Meet Caroline Hanlon | Teacher & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caroline Hanlon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was raised in a rural suburb outside of Washington, DC in Maryland. My childhood was exploring the woods or playing inside of my neighbor’s barn. I loved being outside as a child and it has shaped so much of who I am. A lot of my illustrations are inspired by nature and my imagination from childhood. I was a very quiet child, so drawing has always been the best way for me to express myself. I would always draw stories and create different characters when I was little. As I was going through hardships in high school, drawing became vital to me to get my feelings out.

When I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design, I knew that I wanted to make an impact on other people’s lives through illustration. To me, illustration was key to express ideas and to visually communicate ideas. As long as I put a smile on one person’s face, that would make me happy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I started out as an artist, I originally did realism and conceptual illustration before switching to a more children book style. When I was working in a more realistic style, I found it difficult express my ideas in a more organic and felt more limited in what I could do. I remembered that my sketchbook throughout college was always playful and had a more personal feel to it. The illustrations where simple and fun, but express a more realistic style. My style slowly developed to how it is now, and it has become my natural way of drawing and thinking of concepts.

When I first started out, I wanted to do more editorial work. As I worked more in that genre of illustration, I realized that I appreciated children’s books more with the storytelling and engagement it has. I started out with illustrating my own books to develop skills and experience.

I value working with clients and authors so much. Collaborating and working out ideas with each other is extremely important in the creative process of creating a book. The relationship we all build with each other is so wonderful and can definitely be seen throughout the work as well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many wonderful places in Washington, D.C. – it’s so hard to choose from! I would make sure that we definitely have some good walking shoes on as we’ll be walking A LOT. We would definitely first have lunch at one of my favorite bakeries, Tatte Bakery, on Dupont Circle. And then we’ll take the metro to Smithsonian where we can visit so many museums (my favorite is the National Art Gallery). We would then walk through the National Mall to Lincoln Memorial (but visit the Washington Monument on the way). As it gets closer to evening, we would walk to the Wharf and visit Jefferson Memorial on the way. The Wharf has so many great restaurants and bars, so you can honestly hop around and see what you like best! But definitely grab something good to eat and make our way back to the metro to go home.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents have always been supportive of me through all my hardships and challenges. When I was facing difficulty, they never stopped cheering me on and always encouraged me to keep going. They both taught me strong work ethics and good morals that I value so much as both an illustrator and teacher. They are also my biggest critics with my artwork and are definitely not afraid to voice their opinions, which is great. They will always be honest with me and speak the truth, which I highly appreciate.

Website: https://www.carolinehanlon.com/

Instagram: caroline.imagines

Image Credits
All photos belong to Caroline Hanlon.