Some things about me:

• My last name is pronounced “like”

• I am an active member of SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators)

• I currently have one submission-ready picture book proposal, and several others in progress.

• I love Art Nouveau and the poster art of Wes Wilson. …and birds. …and music… and–lots of other things!

• I have a funny and clever singer-songwriter/novelist/social-worker husband,

and a fascinating, lovely and artistic daughter–she is a 4.0 gpa college film production student who collects bones for fun.

• We live in the Missouri Ozarks on 15 acres with a spring creek that begins at an old spring house back in the woods.

Our home is unique and magical: built in 1950: a passive-solar, mid-century modern that served as a retreat house for nuns for two of its seven decades!

• I am trying to learn to play guitar, and trying to learn Spanish on Duolingo.

The trajectory toward mastery on both of these goals appears to be long-term ;-)

A summary of my career:

• 1995: BFA in Design & Illustration, Missouri State University

• 1995-2004: full time freelance illustrator

My clients have largely been in advertising: Borden, Tyson, Sears Portrait Studio, General American Insurance, etc.

My largest client, Dynamic Graphics, Inc., was a world-wide distributor of stock illustration. I created hundreds of original illustrations

for their “Designer’s Club” subscription art service.

• 2004: became a parent

• 2005-2012: K-12 public school art teacher Yes, I taught ALL of the grades, at a small school.

• 2015 (to present): began teaching art (as a contract teacher) for the Springfield Regional Arts Council, the Springfield Art Museum, and Placeworks.

I have taught art to pre-k children, drawing to teens, mixed media to adults, for kids at community centers, after school programs, summer art camps,

international field trips, and a Congolese women’s group. I’ve also led group mural projects and art installations through the Placeworks program.

• 2022: selected as the featured illustrator for the month of July for the KS/MO chapter of SCBWI

• 2023: awarded the 2023 KS/MO SCBWI illustration mentorship with illustrator Violet Lemay.

I am proud to have been chosen for this honor–Violet is generously helping me hone my portfolio to specifically attract clients in children’s publishing.

How I Create:

These days, most of my illustration work is done in Photoshop with my Wacom Cintiq,

but I still love traditional materials and mediums, so I often incorporate pencil drawing, watercolor, gouache, ink, collage and more.

My experience in illustration has given me a solid understanding of the process of creating successful finished images:

professionalism, collaboration, making needed changes, and staying on schedule.

In my illustration work, I am following twin guiding stars:

• Communicating ideas clearly and creatively, and

• Finding joy in the work–and making sure that shines through in the final art.

I love my life, and ultimately, I hope to infuse my work with emotion–to create art that reaches the hearts of others.