Featured Illustrator

Kayla’s wonderfully quirky, colorful illustrations are filled with imaginative storytelling embedded with subtle humor and bold, beautifully rendered details. We hope you enjoy her artwork as much as we do!

How did you get started in illustration?

I started illustrating when I was really young. I remember sitting at a little, white circle table in a squatty blue plastic chair with paper and crayons for hours on end. I was a bit sheltered as a child, but also kind of given a wide latitude to “be myself” in my own imaginary world – in the same way that so many of us spend the rest of our lives trying to engage with again. So in that regard, I think I’ve spent my whole life illustrating whenever I am able to. It’s the closest thing to lightning in a bottle I can fathom.  

What is your background?

I was born in 1978 in Portland, Oregon. My Dad was a surgeon but had a secret life as a Polish folk musician (he played with Bob Dylan!). My Mom was a registered nurse whose secret life was her life. I am the youngest of three, and the two of them loved me and my siblings fiercely. 

I always found refuge in picture books. When I was in 4th grade, Steven Kellogg came to my elementary school and signed my copy of “Won’t Somebody Play with Me.” I vividly remember it being the first time that it occurred to me that people could write and illustrate books for “what they do.”

Even still, the idea of a career as an illustrator didn't quite register against the drumbeat of “achievement” and “stability” that we’re all so driven by. So I went to school and got my undergraduate degree in graphic design and then to Eastern Washington University where I earned an interdisciplinary masters in Technology and Fine Arts. After that, I spent the next 20+ years re-figuring out (the hard way) that I could Illustrate books for “what I do.” I had a pretty good time as a graphic designer, creating magazine spreads, signage and annual reports, but it didn’t all come together until later.  

Since then, there have been a multitude of changes and challenges in my life, but the one thing that has stayed consistent is that I still have my lightning in a bottle - a creative outlet that allows me to communicate not just with others, but also with myself. In the past three years I have decided to pursue my illustration goals in a way that is healthy and meaningful to me–using the past 20 years as a kind of repository of accessible feeling and emotion. I focus on making art that I want, or to at least practice making art to learn the process of building a book. I know that the other things will come when it is time. 

Currently I am working on illustrating a children’s book with a self publishing author, while also working on a series of acrylics on canvas for a top-secret poster project. While that is going on, I am making an effort to join forces with my local community of authors and illustrators back in my old/new hometown of Portland, OR.

What have you learned along the way? What tips can you share?

In 2016 I joined the SCBWI and really started to pay attention to the world of children's books. To anyone who is interested in the ins and outs of children’s literature, I always recommend taking a look at this organization because they provide a wealth of tools and information for aspiring and established authors and illustrators. And go to the conferences if you are able to–the big one in NYC. It's worth it just to see all of the other artists and writers trying to figure it all out, too. 

Though my heart is in illustration, I also know that I have stories to tell that include words. So with regard to tips or advice, I’ll say: learn as much as you can about the business of it all and figure out the place where you want to “live.” Then do whatever part brings you the most joy. Every single one of us has a story to tell.  

How did your style and technique develop?

The first time I made a children’s book (Animals in Pants), I was in a fog of second time motherhood and a special kind of insomnia. I had no idea what the process was, or how to start…so I got out my watercolors and paper and just painted the whole thing. The squirrel in the cargo pants, the stork in jorts, etc. Then I scanned them into my computer and started making a sort of digital collage in Photoshop. I thought that I made this process up in 2015, but I quickly realized that this was a pretty typical illustration workflow. When I learned that there were even more digital tools that could make the process easier, I started putting it all together…draw, paint, scan, build the picture, then back into Photoshop for contrast, color correction, touch ups. This is still how I make a typical illustration, only now I'm using a lot of Procreate and messing with a whole lot of other cool stuff. I’d also really like to learn animation. 

What do you do when you get stuck or lose motivation to 'get back' to what you're working on?

I love drawing and making art, but sometimes it's hard for me to make the space that I need to feel “ready” and it’s even harder to stay there. I think about my kids a lot–they’re 10 and 14 and they are always watching me. I usually work in solitude, so when all eyes and all of life's responsibilities are on me, it can make it pretty hard to focus on art. It's funny because the two of them are featured a lot in my work (often as woodland creatures), so I think sometimes it feels like it’s important for me to engage in some of the other things that bring me a sense of peace and also engages them in a healthy way… and then I can find the space to draw or paint once again. Some days the art comes easily, and some days I can’t seem to find the space for it at all. I do try to remember that the space will be there when I need it, and that has proven to be a constant. I find comfort in that.

What would be your dream project?

I’m currently working on about 27 of them. Stay tuned.

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