Katherine Tillotson

I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up near lakes and surrounded by trees. Now I live in San Francisco, with my husband, in a house on a hill.

My studio is in a cozy corner of the house, a space filled with brushes and bottles, scraps of paper and paints. My dogs, Sookie and Chi, keep me company while I work. They nap and watch out the window for visitors, then nudge me with their cold black noses in the late afternoon when it is time for a walk.

I remember the first time I painted a picture and the paint went where I wanted it to go. I was in third grade, working with watercolors and was very excited by the experience. Now, I use all kinds of paint, charcoal, pens and paper. I like playing with the materials and they all provide seemingly endless possibilities for expression.

Picture books fill many of the bookcases in our house and have always held a special place in my heart. I love this form of storytelling that pairs carefully chosen words with imaginative illustrations and binds them together in a package for hands to hold.

I have been creating picture books for many years now and the work continues to give me the same pleasure and excitement I felt so long ago in grade school when I brushed paint on paper and watched it form a tree.

Katherine Tillotson holding her book.