ABOUT

Catherine's childhood spanned the globe, and helped her to develop an appreciation for all the different lives a person can live.  She has been to all 50 so called states, lived in six, and has called Portland home for 16 years. She earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design at Syracuse University, and continued to develop her observational and problem solving skills while working as a product designer at Ziba Design. The call of the open road pulled her from that desk and into the life of a touring musician. She played cello for Sea Wolf and Horse Feathers, making multiple laps around the country and a few stints in Europe, until her sketchbook started to complain and eventually demanded a more stable surface. Happily back at the drawing table, she began developing her personal style as an illustrator, while freelancing and selling her art at local street fairs. In that time, some of her doodles became recurring characters, single images became short sequences, and some of those have evolved into stories.

school/bookstore Events

I love to read and talk and draw with kids of any age. Presentations vary based on age, time, and group size, but I discuss process and the importance of perseverance, falling down and getting back up, staying curious, and being kind and supportive. Please reach out if you’d like to discuss a visit for your school, library, bookstore, community center, or event.

Contact

For inquiries regarding picture book illustration, please contact Fiona Kenshole at fiona@transatlanticagency.com

For all other inquires you can use the form below:

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The Social Side

I’m not really on twitter, though I’ve tried many times, but you can find me here and there on the gram. Usually some current work and a bit of play.

Fear not y'all. The manuals have already been written. Are you white? Are you talking about race? If you are (like me), then we need to be talking. Layla F. Saad's @laylafsaad book, Me and White Supremacy, is pretty much mandatory at this point. I&r
Nominating this one for the collective waste bin. Any time I have found myself with the slightest yearning for it, I quickly realize how rooted that feeling is in my own white privilege. In that light, I'd like to also offer up the phrase 'I'm tired.
Black Lives Matter. Write it. Say it. Shout it. Wear it. Defend it. It is our duty to stand up against the injustice and brutality in whatever ways we are capable.
Donating. Learning.. Listening. Showing up. Supporting.
I'm holding auditions. Categories include, but not limited to fluffiness, cuteness, accuracy, charm, and relatability. Smudges will be overlooked.
Look, face masks and gloves! See Mom, it's totally safe. . . I just realized I never shared this project I did with @cometskateboards - Comet's Path. It's a little brand story and on a technical level, it was a rad challenge to work with a limited p
Deciding whether or not to read the news in the morning.
Taking requests for a live draw session this Tuesday @ Noon (Pacific). This will be my 'booth' in the @newnormalmarket online event. . . . You can comment here or send ideas through DM. Anything subject, setting, emotion, activity - I'll put them all
This was a rejected idea for this year's PDX World Naked Bike Ride. Every project requires multiple sketches and ideas before you get to one that folks can all get excited about. I usually don't share all the bits that fall to the cutting room floor
Making art about places I love, allows me to travel there in my mind. I am very grateful for that.
Two dots make a line, and two books make a series! The Kirkus review for my second book starring Pepper and Frannie is out...and they received an Encore!
Happy birthday to the best ears I know. Luckily they're attached to the most fearless, doll wiggling, silly song writing, puppy snuggling, soundscape wrangling, most creative thinking, portal opening man I know. I'm lucky to be quarantining with you.