CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATOR FROM 2016- PRESENT

I have dreamed of becoming an illustrator since I began my artistic journey in 1997. I thought it would be wonderful to see faces like mine on everything from books to bedspreads and everything in between! But no matter how many times I submitted my portfolio to the different publishing houses, I was turned down. I decided that God had other plans for me so I placed “illustration” on the back burner and concentrated on my fine art career.

In 2016, I was approached by Schwartz and Wade, an imprint of Penguin Random House about possibly illustrating a children’s picture book. I jumped at  the opportunity !  But wait a minute, there was a catch! In order to be selected for this opportunity, I had to do one fully executed page of the book so that they could determine if it was the right “feel” Let’s just say the rest is history, I got the job and my first illustrated book,”What Is Given From The Heart” by Patricia McKissack went on to win the 2020 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Illustrator . I have learned from this experience that “delay” does not mean “denial” it’s all about God’s timing for your life and I feel that He saved the best for last.