Get a behind the scenes look at the beginnings of an idea for a picture book inspired by nature in the city. I was delighted to wake one morning to the noisy going-ons of a mourning dove couple setting up home in my top floor window in the back of the building. Over the first summer of the pandemic I was privileged to watch the development of two families from the same couple and was inspired to write a story about it and how it effected my life and brought a new sense of won

Another picture book creation journey begins where a pair of mourning doves nest in my window, and I pose a question: bars or no bars on the windows?

A new animal has joined the parade! Highland cows, or hairy coos as the locals in Scotland call them, are just so dang cute I had to...

An Animal Parade World Introduction Animals from around the world coming and going in a fun parade around the house, office, dorm room...

A behind the scenes look at my dragon art and the creation of my 2024 Traci VW Creations Year of the Dragon Calendar

Written and illustrated by Traci Van Wagoner Inspired by a story told by Grandma Mead on many a Christmas Eve. My breath blew out in...

IT’S OFFICIAL!!! Many of you have watched and waited and shared in the journey from initial text dummy to final book for Boomer the...

Update on the book making process following Boomer's journey from sketches to final book.

You are all due an update for Boomer! Time has gotten away from me with so much of my attention at the drawing board with this project,...

When the pandemic started, art directors and editors were not long in their offices to received illustrator's promotional postcards, so...

Let the Painting Begin! The sketches have been approved, and now it’s time for the paint play to start! Splish, splash! I've started with...

One of the best parts of illustrating children's books is developing the characters that live within those books. I've had a ton of fun...

Great news! I'm illustrating another picture book! I'm thrilled to be diving into illustrating a new picture book, Boomer, written by my...

So, I wrote a little something for 50 precious words hosted by Vivian Kirkfield. Then I remembered I had this cute monster I created a...

In case you need a hug! We could all use more hugs now days, and bear hugs are extra snuggly good! I had some Paint Play fun creating...

Happy new year! Wow, here we are already a couple weeks into a brand spankin' new year! Thank you for joining me in my creative journey...

My favorite childhood Christmas memories are a family tradition created by my Dad, the unrolling of the crepé paper ball. We did this...

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. I've been busy, busy painting and creating art for two big games which successfully...

​I hope this will be helpful to both the authors seeking to hire an illustrator and illustrators working with authors who are...

Vivian Kirkfield hosts a fun challenge #50PreciousWords. This is a fun challenge for all writers and in particular children's book...