Eclectic, quirky, and playful with a dry sense of humor that doesn’t quit, Bonnie laughs easily and loudly as she moves through the world creating her cartoon illustrations and patterns for the greeting card, paper, and gift markets.
Bonnie was bit by the art bug in 3rd grade after entering the school’s “Fire Prevention Week” poster contest. When the poster she created of her mother potentially blowing up the house while simultaneously smoking and using hairspray won 1st prize for Bonnie, there was no going back. In her late thirties, she finished her B.A. in Women’s Studies & Art and her Master’s in Clinical Counseling, which earned her an honorary Doctorate in Stress from her family & friends. After working as a counselor for over ten years, she decided to pursue her art professionally. Bonnie spent the last five years training full-time with well-known professionals in the pattern design field, honing her unique style and developing a high level of proficiency in pattern design and illustration. Using Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign, she draws or paints every day and you’ll often find her in her home studio, happily working during the middle of the night.
Bonnie really enjoys the collaboration process with clients and welcomes feedback during the creative process. She considers any revisions as a personal challenge to create artwork exactly how a client wants and has been told that she is “awesome” to work with. Bonnie particularly likes working with clients who have a sense of humor, an edgy idea, or are looking for witty designs. Whether she’s creating patterns, greeting cards, illustrations, or gift items, Bonnie creates art to help people laugh through dark times and she uses humor around difficult subjects, such as aging, death, menopause, mental health, and general weirdness in the world.
Bonnie is originally from New England and currently resides in rural North Carolina. Her long-running cartoon series, The Adventures of Joe & Hilde, is based on her thirty-one year marriage to her husband—-the love of her life and total opposite to her in every regard. In addition to drawing inspiration from her marriage, Bonnie appreciates that Oliver, her cat, his feral friends and her two adult children all graciously allow her to use their lives as subject matter for her cartoons and illustrations.
