Contact

sheli@spetersen-art.com    

Bio

      On getting a dinosaur book for my fifth birthday, I wrote an illustrated story about a diplodocus family who spent Sunday afternoons at the bowling alley. When our kindergarten teacher insisted that I share my little book with the second-graders and explain how it was crafted, I had my first exciting experience as an author-illustrator and educator.
      Since that time, the wildlife and landscapes I observe on my daily walks, and those seen on my trips abroad, have strengthened my visual storytelling to spark curiosity and inspiration for kids-book lovers of all ages. I combine the extensive research and detailed accuracy of scientific illustration, which I teach at the college level, with my love of world-building, character design, lively interaction, and a whimsical humor that engages young readers.
     
      I exhibit my award-winning work at international, national, and regional venues and have five published picture books. I'm also a proud and active member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, providing leadership for their Nebraska chapter as Webinar Coordinator.

     Please reach out—I would love to hear from you!

Work I’m interested in doing

•Authoring and co-authoring my own illustrated picture book stories
•Illustrating other authors’ picture book and middle grade works
•Contemporary and historical fiction, nonfiction, and creative nonfiction
•Illustrating covers and spot/interior art for middle grade and YA
•Maps and hand-lettering for picture book, middle grade, and YA

Some of my favorite subjects

•Humans’ relationships with animals and the natural world
•Wildlife
•History and mythology
•Biographies
•Art history and visual culture
•Contemporary and historical fashion
•Scientific illustration

Publication experience

•2024 SCBWI Marvelous Midwest Conference Promotional illustration and graphic.
   —Invited by SCBWI-MM Conference Committee.

•Magazine illustrations for Highlights and Cricket Media.

•5 picture books published by McGraw-Hill, McGraw-Hill Interamericana, and Renaissance House.

•Designed SCBWI-Nebraska Chapter Logo
   —Invited by SCBWI-Nebraska Regional Advisor.

•Sowing the Seeds of Liberty —National Heritage Museum long-term exhibition.
   —Picture docent illustration series for grade school children.

•Created 2D game art and animation for Genre Jam, music tapping game for iPhone and iPad.
   —Collaboration with independent game developer Fussy Kid.

Current projects

Arnie and Zippy  picture book description

Based on actual events, Arnie and Zippy incorporates the scientific method in telling how a boy and his pet hen win a blue ribbon at the County Fair by proving that chickens not only see color but can learn to pick one color over another if given a reward.  

    Plot synopsis:
      There’s a lot of squawking going on when Arnie and his pet, Zippy, the smartest hen on his family’s urban farm, set out to win the County Fair science contest.
      For his experiment, Arnie arranges three colored dots in a row. He trains Zippy by showing her a little bag of corn and gives her a kernel every time she picks yellow. But when the rest of the flock tries to horn in, Zippy snatches the bag out of Arnie’s hand and it’s every hen for herself!
      Arnie knows they can ribbon if Zippy plays the game like they practiced. If not, the outcome’s up for grabs!

Chapeaux Chix picture book plot synopsis:
      To draw a larger crowd for Critterville’s Spring Festival, the village mayor orders a stunning hat from the hen-chick duo Chapeaux Chix to give local celebrity, Madame Classe, at the event. As townsfolk flock to their shop in droves, the Chix see success within reach--until Classe’s last-minute cancelation threatens to undo all their hard work.

Exhibitions

Rascally Ravens Picture Book Exhibition.
Blagg-Huey Library, Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX • Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
      Spring 2025 • Fall 2025, respectively

Flowers, Trees, and Roots: The Wild World of Plants. View, Center for Arts and Culture. Old Forge, NY
      December 2022 - March 2023

Portals. Maryland Federation of Art
      Summer 2022

Watercolor USA. Springfield Art Museum. Springfield, MO
      Summer 2021

One-person exhibition—Drawing As Seeing. Rivier University, Nashua, NH
      Fall 2020

Two-person exhibition. Grey Fox Mercantile, New Hartford, NY
      Summer 2019

One-person exhibitions. Art Inspired Gallery, Springfield, MO
      Summer 2018, Fall 2017

Creative Quarterly 49, international juried on-line exhibition
      Winter 2018

Americas 2017: Paperworks - international juried exhibition,
      Northwest Art Center, Minot State University, ND