Welcome! You’ll find posts here on illustration art in children’s books and drawing and painting, too.
Mark Mitchell is the author-illustrator of the Spur Award-winning book for young readers, Raising La Belle. It’s about the 312-year-old ‘La Salle shipwreck’ that was recovered off the Texas coast in 1996.
His illustrations have appeared in books and magazines for children, including Cobblestone, Appleseeds, and Cricket.
Mark teaches watercolor painting and children’s book illustration classes at The Contemporary Austin Art School and in his online courses and videos.
He lives near Austin, Texas with his wife, Julie Lake.
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.
Mark and Julie say, “Thanks for stopping by! We hope you enjoy our blog and our paths cross again soon!”
