Freelance Decade (1991-2001)
My first job out of college was teaching a drawing class at Booker High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Sarasota. At the same time, I was creating illustrations for local businesses around town. In 1992, I moved to Orlando, FL, which at the time was a bustling creative place for illustrators. I created work for Disney, but also Nickelodeon, Harcourt, Hard Rock Cafe, Orlando Magazine, Planet Hollywood, Tupperware, AAA, Scholastic Book Fairs and many others. From editorial and advertising to school publishing, I did a little bit of everything. I even got into the Society of Illustrators Annual in 1993 with an illustration that’s a little too heavy for this website (check it out for yourself in SI Illustrators 36 if you can get your hands on a copy.)
Over time, my client list grew to include IBM, ebay, The Florida Film Festival, Houghton Mifflin, The Pennsylvania Lottery, Wet N’ Wild, and Chili’s, to name a few.
Also, from 1998-1999, I worked at Harcourt School Publishers as a Freelance Designer working on Grade 3 reading books. I hired artists, managed the budget and learned so much about the process of making books it would make your head explode. What an experience!
Through it all, I was constantly experimenting, learning, and evolving—and with every project, I came a little closer to discovering my style and my true creative voice, which was deeply grounded in humor. Finally, in 2001, after a decade of sending postcard samples and being patient, I was contacted by Dutton Children’s Books to illustrate my first picture book.
Here’s some of my favorite work from this amazing decade, which includes a flame-farting dog, Elvis crossing, and stinky Bigfoot.
