Ava: A Year of Adventure in the Life of an American Avocet

Nicklin, Onalee: - Onalee Nicklin is best known for her fantasy or storybook pencil drawings, often depicting children as mermaids, elves, or characters in a story. She works mostly with graphite pencils, colored pencils, and sometimes does a little mixed media. I hope my work inspires people to use their imagination, to dream, to read, she says. She credits most of the development of her skill to the lessons in Foundations of Art from the School of Illustrative Arts, instructor Howard David Johnson. Onalee lives in a small cottage on a farm near Emporia with her husband, a tuxedo cat, and numerous species of wildlife. Having always loved fantasy, fairytales, and storybooks-and inspired by the illustrations of Adrienne Segur-she now crafts her own whimsical and detailed illustrations.