melissa bailey illustrates
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Hi. I'm Melissa.

 Here are a few quick facts about me.

Favorite color: Don't have one--I love them all.
Favorite children's book as a kid: The Monster at the End of this Book.  
Favorite children's book now:    Rosie Revere, Engineer -- in honor of Poetry Month. 
Favorite art media: Watercolor.
A favorite thing to do: Go for a nature walk  with our poodles.
A place I'd love to visit: England, Norway, New Zealand ... do I have to pick just one?
Motto: Always look on the bright side of life. (Borrowed from Monty Python.)
Not-so-guilty pleasure: Chocolate, of course!

​And below is more of my story.
Picture

How I became an illustrator...

​When I was a little girl, my dream job was to be a children’s book illustrator.  But this seemed impractical, improbable and impossible. 
 
So I grew up and worked “real” jobs: dental assistant, pizza maker, cleaning lady, and even a stint as a face painter and caricaturist at the Toledo Zoo in Ohio.  Art was a hobby.  Friends and family kept urging me to use my talent in a professional as well as personal way. It was more than a little scary, but I gulped, took the leap and became a freelance artist.  
 
Since 2009, I've had the privilege of illustrating 49 children’s books. I've even written one of my own, Pug Is Happy , published by Pygmy Giraffe Publishing.  (Psst ... there are other books in the works too!) It's been amazing to work with clients from all over the world, including far-flung places like the Netherlands and Australia, and some pretty cool organizations too (like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum).

Forever a kid at heart, I live a quiet life  in rural Michigan, which is just how I like it. Almost every day, you can find me in my sometimes-sunny studio, happily surrounded by poodles and art supplies.
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  • Home
  • Portfolio
    • Whimsical
    • Realistic
  • Bio
  • Contact