Robyn Jorde was inspired to become an artist at an early age by the art she saw in picture books. At school, she was thrilled to find a whole library of books with pictures and to discover fingerpainting and potato prints. She never once won any of the school’s poster contests, but she ignored the critics and continued to work at developing her art. With those early years of struggle behind her, Robyn has enjoyed a varied artistic career. She has art directed with a major advertising agency, taught drawing and painting as part of a social renewal program, completed advanced degrees in fine art, and paid her dues doing layout and design in an ad production shop. She is now turning her attention to her first love, illustration. Robyn’s images are usually done in pastel, oils, or mixed media. Although her work is mostly made the old-fashioned way on the drawing board, she sometimes uses digital techniques as well.