Welcome! You’ll find posts on children’s books and their art here and on drawing, and painting, too.
Mark and Julie say, “Thanks for stopping by! We hope you enjoy our blog and our paths cross again soon!”
Mark Mitchell is the Spur Award–winning author-illustrator of Raising La Belle – a nonfiction book for upper elementary grades about the 338-year-old ‘La Salle shipwreck’ that was recovered off the Texas coast.
His illustrations have appeared in books and magazines for children. He teaches classes in watercolor and children’s book illustration at The Contemporary Austin Art School and Marks & Splashes Learning online.
A native of Syracuse, NY, Mark has lived in many places growing up, including California, Alaska, and the Midwest. He now lives near Austin, Texas with his wife, Julie, who shares the work on this blog.
Julie Lake is the author of Galveston’s Summer of the Storm, a young adult novel about an Austin teen caught up in the devastating 1900 Texas hurricane (TCU Press). Her other publishing credits include writing and editing for business organizations, publications, and freelance clients. She’s the editor for the This Way That Way Drawing blog.
She has served as regional advisor for the Austin (Central Texas) chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and has been a featured author-speaker and panel moderator at the Texas Book Festival.
In recent years, Julie has helped teens and younger students find books they love in her jobs with school libraries and elementary classroom teaching.
