Priscilla Alpaugh Bio

Priscilla Alpaugh studied illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She did her graduate studies at Syracuse University. While raising her family she made art whenever she could.

Priscilla moved into a studio at ArtSpace Maynard in 2001. While her kids grew up she did logo design, murals, painted traffic signal boxes, made t-shirts and greeting cards and did several book projects for self-publishing clients. As her kids moved on to college she started illustrating full time. Her first picture book came out in 2015. She lives in Greater Boston with her husband. They have two grown children.

Priscilla illustrated Solomon Sire and the Fantastic Fib, by Diane Root; Hold This! by Carolyn Scoppettone; Don’t Eat That! By David Cicarelli and I Love You Still by Margaret Scofield. She was the winner of the Portfolio Showcase Award at the 2015 NESCBWI Spring conference.

Priscilla’s illustrations have been shown at the Danforth Museum, Pine Manor College and LaSalle University. She is a member of the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the American Society of Bookplate Collectors and Designers.

www.PriscillaAlpaugh.com

Priscilla Alpaugh Artist Statement

I love the challenge of bringing the image that I see in my head onto the page. As I’ve grown as an artist, I’ve gone from always being disappointed with the results to getting closer and closer to matching that image. It was exhilarating to find I could do it. I think few illustrators are ever content with their final illustrations, however. The imagined one is always perfect, the reality less so.

There is a special kind of magic in creating something that is original and unique, that only I can make. I feel fortunate to be able to create a visual story with my own personal vocabulary that speaks to a viewer in their own language. My most successful images either make the viewer feel something deeply, find something surprising or even laugh out loud.

Lastly, I just love the feeling of pencil or brush dragging across the paper. Although I also work digitally, my heart will always be with traditional media.