How and why did you decide to pursue illustration as your career?

Illustration makes me happy, and I love to draw.  Attending school to study illustration, drawing constantly, and making friends with fellow illustrators has been helpful and a lot of fun when it comes to learning about and being a part of the industry.  I enjoy all the different types of illustration. It is an exciting industry to be a part of!  One aspect of illustration that I enjoy the most, besides the drawing part, is the research that goes into it.  I love to research by looking through books and exploring museums.
 

Did you attend art school or undertake any other formal artistic training?

I attended the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design where I received a BFA in Illustration.  I wanted to further my study and practice of illustration, so I then completed an MA in Illustration at the Edinburgh College of Art.
 

Where do you currently live and where did you grow up?

I currently live and grew up in Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland.

Was creativity part of your childhood?

I have always loved to draw.  My favorite thing to draw as a child was my stuffed hippo, Purple.  I hope to write and illustrate a story about her someday.
 

Who or what have been some of your major artistic influences?

I love British 19th-20th century illustration and Mid Century American illustration/design.  My favorite illustrators, both past and present, include Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, Edward Ardizonne, Cecil Aldin, Graham Laidler (Pont), E. H. Shepard, Ludwig Bemelmans, Iain McIntosh, Emily Sutton, and Louise Lockhart.  Animated movies have also been both narratively and visually inspiring to my work.  I love the Cartoon Saloon movies, Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist, and movies by Aardman and Studio Ghibli. 

Which books from your own childhood really stand out?

The Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans were my absolute favorite as a child. I loved the painterly style and the colors. I also loved Madeline as a character and all of her adventures. 

What is your favourite medium to work with and why?

Pen and ink, working digitally, and risograph printing are my favorite mediums.  I love the energy of pen and ink.  Over the past few years, I’ve begun a collection of old pen nibs, both for using and also for packaging inspiration.  While I prefer traditional inking over digital, I ink digitally for efficiency and to continue to develop those skills.  I use Adobe Photoshop or Procreate to color my work or to clean up traditional inking.  I like to use flat colors or risograph brushes.  I try my best to have my digital work feel traditional and old.  When possible, I like to have my work risograph printed.  It adds so much personality and life to my pieces with the texture and slight offset some pieces can have.  The process is also fun.  I love loading different colors into the printers and seeing my piece come together as each layer is printed.
 

Do you keep a sketch book?

I do!  I like to keep one sketchbook for observational drawing and one sketchbook for drawing from my imagination.  I think it is important to do both.  I enjoy drawing people, landscapes, and architecture when I'm out and about.  I end up pulling sketches I have done into my final work!  It is very helpful.

Tell us about the creation of your favourite character from one of your books.

Tomino, a Sealyham Terrier from my work in progress passion project, Sabrina McKay and the Cerulean World, is one of my favorite characters.  He is a prideful, witty dog who enjoys being the center of attention and thinks he is the top dog in the town. He wishes he could talk as he has a lot to say. He has a strong understanding of human languages and customs and he enjoys listening to the radio, watching tv, and reading whatever book or magazine that is lying around (that he can reach). He loves cheese a lot, hence his name.  

The first time I saw a Sealyham Terrier was in front of a shop in Morningside.  I thought it was a very cool and interesting dog and I thought about it for months.  My project needed a companion for my main character, and I wanted to create a Sealyham Terrier character since seeing that dog months prior.  I picked his name from a cheese, Tomino Fresco, that was displayed in Valvona & Crolla's awe inspiring case of cheese.  

How many times do you tend to draw a character until you are happy with it?

I haven't counted, but it takes me lots of times!  Drawing a character repeatedly gives me time to consider simplifying their design to make them more fun or easier to draw and to better understand their personality and how they move.
 

Which project has been most instrumental in developing your personal style?

I think this piece based on Pop-Tarts was an important piece in reaching my style and preferred way of working.  It was one of my first more complex pieces, which made me more confident in drawing busy scenes.  I pushed myself to work with pen and ink, and then I took my scanned inks into Photoshop to clean up digitally.  I then added flat coloring.  I knew I wanted to try risograph printing for this project, and I am happy I did!  It added more depth with texture and a lot more personality.  This kicked off my love of using a risograph and using risograph colors in my work.
 

Take us behind the scenes and describe your studio / workspace.

My workspaces are busy and colorful.  I love surrounding myself with things that inspire me and that I can pull colors from and use as references in my work.  I love to collect various figurines, old printed goods, illustrated books, and a lot more.  

Where do you get the ideas for your characters?

A lot of my characters are based on my current and past dogs and from my childhood when my sister and I would create characters and stories.  I also like to observe and sketch people and animals I see.
 

Share your favourite piece of artwork from your portfolio and walk us through its creation.

My favorite piece of work from my portfolio is my illustration of Valvona & Crolla, an Italian deli in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Drawing this piece was a challenge!  I am happy I spent so much time on it, because I am very proud of it. I wanted to push myself to not shy away from including a lot of details.  The number of jars, boxes, and bottles on the shelves and meats and baskets hanging from the ceiling is what really makes Valvona & Crolla magical. I wanted to really capture the essence of the shop.  I included people I have seen in the shop as well as around Edinburgh to bring the space alive and to tell a narrative. I was enamored by the selection of cheeses (very natural for someone from Wisconsin).  I had to include myself in the scene to emphasize the sense of wonder and awe I feel when shopping at V&C. An interaction I was happy to witness and capture in my photos was a man happily waiting for some cheese to be sliced. I utilized a simple color palette to create a sense of warmth and harmony in the piece. I chose orange, a warm yellow, green, and brown for this piece. I haven’t used most of these colors before on the risograph so I was eager to use them.

My process starts with research and gathering references to inform the piece and then I do a quick sketch.    

I went straight into the final from the sketch with digital inking and coloring.
 

Each layer of color was separated then printed one color at a time on a risograph printer.

Risograph printing helped give the final piece a sense of personality and warmth through the texture and slight offset of the ink. 
 

Which area of children’s publishing excites you the most?

I am really excited about working on all sorts of picture books.  Picture books are my favorite to look at when I visit bookshops.  I would also love to illustrate some middle grade fiction projects.  Those were the most fun for me to read when I was a kid.  I loved books like the Ramona Quimby books and The Magic Tree House Series.  
 

Do you have a favourite soundtrack you listen to when you’re working?

It depends on what I am working on, but I love to listen to 80s Japanese pop, jazz/jazz fusion, classical, Studio Ghibli soundtracks, and various musicals.  I enjoy matching my music to the theme or mood of what I am working on. 
 

Are you an author/illustrator?

I would like to be!  I am currently working on developing a few passion projects.  
I would love to publish them someday.
 

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

I've heard this from several people, but I have been told to draw as much as possible: draw new things and draw often. To be ambitious has been helpful too.

Which project are you most proud of?

My graduate show project at ECA (I plan on developing it further), Sabrina McKay and the Cerulean World, was the first time I felt like I had a solid start for a project I would like to publish someday.  I have a cast of characters I like, branding, and a storyline!   I am really happy with how my display turned out as well.  It was a lot to figure out.  There was printing, animation, and painting the walls to make it all come together!
 

When you are not drawing, how do you like to relax?

I like to listen to music, explore flea markets and antique stores, play with and walk my dogs, and spend time with my family.
 

What are some of your favourite subjects to draw?

I love to draw animals, people, and architecture.  I try my best to draw everything, but those are my favorites.  Out of everything, dogs are my favorite to draw.
 

Animals feature heavily in children’s books – do you have a pet?

I have three dogs!  There's Walter Brent (Wally), a Cocker Spaniel; Hopper, an Airedale Terrier; and Freddie, a Miniature Silver Poodle.