I am now open for #petportraits, done in my loose, painterly style. Because every pet deserves to be put on the wall and remembered forever! Hand-panted and fun, with personality! Order via my online shop: elizabethsparg.com #dogs #cats #pets #kidlitartist #childrensillustration #animals #art

It's #kidlitpostcard day and we're having fish for dinner. And by "we" I mean, Miss Chicken-Banana-Frog and Master Frog-Banana-Chicken. And we can blame this wacky one on my agent Kyle @wendylynnco . #kidlitartpostcard #kidlitart #kidlit #dinnerfortwo #wackyillustration #foodillustration

Gimme a bunny for Easter! I'm practicing drawing toddlers and tiny tots to add to my illustration portfolio. These were the best of the bunch. Drawn with acrylic gouache and pencils, scanned and cleaned up digitally. #kidlit #boardbooks #kidlitart #easterbunny #childrensillustration #illustrator

Finding a friendly snake! Spotted Bush Snakes are harmless and quite cute. They are active in the day, hunt for geckos and are plentiful in bushy areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. And in my garden. #kidlit #kidlitart #naturalhistory #nonfictionillustration #nonfiction #snakes

Recent personal project - layout, illustration and hand lettering. I would love to work on a non-fiction, natural history project some day. To see my sketches and unedited art for this: lnkd.in/gipXazx4 #kidlit #kidlitart #nonfiction #nonfictionpicturebooks #childrensillustration

@elizabethsparg.bsky.social #kidlitart #childrensbookart #illustrator

Look out for my portfolio at the #scbwi New York conference this weekend. It'll be the one with all the cats on the cover! Let me know if you'll be there too. #kidlitart #kidlit #scbwiNY25

Happy New Year! and a belated #artvsartist with some of my favourites from the year and my two little ratbags. I am open for new illustration projects, small and big, from mid February. Children's books, animals/wildlife, product/packaging, pattern, etc. elizabethsparg.com #kidlitart #illustration

My entries for the #picturehooks prompt "What's Inside?". In my hometown, Durban, South Africa, Vervet monkeys are incredibly common and will steal food and random stuff from your house, or while you are unpacking groceries from your car. This monkey was very disappointed in his loot. #kidlitart

Getting into the Christmas spirit with these quick sketchbook doodles. #kidlitart #illustration #santa

First prompt for #theimaginedbookcover2024. Story idea: The King places an order for a new crocodile to guard his castle. The croc he is sent, turns out not to be very brave at all & not good at his job. The King has to decide whether he will keep him or send him back. #kidlitart #kidlit #bookcover

Two little sketches I made for my latest blog post now up on my website and Substack: "Overcommitted, flip-flops and other news". #kidlit #kidlitart #sketches

Hi! This #kidlitpostcard day I'm sharing a new piece from a personal project. I'd love to work on humorous stories featuring animals or scenes which lend themselves to painterly backgrounds, in both fiction and non-fiction. #kidlitart #kidlitartpostcard #childrensillustration #scbwiillustrators

Book Three in The Bundu Bunch Series for author, Allan Low, is off to the printer next week! Can you guess which classic stories these kids are reading? #coverillustration #kidlitillustration #kidlitart #picturebookillustration #bookcover #kidlit #childrensillustration #africanstories

Sketches #kidlitart #childrensillustration #kidlit

Experimenting with the art for a new story idea. #kidlitart #kidlit #childrensillustration

Childhood memories illustrated. I remember getting up to go to the loo in our beach cottage one night and seeing a giant rat saunter past! The cottage was unoccupied most of the year. Rats and cockroaches were just part of the holiday experience. #kidlitart #childrensillustration #kidlit

For this month's #kdlitpostcard day, I am sharing another scene from "The Secret Garden" (personal work). This is the scene in Colin's room where Mary introduces him to Dicken, who comes with a bunch of friendly creatures in tow! #kidlitartpostcard #kidlitart #kidlit #middlegradebooks

Personal work: My version of a cover for The Secret Garden #kidlit #kidlitart #coverdesign #coverillustration #handlettering #middlegradebooks #childrensillustration

Personal work: A spread I illustrated for one of my favorite childhood reads - The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnette. I reread it recently and still love the writing and story so much. #kidlitillustration #kidlitart #childrensillustration #middlegradebooks #kidlit

Some sketchbook pages from the beach this weekend. See more in my latest blog post: elizabethsparg-blog.com/books-have-a... #sketchbook #kidlit #kidlitart #sketches

But all dogs are the best dog! Right?! Riiiight?!! #winner #goldmedal #runnerup #olympics #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensillustration #picturebookart #kidlitillustration #dogillustration #petportraits

A while ago, my anteater banner design was selected as one of the honourable mentions in the Kidlit 411 banner competition. The prize was an "Illustrator Spotlight" post as well as having my banner displayed for the month of August. Thank you, KIDLIT411! www.kidlit411.com/2024/08/illu...

My cover design for #matsicb2024 class. This is a story written by Zoe Tucker specifically to give us a manuscript to work with in the class. #coverillustration #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensillustration #tigerillustration #makeartthatsells #tigerillustration #redpanda #animalillustration

Sad little panda. For "Red gets the Blues" - poses pages for #matsicb11 class by @makeartthatsells . #matsicb #matsicb2024 #kidlitart #childrensbookillustration #illustratingchildrensbooks #picturebookart #redpanda #animalillustration #characterdesign #makeartthatsells #kidlit

A short story about strawberry milkshake for #kidlitartpostcard day. #kidlitart #childrensillustration #animalillustration #animalart

Are you a chocolate or a strawberry milkshaker? I'm chocolate all the way, but this little croc is not.

Hey kidlit illustrators, I’d like to gift a free, one-hour, portfolio-review/coaching-session. 1) reply with a sample of your art. 2) repost this message. I’ll pick a winner at random from those who do both. Win or lose, I’ll take a close look at every reply. 💙❤️

It's #kidlitartpostcard day and I'm seeking representation. This is my first painting of 2024 (been working on sketches for a book). See the full illo on my instagram and give me a shout if you want to chat about a project or repping. :-) www.instagram.com/p/C20itdfKHn... #kidlitart

To kidlit ILLUSTRATORS seeking representation: Reply with one (1) post that includes 1 image (I advise your name be in image somewhere) + link to your portfolio and/or Instagram URL. Makes sure it's easy to find your contact info, if agents are interested! cont'd 👇🏼

Part of a spread from a bedtime story I have written but am still refining, making the dummy book and some colour art for. This book has been brewing slowly for ages and hopefully this will be the year it sees the light of day.

I posted this on Insta at the end of Dec.. Super proud of how far I have come from just having the dream of illustrating picture books a few years back. Most of these are with self-publishing authors and one is with a small local publisher (thank you all!). Next step - find an agent to help me grow.

Surfing Santa. Who else is hoping to catch some waves on Christmas day? #summerChristmas #kidlitart #childrensillustration

Happy #kidlitartpostcard day! I am a children's book illustrator, using acrylic gouache, pencils and digital editing. I'm also working on writing my own stories. I would love to hear from you if you think I could be a good fit for your next project or if you are an agent interested in repping me.

NEW BOOK! "Welcome Home, Margot Flamingo" is finally here! Written by the wonderful team at margotflamingo.com and illustrated by me. Anyone who knows me personally knows how much I love my doggies, so this book was such a pleasure to be a part of. margotflamingo.com

Yippee! My anteater won an honourable mention in the KidLit 411 banner competition! My banner will be used in August along with an Illustrator Spotlight interview on the website - an awesome resource for children's writers and illustrators. Congrats to all! See: www.kidlit411.com/2023/11/kidl...

Folktale Week: Lost #illustration #kidlitart #childrensillustration #dolktaleweeklost @folktaleweek.bsky.social

It's #KidLitArtPostcard day. This is a sneak peek spread from my newest book, "The Bundu Bunch get to Write their Names" written by Allan Low. Elizabethsparg.com

Cover reveal! The first book in the Bundu Bunch series is due for release this month. Illustrated by me, written by Allan Low, for The Shamba Trust in Eswatini. The story is based on the real life stories of AIDS orphans in souther Africa.

Let's go. Trick or treat! #Halloween #illustration

Hi Bluesky! I'm looking to connect with the #kidlit community here. Also, art, design, ocean lovers, animal people.... I will be hunting you down.... #kidlitart #childrensillustration

The Bluesky #kidlit community is growing! Here's a list of authors, illustrators, educators, librarians, and publishing professionals to follow: https://shorturl.at/AKLST And here's how to add yourself to the list: https://forms.gle/78Cz3ETu4xo4qsNdA

Waiting for Halloween.

Testing, testing... #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensillustration #illustration