Today, we celebrate the work and career of illustrator and fine artist April Harrison. In 2019, Harrison took a leap of faith, away from a twenty-five year career in the insurance business, to pursue a full-time career in art. Her focus became children’s book illustration. Her first illustrated book, “What Is Given From The Heart,” written by the late Patricia McKissack, won the 2020 Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe award for new illustrator. Her second book to illustrate, “Nana Akua Goes to School,” received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly. Her bold, textured artwork, by her own admission, is “merely a vessel being utilized to instinctively create narrative, sentiment and observation”.
Harrison is currently working on her third book, “Shirley Chisholm Dared, “written by Alicia D. Williams.
Her original paintings can be found in both public and private collections worldwide.
Above is April Harrison in her own words.
