Lynne Chapman
Lynne Chapman has been a freelance illustrator for over twenty years but began specialising in children’s books around ten years ago. In that time she has illustrated more than thirty books. Lynne spent several years illustrating for a range of magazines and newspapers, developing the style that she now uses for her picture books. She works in pastels, creating humorous but beautiful drawings that bring a whole range of characters to life, and burst with fun and vibrant colour. She has always preferred drawing to painting and loves the hands-on messiness of the chalk, its subtle colour palette and unique texture.
Pastels are a messy medium, so when she is drawing, Lynne wears a very old and grubby smock that used to belong to her grandfather, a renowned restoration artist and amateur painter. Still encrusted with his ancient old-paint under the pastel dust, the smock is a lovely reminder of him, even down to the spotting of little burn holes in the front, where he used to drop roll-ups into his lap while he worked.
Although she was born in North London, Lynne now lives and works in a Victorian house in Sheffield with her ‘Northern’ husband. When not in her studio, or out visiting schools around the country, Lynne likes to walk on the Derbyshire moors near her home, rummage in second-hand bookshops, jive and eat Thai food. She is also part of The Electric Tomatoes, a group of writers who perform in local venues, and is a regular guest on BBC Radio Sheffield. 
Lynne’s other great love is travelling to unusual places with a pocket sketchbook. These little books have become her most treasured possessions, because each drawing is not just a visual record, but is forever imbued with all the smells, sounds and small happenings of the period it took her to draw.
You can see examples of Lynne’s travel sketchbook work and illustrations from all her books on her website at www.lynnechapman.co.uk. Also, check out Lynne's new blog at www.lynnechapman.blogspot.com. It is an over-the-shoulder look at her work with regular bulletins on what Lynne is up to and how her books are created.