Ann Jones

Illustrator of Granny's Clan: A Tale of Wild Orcas, Ann Jones has been a naturalist and artist all of her life. After earning a degree in Life Science, she taught elementary school for many years. She dabbled in other art media but found her passion to paint was realized in pastel. Using just her fingers and hands she applies layers of color to create rich and luminous paintings --- A very tactile experience.

Ann lives on the rocky east shore of an island in the Pacifc Northwest where the sunrises, weather changes and wildlife are spectacular. Her studio is very near to the ocean. She was just getting ready to start painting Granny for this book when she heard the distinctive sound of orcas exhaling. She ran to the shore and there was part of the clan, only about 20 feet away. What an auspicious start!

Because individual orcas are identified by the fins, color patches and other markings, Ann made a point of painting the individual IDs so readers can identify the main characters in the story visually.