About

Hi there! Welcome to my small sliver of the World Wide Web- thank you for letting me share my work with you!! Creativity is something that has weaved itself throughout my life. They say that creativity is birthed in boredom and as a child growing up without a tv, I did a lot of reading, drawing, playing piano, dressing up ‘olden days’ and making many a Barbie outfit using the hot glue gun. As I grew up, ‘making’ sort of ebbed and flowed and life filled up with adulting and kids. There were some seasons where I would pick up a hobby or project - though nothing really stuck as a ‘passion’.

In 2015, I was 34 stay at home mom- living in northern Alberta and homeschooling my kids for the year. I was really feeling the push to carve out more time to be intentional about regular creating but I really had no clue where to start. My husband gifted me Brene Browns “Gifts of Imperfection” e-course and we began to work through it together. I can honestly say it literally changed my life. One of the assignments was “what did you used to do before it wasn’t good enough?”. Almost instantly, memories of these simple characters I used to doodle as a kid came to mind. They were rough and childlike but despite their simplistic imperfect nature, I recognized that I really enjoyed it and it made me curious to keep going! I began spending countless hours practicing, experimenting and developing basic skills- often wishing I could have told my 17 year old self to go and take art classes. Even though I am tempted to cringe when I see my early work- I quickly remind myself that those were some of my bravest days and I’m so glad I never gave up! To my surprise and excitement, it wasn’t long before I started getting orders for custom family portraits and thanks so social media, I have had the opportunity to create for clients worldwide!

Over the past five years, I have taken my small hobby and grown it into a full time career. Not only have I worked consistently to develop my process and learn more skills, I have also been learning the ins and outs of running a creative business. My work includes a combination of custom portraits, personal projects and a printable paper doll collection. I have found creative work to be just as much an internal process as the external work that makes it to the pages!

I love illustrating emotionally driven whimsical characters using water-colour, ink and pencil crayon. I dream of creating beautiful picture books that inspire and encourage all ages. My inspiration is drawn from memories of childhood, experiences as a parent, simple day to day moments, vintage illustrations and nature.

When I am not working in my tiny studio (38” x 38”), I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, the odd knitting project, reading and playing games. My husband, Allen, has been my greatest cheerleader and support (also the best admin assistant- even though the pay isn’t great ;) ) and together we raise our three amazing kids in St. Albert, AB while we renovate our home.