Duration: Three years.

Location: Kansas City, Missouri.

Education: BFA in visual communication from the University of Kansas; MFA in illustration as visual essay from the School of Visual Arts (SVA).

Favorite projects: I’m very proud of my graduate school book project Swimmer Girls. It’s a very personal story and lends significance to a time in my life that could otherwise be brushed aside. I am also very excited about a project I’m working on currently: a picture book biography on Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Simon and Schuster. I tend to get a lot of jobs illustrating strong, influential women—which is kind of amazing!



Artistic influences: I look at films for ideas on interesting lighting and camera angles. Also, the picture books of my childhood played a very important role in my becoming an illustrator. I find myself revisiting them often.

Approach: Almost all of my personal project ideas come from the pages of my sketchbooks. It all started in a drawing-on-location class in graduate school; I developed a habit of roaming around cities I visit and drawing the scenery around me. It’s almost impossible not to come up with a story while you are sitting and sketching a place. My idea bank is stored in a growing collection of Moleskines.

Philosophy: Make what you love. The work will come. Wise words from the great illustrator Marshall Arisman.