I’ve been an artist as far back as I can remember, from using a big chunky crayon as a kid to using Adobe Photoshop on my computer as an adult. Being an artist isn’t just a job title for me, it’s a way of life and a big part of how I define myself.

My home is in the Midwest but I haven’t lived here all of my life. I was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and my family and I moved often since my father was in the Air Force. The summer of my junior year in high school, we settled in Keokuk, Iowa, and I’ve lived in this area ever since.

My husband Steve, our son Kyle, and I live in the country surrounded by woods with a stocked pond about fifty feet from our house. We also have a grown daughter who is married with children of her own and though they don’t live here in Keokuk, they do live within a day’s visit from us. I love the peace and quiet of the area plus being able to see an incredible variety of wildlife right outside of my door. We’ve always had dogs, too: hunting dogs of my husband’s as well as my sheltie, Bonnie, who stays by my side when I draw. As a result of all of this, I’ve always been surrounded by what I love to draw.

During the course of my career as a free-lance artist, much of the artwork I’ve done has been for kids. I have been a professional illustrator since 1982, predominantly with the children’s educational publishing industry. A twenty-plus year career has resulted in an extensive portfolio and includes paintings and digital art for book covers and posters, black line art and full color art for book interiors, and many digital art images for product lines. I created images for Standard Publishing’s Vacation Bible School starter kit/products three years in a row and in addition, I have illustrated coloring books, puzzles, activity/sticker books, games, and lift-a-flap board books. I’ve also painted wildlife art, both for Ducks Unlimited of Iowa as well as limited edition prints and private commissions.

The publishing companies that I’ve illustrated for extend from coast-to-coast and a partial list follows:

McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing Scholastic Harcourt Achieve Standard Publishing Group

Childcraft Education Carson-Dellosa The Learning Journey Int. Ducks Unlimited of Iowa

The awards that my artwork has achieved are as follows:

• 2006 100 Best Children’s Products winner and 10 Best Active Products winner from Dr. Toy, “Animals of the World” 48 piece jigsaw puzzle, The Learning Journey International
  
  
• 2006 Game of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine, “Find it! Dinosaurs” puzzle double, The Learning Journey International
  
  
• Received first, second, and honorable mention ribbons, Kathryn Hart Exhibit Keokuk, IA, 1991, 1993, and 1997 respectively
  
  
• Commissioned by Ducks Unlimited of Iowa to create the Companion Print for the State Sponsor Package, 1991 and 1995
  
  
• Won fourth and sixth in the state, Iowa Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year/Print of the Year contests, 1991 and 1993 respectively

So much of what I have learned and accomplished has come from hard work and long hours at my drawing table and computer screen, not so much from a classroom. After graduation from Keokuk Senior High School, I received an Associate of Arts degree from Southeastern Community college in Keokuk, Iowa. Additionally, I took advanced education workshops for airbrushing and advanced illustration in 1988 and 1989 through Good Apple Publishing in Carthage, Illinois plus private tutoring in 1998 for the Adobe Illustrator computer program. From 1982 to the present, I spend my working hours in my studio at my drawing table or in front of my computer, doing what I do best and what I love doing: illustrating.