Lynn Gaines loves creating characters and picture-making. An Ohio native, she spent her childhood concocting elaborate Barbie houses, dressing her dolls in handmade creations, and pinching her mom’s art supplies. She fell in love with picture books when her mom took her to the library every week and let her choose a few books for herself. Her favorite artists back then were Hillary Knight, Mary Shephard, Maurice Sendak, and Leo and Diane Dillon to name a few. Later, she decided she wanted to make art for a living, too.
Lynn has been illustrating professionally ever since graduating from the Cleveland Institute of Art. She has worked as an illustrator and designer for greeting card and stationery products. In 2018, she made her debut into the world of children’s books and never looked back! She is passionate about capturing new worlds, the details and characters.
Nowadays, when she’s not at her art table or computer, she is looking for inspiration, at the beach, reading, baking, sewing or roller skating! She is also working on writing and illustrating her first kid-friendly biography of her family roots. She lives in the (mostly) sunny greater Cleveland area with her husband Mel, and their fur kids, Harry and Charlie.
