Australian Author, Illustrator & Educator

Early on in my tertiary teaching career I sat in a lecture where someone at the back yelled out “if you are going to read every bullet point, I’m going home.” I was determined then that I would never have an audience member experience that from my presentations. Of the many tasks in my job role at the Australian Road Research Board, one was to mentor engineers as they presented their new research at conferences and webinars from a text heavy presentation to a more visual one using images and stories. From this work I honed my skills in using images to tell the most important parts of each story.

Many of my ideas come to me on long drives, on walks, on waking, in the shower, and in reading the news. As I come across issues that I feel need highlighting I will make a note, draw a sketch, or ask Siri to make a note for example, kindness. After that, the story usually finds its own journey. I use my Apple Pen and Procreate to recreate my original sketches into illustrations. I use Canva to finish and then publish to Amazon.

And so through the tapestry of experiences both personal and professional, I find myself submerged in my recent new career as an artist. I focus on using naive art techniques to create curiosity and vulnerability in my stories.

Beyond books, I co-host The Shift Stirrers podcast with Michelle Benson, where we talk honestly about life's big transitions and the courage it takes to reinvent yourself. It turns out writing picture books in your seventies is exactly that kind of shift.

I hope you find diversity, kindness, your own epiphanies on how to live, and ethical values, in my work.

Want to book an author talk or just say hello? Head to the Contact page. Find me on Instagram: @rosemarypattisonart

My CV is here