Claudia McGehee is an illustrator-author living in a tallgrass prairie state. Her creative inspiration comes directly from nature, especially the regional prairies and woodland around her, and the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up. Claudia pairs her main illustration medium, scratchboard, with vivid watercolor to create earthy, wood-cut like images. Some days she writes about pictures. Some days she draw about words. It’s all in telling a story.
Claudia is the author/illustrator of several non-fiction picture books, "My Wilderness: An Alaskan Adventure" (Sasquatch Books, 2015); “A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet”, “A Woodland Counting Book” and “Where Do Birds Live?”, (University of Iowa Press, 2004, 2006, 2010).
She also illustrated "Northwoods Girl" (written by Aimée Bissonette, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2015) and "Creekfinding: A True Story (written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, University of Minnesota, 2017).
“I like to think people see little reminders of their own natural world in my illustrations. A bird in a tree or grass stems waving in the wind are images we may see on a regular basis. Perhaps it makes us feel part of the Big Picture for a moment. While we are seemingly never offline anymore, I see nature as an important life source, comfort and escape for humans. I hope my illustrations express the value of our natural treasures and reminds people that spending time in the wilds can refresh us.”
Claudia is a native of Washington state. She lives with her family in a house and studio on a hill in Iowa City, Iowa. She earned degrees in anthropology (archaeology), and graphic design.
