My studio is in a cozy corner of the house, in a space filled with brushes and bottles, scraps of paper and paints. Our two dogs, Alex and Samantha, keep me company while I work. They nap and watch out the window for visitors, then nudge me with their cold black noses in the late afternoon when it is time for their walk.

   I remember the first time I painted a picture and the paint went where I wanted it to go. I was in third grade, working with watercolors and was very excited by the experience. Now, I render most of my work in oil paint. It mixes and flows in many different ways, providing seemingly endless possibilities for expression.

   Picture books fill many of the bookcases in our house and have always held a special place in my heart. I love this form of storytelling that pairs carefully chosen words with imaginative illustrations and binds them together in a package for hands to hold.

   Currently, I am working on my fifth picture book and the work continues to give me the same pleasure and excitement I felt so long ago in grade school when I brushed paint on paper and watched it form a tree.