ILLUSTRATOR

Born in Melbourne, Betty studied art and design at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and at Swinburne Institute of Technology. After working for several years as a fashion illustrator and designer, she is now a freelance artist whose commissions include murals, posters, graphics, textile design and book illustration.

Her picture books include the well-known and loved JACK IN THE BUSH (written by Barbara Giles, Penguin Books, 1983), THE BALLOON FARMER (written by Geoffrey Lehman, Random House Australia, 1994) and OLD SAM, JASPER AND MR FRANK (written by Trevor Todd, Penguin Books, 1985). She has also illustrated many educational series.

Betty's other work includes designing the textile print for The Official Australian 0lympic Team Uniform for the Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) Olympic Games, poster designs for The Human Rights Commission, banner designs for Melbourne City Council and numerous large-scale murals. She has also taught illustration at Monash University and RMIT and has exhibited her work in several group exhibitions, both here in Australia and overseas.

She is happy to talk to students of all ages about her work, from illustrating children's books to designing posters and murals. Talks include demonstrations of various illustration techniques and hands-on workshops can be tailored to different age levels. Recently, Betty has addressed Year 12 students in regard to the VCE subject, Visual Communication and Design, and the requirement of students to write a report on Professional Practice.