2000)
The Construction
Buddies are small toys and live in a backyard sandbox. Here, Digger is about to fall into a hole.
Medium: watercolor on paper
Buddies are small toys and live in a backyard sandbox. Here, Digger is about to fall into a hole.
Medium: watercolor on paper

"Digger" Falling Into Hole
Medium: watercolor on paper

Construction Buddies Characters
There are seven characters in the series. Clockwise from the top, they are: Dozer, Jane the Crane, Digger (originally yellow, now red), Backhoe Joe, Terry the Terrified Truck, Betsy the Bucket Loader, and Bull (Dozer's big brother—Bull and Dozer, get it? 😊). Each character has a unique personality, and my goal was to feature each of them in their own book.
Sales were off to a strong start, with nearly 100,000 books sold. However, just as things were picking up, Bob the Builder—the top preschool TV show in Britain—debuted on Nickelodeon in the U.S. Without a TV show of our own, our sales flattened. Bad timing... 🫤
Before "Construction Buddies," the last popular book about an anthropomorphized construction machine was "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," first published in 1939.
Sales were off to a strong start, with nearly 100,000 books sold. However, just as things were picking up, Bob the Builder—the top preschool TV show in Britain—debuted on Nickelodeon in the U.S. Without a TV show of our own, our sales flattened. Bad timing... 🫤
Before "Construction Buddies," the last popular book about an anthropomorphized construction machine was "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," first published in 1939.

Poster of "Bull" Sleeping
Troy Communication published two books for the "Construction Buddies" series: "Dozer's Wild Adventure" and "Dozer To The Rescue, still available.

"Dozer"uncovers something in the sandbox
From "Dozer To The Rescue."

Construction Buddies characters Jane the Crane, Dozer, and Bull.
From "Dozer To The Rescue."

"Bull" Is Stolen Away by a Dog,
From "Dozer To The Rescue."

"Dozer" Wants To See What's Outside The Sandbox
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Little "Dozer" Escapes The Sandbox
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Dozer encounters a terrifying lawn mower
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Dozer flees a gopher
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Dozer is thrown back into the sandbox
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Dozer Crashes Back Into The Sandbox
From "Dozer's Wild Adventure"

Concept sketches for possibly animating the characters

I painted a 24’ x 8’ mural on sheets of plywood for my sons’ elementary school
This is the unveling

Painting the Mural in My Front Yard
I used trees in my yard as an easel. Here, I'm painting two of eight panels.

Painting the Mural in My Front Yard

Coloring the mural with school kids

Mural drawing compared with photo of the final mural
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