ABOUT Emerald Elf Design

I am Sue Vincent, a Pittsburgh artist and illustrator, and I have been drawing and creating for as long as I can remember. I received a scholarship for art classes at Carnegie Mellon University in grade school, and my pursuit of the arts has taken off ever since. I have a business and administrative background a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

Through my business, Emerald Elf Design, I have produced everything from business cards, logos, t-shirts, portraits, murals, book illustrations and everything in between! I love to experiment with a variety mediums, but my favorite thus far is pastel. My artwork has been featured in various shows throughout the Pittsburgh area and has won First Place, Juror’s Choice and Honorable Mention awards. Some of the artists whom I admired and influenced my style throughout the years are Walt Disney, Marjolein Bastin, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Pierre August Renoir.

I have taught various painting, drawing and portraiture classes to adults and children, both group and privately. I thoroughly enjoy helping other discover and develop their creativity and aim to convey a sense of joy and community in my classes. I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and have illustrated eight children’s books, as well as 20 published book covers. I am currently working on writing and illustrating my own children’s book, featuring my beloved corgi, Cinnamon.

I have three grown children who are all very creative in their own ways, and who all greatly influenced my work and show up in my illustrations overtly or covertly! I credit my husband for being my long-time favorite muse, who has given me his unwavering support from the first time we met. It has long been a dream of mine to have my own studio and in 2016, that dream finally came to fruition and I had a custom “she-shed” built - this is where I find my ‘joie de vivre!