Vanessa-J-Thompson

Vanessa J. Thompson is a graduate of Winthrop University's Visual Communication Design/Illustration program; from which she obtained a Bachelor's of Fine Arts (BFA) in Illustration. As an aspiring artist making her way since her graduation in 2010 into the vortex of art creators, visual stimulators, skilled mark makers, and influential graphic artists, she hopes to find her ground in the world of children's book illustration. She finds the ability to create visuals that have the power to stimulate a child's vast imagination extremely appealing. Thus, she strives to collaborate with various authors and create strong illustrations that coincide with the author's written word. Vanessa also enjoys doing portraiture, especially caricatures; greeting card illustrations and many other types of illustrative work.

She is inspired by several people and events in her personal life, patterns in nature, cartoons, anime, manga, and by artists such as: Naoko Takeuchi, Frida Kahlo, Chris Soentpiet, Scott Gustafson, and David Brown (just to name a few). She also draws inspiration from mythology and the beauty of the Moon and the mysterious universe.

Some say that she is "frighteningly unique" with her strange perspective on things and her obsessive love of vivacious costumes and colorful wigs. But when asked to describe herself, she'd just say that "there's no other possible explanation... I'm just outrageously Vanessa!"