biography

After 3 years of study at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and another 3 years working as a graphic designer, I struck out on my own as a freelance illustrator. It wasn’t until the adoption of my two sons and the initiation of their bedtime storybook ritual that I became fascinated with the world of children’s books. In my own youth growing up as a one of five children of immigrant parents, books were a rare luxury. We had a 2nd hand volume of encyclopedias and some children’s classics and an illustrated bible, which I still have to this day. After immersing myself in current picture book offerings, I turned my artistic attention to acquiring my own style of children’s illustration. Influenced by the quirky angles of Glin Dibley and Giselle Potter, the vibrant colors of Mark Buehner, the layered textures of Ezra Jack Keats and the elementary charm of G. Brian Karas, I experimented, refined and eventually developed a style. Using a glazing technique with watercolor and layers of gouache, my main objective is to infuse attitude and personality into the characters I create and tell their story visually. I find myself having an emotional attachment to these conjured individuals. In particular, I have a soft spot in my heart for pint-sized monsters, ghouls and aliens, both in my art and in real life. My paintings caught the attention of art rep Nicole Tugeau of Tugeau 2 and I became one of the first in her current group of artists. I also serve as the representative in Illinois for the SCBWI Illustrators Network offering monthly meetings, educational programming and social gatherings. In addition to an ever-growing list of clients of educational and religious book publishers, I am also focused on the trade market as an author-illustrator with my own picture book manuscripts currently making the rounds. One is about a pack of pint-sized ghouls, their haunted house and thunder....an autobiography. Client List: Heinemann Publishers Scott Foresman/Pearson Concordia Publishers Scripture Press David C. Cook Publishing Me + Mi Publishing Ladybug Magazine Cricket Magazine Sundance Publishers

Click on the cowgirl to see my artist's secret tool.