My Career

My career as a professional illustrator includes more than 300 picture, story, activity and educational books for children. Everything from alphabets to Mother Goose, original art to licensed characters, and my personal favorite: animals with clothes on.

I started my career as a greeting card artist in New York City after earning a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis. My goal, though, was always book illustration. Pre-computer, I spent my lunch breaks walking my portfolio around to publishing houses. Leaving it behind, hoping and praying that my work would not be lost, damaged or stolen, and that I’d be called for an interview. When I learned that this process was much better performed by an agent, I found one, quit my greeting card job and started getting book deals. I’ve since illustrated for most of the major publishers—Random House, Scholastic, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Golden Books, to name a few. I now work from the comfort of my home in the beautiful Oregon wine country, thanks to computers and overnight delivery.