Artist’s Bio:
When her dad returned home from a business trip, and brought Emily Reynolds a matchbox-sized set of Beatrix Potter books, she knew around the age of eight that she wanted to write books and paint pictures for them when she grew up. Seeing a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night in her first grade class at school sealed the deal.
Emily gained an appreciation for the splendor and variety of the creation while serving an eighteen month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands of West Africa (1995-97).
Interning at the Illustration House in NYC with Roger Reed, she studied
originals by N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell. While there, Emily also
clerked at Books of Wonder where she helped host a book-signing
for JK Rowling--embracing Jo’s advice for a young artist and aspiring
writer, “So you're the illustrator? Don’t ever give up!”
She later was elated to illustrate pictures for her favorite children’s magazine,
The Friend; and marry her encouraging engineer, Matthew.
Potty-training their six children was more thrilling to finish than
a BFA in illustration design from Brigham Young University in 1999.
Emily illustrated the nonfiction children’s biography Discovering Nature’s Laws: A Story about Isaac Newton
(Carol Rhoda Books, 2003).
Following a fifteen year hiatus from art, to bring her babies into the world,
Emily was tentative to begin painting anew, but found it's very much like riding a bicycle.
You crash now and again, and then get back up for an exhilarating ride.
Next up…oil landscapes of her beloved home places, Utah and Maine, and a series of
oil portraits under the theme "Seek Ye Out of the Best Books."
Emily’s real masterpieces, so far, all call her “Mommy.”
When her dad returned home from a business trip, and brought Emily Reynolds a matchbox-sized set of Beatrix Potter books, she knew around the age of eight that she wanted to write books and paint pictures for them when she grew up. Seeing a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night in her first grade class at school sealed the deal.
Emily gained an appreciation for the splendor and variety of the creation while serving an eighteen month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Portugal and the Cape Verde Islands of West Africa (1995-97).
Interning at the Illustration House in NYC with Roger Reed, she studied
originals by N.C. Wyeth and Norman Rockwell. While there, Emily also
clerked at Books of Wonder where she helped host a book-signing
for JK Rowling--embracing Jo’s advice for a young artist and aspiring
writer, “So you're the illustrator? Don’t ever give up!”
She later was elated to illustrate pictures for her favorite children’s magazine,
The Friend; and marry her encouraging engineer, Matthew.
Potty-training their six children was more thrilling to finish than
a BFA in illustration design from Brigham Young University in 1999.
Emily illustrated the nonfiction children’s biography Discovering Nature’s Laws: A Story about Isaac Newton
(Carol Rhoda Books, 2003).
Following a fifteen year hiatus from art, to bring her babies into the world,
Emily was tentative to begin painting anew, but found it's very much like riding a bicycle.
You crash now and again, and then get back up for an exhilarating ride.
Next up…oil landscapes of her beloved home places, Utah and Maine, and a series of
oil portraits under the theme "Seek Ye Out of the Best Books."
Emily’s real masterpieces, so far, all call her “Mommy.”
Artist's Statement:
Becoming a mother has opened my eyes as an artist. Whenever my children say, "Mommy, come see," I know I'm in for a wondrous moment. Whether being shown the gem-like eggs of a monarch on the under side of a leaf, the fluttering wings of a luna moth, or the sunlight catching the fuzzy coats of green beans dangling from a tendril, children zoom in on the micro world on a macro level. My kids remind me daily what joy exists when I slow down to bask in it.
By isolating floral subjects for my watercolors in front of a white backdrop, or enlarging smaller fauna specimens to many times their actual size, I can focus my attention on the simple design and beauty of the woods and garden around my home. I paint to convey the blessings of life around us--in this marvel of the creation we call nature.
Becoming a mother has opened my eyes as an artist. Whenever my children say, "Mommy, come see," I know I'm in for a wondrous moment. Whether being shown the gem-like eggs of a monarch on the under side of a leaf, the fluttering wings of a luna moth, or the sunlight catching the fuzzy coats of green beans dangling from a tendril, children zoom in on the micro world on a macro level. My kids remind me daily what joy exists when I slow down to bask in it.
By isolating floral subjects for my watercolors in front of a white backdrop, or enlarging smaller fauna specimens to many times their actual size, I can focus my attention on the simple design and beauty of the woods and garden around my home. I paint to convey the blessings of life around us--in this marvel of the creation we call nature.