My interest in art began at an early age while growing up in Florida. Motivated by a number of art awards throughout school, I went on to earn a Bachelors of Fine Art from the University of North Florida. After teaching middle school art for a while, my family and I moved to the Metro Atlanta area where I began working as a graphic designer for several different publishing companies. I design ads, books, magazines, logos, etc. It’s creative and exciting work, but there seems to be this inner drive to create with my hands rather than just pixels. So I’m always picking up freelance illustration work for children’s books, greeting cards, newspaper editorials, etc. The challenge of creating subject matter that I might not ordinarily create is half the fun. I enjoy a whimsical, cartoony style for most commissioned pieces, but I also like to fine tune things a bit and go for a more realistic look now and then. And for fun, I’ve shown my work in a number of nationally juried exhibitions. Today my husband and I have four children and we live just north of Athens, Georgia. I still work as a graphic designer in the publishing industry, but I’m pretty sure I’ll always be drawing and painting every chance I get.