Welcome to the
Nathaniel P. Jensen's world of children's book
illustration!
"I was a kid who liked to draw.
I drew on church bulletins, I drew on restaurant paper
place mats. I drew on anything and everything anytime, all
of the time. I started with stick men and it went on from
there.
By third grade I was making pictures like this:
and now I paint pictures like
this:
I was often asked if I was going to be an artist when I
grew up. My solid answer was "No."
Even with supportive parents, I held on to the belief that
you couldn't make a living as an artist.
It took me some time in college to enter into the Fine Arts
Department at the University of Texas. Eventually, I
realized that creating pictures of people and places was
what I was best at. I would use the remaining time in
college to gain the knowledge to make ART my life's career.
I've been supporting myself and my family as artist ever
since.
I always wanted to illustrate children's books. At the
start of my freelance career, I sent out letters and
portfolios to quite a number of book publishers. I received
only rejections.
Then, a small publisher in Arizona with a story about
armadillos did a web query for armadillo and children's
book illustrator. Early natespace.com had a children's
book section and an image of some dancing armadillos.
And so a career path
began..."
- Nathan
Jensen