Mindy Dwyer
bio

                MINDY DWYER comes to Port Townsend via Alaska by way of New York¹s Hudson Valley with her husband, three children and  faithful sled dog, Ruby.  She is the author/illustrator of ³The Salmon Princess², ³Sweet Dreams, Polar Bear², ³Coyote In Love², ³Aurora; A Tale of the  Northern Lights² and ³Quilt of Dreams,² and the illustrator of ³Winter Is², ³Baked Alaska² and ³Alaska¹s Three Pigs.² Dwyer enjoys working in a variety of mediums ranging from acrylic, scratchboard and collage but her favorite medium for children¹s  books is watercolor.

  ³Dwyer has mastered her craft beautifully clear, bright colors; washes that add texture to so flat a medium; and colorful  characters that bound across the earth and sky.² -Arts Review, Anchorage Daily News, Oct 1997          

              When Mindy is not painting or writing you can find her behind a stand up bass playing bluegrass music  with the DWYER FAMILY BAND. The string band consists of her husband, Bill on rhythm guitar and vocals; her son, Jack on  mandolin, banjo, guitar, fiddle and vocals; her  daughter, Katey on fiddle.

            Mindy grew up in the melting pot of Western Pennsylvania, a diverse heritage from opera singers and doctors, to farmers and miners,  Mindy has worn many hats as photo retoucher, forester, furniture maker, shopkeeper, mother and bass player. Living in the Rockies, travelling in  Mexico, raising a family in the Pacific Northwest , living in Alaska and New York state all add to the evolving themes in her art. From a young age Mindy paired words with pictures by writing poems and cutting up magazines, drawing comic strips chronicling  the funny things she did with her friends. Writing and illustrating stories for children was a natural evolution. Dwyer hones her imagery to its most basic shape, preserving its essence and combines it with bold composition and light. She creates a strong sense of place, a world in which her characters come to life.

             Mindy¹s art training includes visual communications at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, PA and fine art studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Along with independent study in art, Mindy has developed a distinct graphic style.

Mindy will begin illustrations for a children¹s knitting book this winter, work on her new book, ³Why the Wind Blows,² play music, build a dream house and paint in her new home in PT.

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