As artists are frequently heard to say, "I have always loved to draw." I remember being asked by a kindergarten classmate, many, many years ago, how to draw a pretty girl. I showed her, on the classroom chalkboard, how simple it was - first you draw a circle for the head, then you draw a rectangle for the body, then you draw a triangle for the skirt. See? Easy-peasy!

Fast forward several years to a job at a veterinary hospital that I had after college. I had graduated with a degree in biology, and was trying to find a way to work with animals. Unfortunately for me, this was a desk job, with very little animal time, and it was stressful and exhausting and was not making me happy. One day, I decided to take it upon myself to create a new poster for the local adoption center, to replace the very visually unappealing one that hung in our waiting room. I used colored pencil to frame the entire poster in realistic drawings of different dog breeds, and when I brought it into the office, it created a big splash and I immediately earned my very first paid commission from a co-worker, who asked me to draw a portrait of her Whippet. This lead to years working as a part-time pet portrait artist. But my dream was always to illustrate a children's book...

Some years later, I attended a certificate program at the Rhode Island School of Design. At the time, there was no children's book program, so I did the next best thing - combining my interest in science and my love of drawing, I earned a certificate in Natural Science Illustration, always with an eye toward eventually illustrating for children. I learned so much about myself and my interests and style throughout my time at RISD - the lessons that I learned there were priceless.

And so, one thing lead to another - for a while, I walked dogs for a living, and one of my fellow dog walkers happened to own a small, independent publishing house. Through her, I did wind up illustrating that children's book. It is no longer in print, but the whole experience provided me with many valuable lessons. In fact, I can honestly say, that every artistic commission I have ever had has provided me with a variety of valuable lessons. I have continued to draw, or "illustrate" as I tend to refer to it now, and my experiences have expanded to logo and poster design, magazines, wedding invitations, greeting cards, auctions, even an iPhone app.

Here in my etsy shop, I sell the illustrations that I do on my own time, for fun. These are fantasy images that incorporate my many interests and loves - fairy tales and nursery rhymes, dark forests, animals that live in dark forests, winter, hot chocolate and tea and other cozy, cold weather beverages, science, the ocean, dogs and cats, vaudeville and burlesque, and oh so much more.

Thank you so much for visiting my shop, and having a little peek into my world. If you are interested in viewing any of my commissioned works, why not take a stroll over to www.idrawdogs.com.