Our Illustrators

R. W. Alley began drawing sometime around age two and he hasn't paused since. In fact, his drawings now and his drawings then bear a rather strong resemblance. He has gotten slightly better at hands, but horses remain a problem. Then, as now, he has always enjoyed most making pictures that illustrate a story rather than hang on a wall. Today he lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.

Scott Angle is a freelance artist, illustrator and designer. For over 25 years he has been able to work with a vast array of great clients including Mattel Toys, Disney and Major League Baseball to name a few. In his spare time Scott enjoys painting, mountain biking and playing a game called pickleball (it’s like tennis mixed with ping pong). Scott and his wife live in Huntington Beach, California.

Fian Arroyo has been illustrating for books, magazines, advertising agencies and toy and game companies for over 20 years. He lives with his wife, two kids, a parakeet and a gerbil in the mountains of North Carolina. When he is not drawing he can be found fishing, mountain biking, playing his electric guitars really loud or catching air at the skate park. Enjoy more of Fian's fun and energetic work on his web site.

Martha Avilés was born in Mexico City. She studied graphic design at the University of México. The award-winning artist has worked full-time as an illustrator for nearly 25 years, with books published in many different countries.

Valentina Belloni, born and raised in Cuneo, in northern Italy where she continues to live and work, has enjoyed drawing and painting since she was a young child. After studying and graduating university, Valentina turned her great passion into her dream job! The artist also enjoys writing at home in Cuneo, with her creative husband Mattia and 2 inspiring daughters.

Tracy Nishimura Bishop got hooked on drawing when she won an art contest in Kindergarten.  She has stayed very busy telling stories through illustration ever since.  Tracy lives and works with her husband, son, and dog Harry in San Jose, CA.

Andrew Bosley is a concept artist specializing in illustration for gaming and animation. He earned a BFA from San Jose State University and lives and now works in Arizona.

Ken Bowser writes and illustrates his own books and has illustrated dozens of titles for others. His work has appeared in countless newspapers, magazines and periodicals. He is the creator, writer and illustrator of an internationally syndicated humor panel and has authored and illustrated a widely distributed newspaper culinary/recipe column. Ken is married, has two children and works out of his home studio in central Florida.

With a degree and professional experience in graphic design, Scott R. Brooks transitioned to a career in full-time illustration several years ago. He has produced a wide variety of images in many styles from 2D for video games to TV commercial storyboards. Scott shares his Atlanta, GA studio with his illustrator wife, Karen. They share their home with their 2 clever children, and their somewhat less clever dog and cat. In his spare time, Scott cleans his gutters, while wishing he were instead drawing.  To view Scott's portfolio, please visit www.stormerbrooks.com

Mattia Cerato was born in Cuneo, a small city surrounded by the beautiful Italian Alps. At 2-3 years old, besides eating a lot of pasta, his father (an artist in his own right!) introduced and encouraged Mattia to draw. As a result, he spent most of his time creating funny images on every surface he could find. When Mattia grew up, he decided to study illustration at the European Institute of Design (IED) in Torino. Within eight months of graduation, he landed his first Illustration job, a book titled My First Picture Dictionary. Mattia still lives- with his two beautiful daughters and talented wife Valentina (another Red Chair Press artist)- in northern Italy When not illustrating, he enjoys playing basketball, traveling, playing with his young daughters, and skiing in the Alps.  

Dave Clegg lives and works on a small horse farm in north Georgia with his wife Lyn and their two children. All of Dave's work is done digitally on his computer. When he is not drawing, he can be found creating songs with his guitar or making robot sculptures!

Steve Cox lives in London, England. He first designed toys and packaging for other people’s characters. But he decided to create his own characters and turned full time to illustrating. When he is not drawing books he enjoys playing the guitar.

Savanna Durr is an illustrator based in Richmond, VA and a Kent State alum. She primarily illustrates digitally and loves adding textures and vibrant colors to her work. She has spent her life being inspired by animated movies, cartoons, and children’s books. She focuses on creating representation within her work in the hope that others can look at her art and see themselves. She is the amazing artist of Rewilding coming Fall 2025 from our One Elm Books imprint.

Yai Dzamesi is an illustrator & storyteller who is passionate about creating stories that dive deep and push hard. Her work is marked by warm hues that both comfort and challenge readers. When not illustrating or writing, you can find Yai at home in North Carolina discussing video games with her spouse, playing with their two dogs, or sitting in wonder at the movie theater, catching the latest cinema masterpiece! You can see her work at her website: https://www.yayiradzamesi.com/

Kathi Ember is the illustrator of many books for children. Kathi graduated with a BFA from Kutztown University and loves the fantasy world of illustrating. Today she lives with her husband, three sheep and numerous cats in an old stone farm house just outside of Kutztown, PA. 

Siri Weber Feeney's fine-artist mom let her use real art supplies at an early age. So Siri drew — in books, on walls, and even on the piano. Now, she's safely drawing, painting and designing projects she's been asked to do: book covers, books, and illustrations for Ladybug, Cricket, Highlights magazines — all of which are lots more fun than drawing on the piano. 

You can see more of her work here

When Patrick Girouard was young his teachers regularly scolded him for drawing monsters, robots, and aliens during class. Then he illustrated his first book. It was about monsters, robots, and aliens! He currently lives in central Florida surrounded by wild turkeys and alligators.  See more of Patrick's work here:  https://www.pgirouard.com/

Tim Haggerty has been doing illustrations for kids of all ages over the past 25 years. He's worked for many great publishers including Scholastic, Usborne, Pearson, Highlights AND Red Chair Press!  Tim lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife and 2 Maine Coon cats. In the summer he's an avid gardener and in the winter a big time skier. Visit Tim's website at   http://www.timsportfolio.com

Yu-Mei Han wanted to be an artist as a young girl. She earned her fine arts degree from a university in her native Taiwan. Now Yu-mei illustrates books and magazines as well as greeting cards and wrapping paper. She currently lives in Queens, New York with her husband and dog, Mollie.

Niall Harding is an illustrator with over 35 years experience whose work has been used for education, publishing, advertising, as well as for toys and games. Based in the UK, Niall lives on the edge of the Pennines in the North of England with his wife and two daughters.

Janice Hechter is an award-winning illustrator and artist who has exhibited her paintings throughout the country. Janice has illustrated six picture books, including SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist, The Great Elephant Escape. Janice enjoys the combination of her two favorite passions, which are writing and illustrating. She is an active member of SCBWI. Her B.F.A. degree in illustration is from Carnegie Mellon University.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Philadelphia, Jannie moved to New Yok to study illustration at Parsons School of Design. After working as an art director at many fun places such as Nickelodeon, Scholastic and TIME for Kids, she decided that illustration was her true calling. Jannie (also known as Chicken Girl0 specializes in illustrating for children's products. Jannie currently works and plays in Boston, MA with he husband and daughter. You may follow her fun blog at Chicken Girl

Kevin Hopgood is a children's illustrator and comic book artist. He works for a wide variety of publishers in the UK, US and Europe. Past clients include Marvel comics, for whom he co-created the character War Machine which appeared in the latest Iron Man movie. He's also worked for publishers such as Oxford University Press, Barrington Stoke & Franklin Watts. Kevin is the illustrator of the historical YA novel One Year, One Night on sale August 1, 2024.

Kevin Hopgood is a children's illustrator and comic book artist. He works for a wide variety of publishers in the UK, US and Europe. Past clients include Marvel comics, for whom he co-created the character War Machine which appeared in the latest Iron Man movie. He's also worked for publishers such as Oxford University Press, Barrington Stoke & Franklin Watts.

Jui Ishida was born in Taiwan R.O.C. and raised in Japan. She has specialized in children's books and animal/nature/child-related projects especially since she became a mother several years ago. Jui currently lives and works in Long Beach, California.

Laura Jacobsen has been drawing, painting, and doodling her whole life. Her work has appeared in the magazines Cricket, Ladybug, Ask, Highlights for Children, and High Five, and in several books such as Animal Mischief and The Best Eid Ever. Laura's two dogs, Hopper and Lucy, keep her company in her Gilbert, Arizona, studio.

Nathan Jarvis has been illustrating for kids and adults who act like kids since 1983. He has also worked as a clown, cook, teacher and a bunch o' other amusing occupations in order to feed himself and his family. Nathan and his Austrian wife, Michaela, live in Midway, Utah, where he can ski, hike, cycle and goof-off with his awesome dog Sam to his heart's content. See more of Nathan's work on his web site.

 

 

Dani Jones is an illustrator, artist, and writer based in New England. She began her career as a freelance illustrator in 2005. Since then, her work has been used in picture books, magazines, and educational publishing.

Dani is an award-winning artist, writer, children’s book illustrator, and comics creator. She is the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling PopularMMOs graphic novel series from HarperCollins and creator of the picture book MONSTERS VS. KITTENS from Stan Lee’s Kids Universe. You can learn more about her and her work at danijones.com.

Marta Kissi is a London-based illustrator originally from Warsaw. She studied BA Illustration & Animation at Kingston University and MA Communication Art & Design at the Royal College of Art. Her favorite part of being an illustrator is bringing stories to life by designing charming characters and the wonderful worlds in which they live.

Elliot Kreloff has illustrated and designed a broad range of children’s books, including board books, early readers, and fiction and nonfiction picture books. He studied design and illustration at The Cooper Union in NYC, where he received a BFA and has an MA from Hunter College in theater directing. Elliot lives with his husband and daughter in New York City and Fire Island, NY.

Gary started his career over 20 years ago working on game board and toy designs for clients including Hasbro, Nickelodeon, and LEGO. About 10 years ago his focus shifted to include children's publishing. Gary has since illustrated more than 25 books and also is a regular contributor to many kids' magazines including Highlights, Time for Kids, Jack and Jill, and Clubhouse Jr. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his wife and daughter. Baseball Buddies: Buiulding a Team is Gary's first book with Red Chair Press.

John Nez has illustrated books of all sorts…and he's written a few books as well. John sometimes works in traditional mediums with real paints.  He also makes digital art on his computer. John lives in Seattle where he enjoys the natural wonders of the Northwest.

Sean O'Neill is an illustrator and writer living in Chicago. He is the creator of the Rocket Robinson series of graphic novels. Sean loves history, trivia, and drawing cartoons so producing 50 Things You Didn't Know About was a dream assignment.

Angela Oliynyk was born into a family of artists in Ukraine. She has worked as a graphic designer and as an illustrator. Angela now lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Jhon Ortiz is a 3-D chracter animator living in Valencia, Spain.

Davide Ortu is an Italian artist now living in Spain. He studied Art at Cagliari Arts Lyceum in Foiso Fois, Sardinia. There, on that Italian island, he began as a graphic designer in the advertising field. At the same time, he developed his illustration side taking part in different exhibitions. In 2008 he moved to Madrid where he enjoys the world of children’s book illustrations.

Jim Paillot is a dad, husband and illustrator. He lives in Arizona with his family and two dogs and any other animal that wants to come in out of the hot sun. When not illustrating Jim likes to hike, watch cartoons and collect robots.

Debbie Palen works in watercolor, colored pencils, pastels and many, many Q-tips which can be found scattered all over her studio. When not drawing, she enjoys going to the art museum, watching movies, reading and walking in the nature center nearby. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.  Follow Debbie on her inspiring blog!

Marilina Perilli is an illustrator residing in Westchester, NY with her FDNY husband and two teenage boys. As a little girl growing up in NYC, her first art influences stemmed from watching colorfully painted subway cars on elevated tracks, noisily clattering above. Marilena's illustrations reflect the many Golden Books she cherished as a child. Marilina has worked extensively in children's. Clients include The New York Times, Boston Globe, Simon and Schuster, Scholastic, Penguin Books, American Girl Publishing, Random House and Nickelodeon to name a few.

Matt Rowe lives in Worcestershire, in the United Kingdom and has turned his passion for illustration into a career spanning over twenty years. Having first started out designing humorous greetings cards, he then moved into children’s book illustration, creating a range of captivating and charming artworks. Outside the busy job of illustration, Matt enjoys running, cycling and family walks; relishing the opportunity to recharge and find inspiration in the world around him.

Tracy Sabin has illustrated many books for children including the New York Times best-seller “Castle,” an award-winning interactive pop-up book. He lives and works near San Diego, CA.

Lauren Scheuer began her art career in the fourth grade when Rosemary Bolton, who sat at the next desk, traded her lunch money for a drawing of a cat.  Lauren went on to study art at UCLA, and has since illustrated over a dozen kids' books.  Currently obsessed with her small flock of hens, Lauren regularly writes and illustrates true tales of suspense and intrigue in her popular chicken blog, ScratchandPeck.

Keith D. Shepherd is an educator, illustrator, and painter. His words have been in galleries, museums, and private collections across the U.S. His painting Sunday Best is part of the Negro League Baseball Museum's permanent collection. Keith lives and works in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jamie Tablason received her BFA and MFA in Illustration from California State University. Sea creatures, California history, Asian culture, and good food are a few things that inspire Jamie’s work. She lives in Lakewood, California.

Sue Todd is an award-winning illustrator living in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Her technique is linocut, a printmaking process similar to woodcut. Sue blends ancient and modern technologies by scanning the lino print to be digitally colored. Sue has created art for clients all over North America and the UK. Her art has appeared in books, magazines, on posters, t-shirts, a TV commercial, and a bus! Sue gets her best ideas riding around the city on her bike.

Tami Wicinas is passionate about communicating story and emotion through the power of image and color. Tami earned her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and currently lives and works in Berkeley, CA.

Donald Wu was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Oakland, California His passion for drawing and comic books led him to attend California College of the Arts where he studied illustration. Donald currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife Leanne, son, daughter and dog.

Hiromitsu Yokota earned his fine arts degree from Musashino Art University in Tokyo, Japan. His illustrations are created digitally in order to render a subtle play of light and color lending them the appearance of traditional hand-drawn pastels. His artwork is meant to convey 'happiness, here and now.'

Sachiko Yoshikawa moved to San Francisco from Japan in 1988 to study art. Her initial interest in art was jewelry making and then, gradually, graphic design. Later she branched out into mixed media and began creating narrative illustration. Currently, Sachiko enjoys creating whimsical and vibrant illustrations using collage, traditional techniques and mixed media such as balsa wood.