ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
I grew up in rural Minnesota. As a child, I loved to color and paint, yet it wasn't until high school that I realized I had enough ability to become an artist.
The summer after my high school graduation, I was offered a position as an assistant artist in a small design studio. At the time, I was signed up to attend an art school in California, but decided to postpone my college education and soon was learning about camera-ready art, rapidographs and rubber cement.
That was the beginning of a 15-year career as a graphic artist. My last position was as creative director for one of the McGraw-Hill divisions. What I learned about creating art for printing, meeting deadlines and working as part of a team is invaluable to what I do now. Graphic design really strengthened my composition skills.
I later received my degree in illustration from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, Colorado, an excellent school where I learned a tremendous amount about figure drawing, color theory, art history and more figure drawing. I completed the Institute of Children's Literature writing course.
I feel very fortunate to have been illustrating full-time for children since December 1995. It's a wonderful thing to be able to bring stories to life for children and it's what I've wanted to do for many years. I've illustrated over forty children's books and many magazine stories. I've also illust
rated textbooks, activity books, posters and book covers.
I live in the Colorado countryside with my husband and our two cats. I have three grown step-children and three step-grandchildren. When I'm not illustrating, I like to read, garden and cook. I speak French et si vous vouliez m'écrire en français, ce serait super! I'm a member of SCBWI and a former Co-Regional Advisor.
Click here to see a step-by-step demonstration of how I work.
