Hello! Welcome to my little corner of the internet.
My name is Emily Person and I am a freelance book illustrator from New England who loves to tell stories of goodness, truth, and beauty through traditional-media art for children’s book, YA, and fiction book publishers. I also create literary-inspired fine art for book-loving art collectors.
So, how did I get here? Why book illustration?
Almost every night as a small child I would ask to read Tasha Tudor’s A Time To Keep. The words of the story were sparse but the watercolor illustrations were rich with magic, light, and warmth. On each page, highly detailed borders framed scenes from Tasha’s own childhood, glowing with wonder. I wanted to keep re-living the feeling of being in that book, and since then have found that same magic in hundreds of other stories.
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do something that involved creativity, but it was not until I began taking formal art lessons in high school with my art teacher Heather Sawtelle, that I discovered a confidence to pursue the visual arts professionally. She introduced me to the traditional mediums I now use like charcoal, watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, and chalk pastel.
The summer after graduating high school I began to wonder if I could combine my love of story with art and illustrate books. For four years, I saved up for college, researched schools and programs, asked questions, discovered other illustrators, and saved up some more. During that time I also began taking art commissions and freelance jobs, attempted graphic design, took community college classes, took on a paid internship, and did a few small illustrations for a friend’s published book. Finally, doors opened and I had the opportunity to pursue children’s book illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Colorado, where I am now in my senior year.
My dream would be to find a community of other creatives in New England and create good, true, and beautiful artwork for books and book-loving art collectors. I want to help others discover that same light and warmth that I found in my books and in Tasha Tudor’s illustrations. And I want to help other creators share their stories with the world.