About me:

I am an aspiring author/illustrator from South Australia. I want to create picture books that are delightful, humorous and encourage children to embrace nature. 

With a track record as an award-winning wildlife artist, I bring an eye for detail to my illustrations. This year I was a finalist in the Waterhouse Natural Sciences Art Prize and previously won the wildlife category of the Solar Art Prize. 

My background is in neuroscience, and in 2012 I was awarded the Elizabeth Penfold Simpson Prize as author of the best piece of original research in neuroscience as judged by the Brain Foundation.

I am a CBI, CBCASA and SCBWI member and have invested in developing my skills as a picture book creator by taking many courses and workshops including the two Australian Writers Centre picture book courses. 

Types of picture books I would love to illustrate:

I would love to illustrate books with animal characters. Particularly with animals that are doing funny or cheeky things and have a lot of action in them. I would also love to illustrate more realistic animal picture books aimed to inspire awe of nature. I love illustrating animal characters, but am less confident illustrating backgrounds, people and crowded scenes. I think my strengths are in illustrating textural elements of animals like feathers and fur and creating expressive facial features.

These are some existing examples of illustration styles I identify with:
https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780730499251/fearless/

https://www.walkerbooks.com.au/book/9781760656270-2/

https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8140/

https://www.walkerbooks.com.au/book/9781925381139/

https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781921504082/boom-bah/

https://affirmpress.com.au/browse/book/Phil-Cummings-(illustrated-by-Mandy-Foot)-Hip-Hop-Barn-9780648551058

Illustration mediums:

I like experimenting with different mediums, but am most confident using traditional media like acrylic paint, watercolour and coloured pencils. My current favourite method for illustrating is to create characters and background elements by hand, but separately. That way I can put them together digitally and optimise the contrast and composition of my illustrations.

Illustration style:

My illustration style is detailed and focussed on the characters in particular texture and their expressions. I generally keep anatomy quite realistic, but exaggerate action, poses and facial expressions. My goal is to develop a style where I can include sparse suggestions of background elements that ground my characters in their world, without detracting from them or creating a cluttered composition.