I always knew that I wanted to be an artist.

As a child, I spent my summer days experimenting in my grandmother's ceramics studio, exploring glazes and molds, with the music of Peter and the Wolf filling the space. Inevitably, the hot days would end with jumping into the Loxahatchee River to cool off. My grandmother was both my biggest cheerleader and my greatest inspiration. I will always treasure the memories of sitting at her long table chatting about art in all its forms. As much as I loved clay though, I became enamored with drawing.

I can place the exact moment in time. The first time I opened the pages of Jumanji as a child I was taken aback. I could not comprehend that an artist could make such realistic drawings using just a pencil. I was hooked from that moment on. 

In 2006, I graduated with a BFA in painting. I created works with intense colors and out of unusual mediums, like nail polish. However, shortly after graduating, I found myself returning to my love of graphite. For the next eight years or so, I spent most of my artistic energy on creating hyper-real graphite drawings. Then I had my daughters. They absolutely love books. Our house is filled with picture books. Going through these books, day after day, brought me full circle to that day that I first read Jumanji. Seeing the joy in her eyes upon turning each page inspired me to want to illustrate.