EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 9 © 2014 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

84 WT: It was actuallymuch easier than I thought it was going to be. At school they beat it into our heads that it would be next to impossible but I moved back home with my parents and began showing my portfolio in Washington D.C.— one month later I had my first assignment with the Washingtonian magazine.. The next month I had two assignments and five the following month. It was much easier in the early 90’s because the editorial market was thriving. I was working for periodicals like Psychology Today , Money , The Washington Post , Kiplingers , Seventeen , Better Homes & Gardens , etc. PR: Did you always have a strong sense of the work you wanted to do? WT: One ofmy teachers (CaryHenrie) said something that has stuck with me for the past 24 years. He said, “develop a visual vocabulary—figure out how you like to draw trees, planets, furniture, household objects, food, and people— once you develop this family of items your style will begin to emerge and you’ll be able to apply it to various markets.” ABOVE: ‘Night Owl’— The initial painting was created traditionally with watercolour and then refined digitally. ABOVE RIGHT: ‘Monster Bedroom’, developmental work for an app themed around a small boy and his bedroom full of monsters.