South African illustrator, Althéa was born in Tshwane South Africa in 1989. Althéa moved with her family to Francistown, Botswana in her formative years where she discovered her artistic flair, inspired by several children’s book stories, especially those of Roald Dahl.

 

Althéa later studied Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg where she further developed her artistic skills mainly in painting, printmaking and ceramics, which later developed her mixed-media illustration style by combining traditional art, notably in watercolour and gouache with digital painting.

 

Althéa’s experience in teaching art and pottery to children for a few years after University, naturally put her on a path of discovering children’s book illustration as a career. Combining her teaching experience and years of art practice, established a full-time career in illustration and picture book illustration. 

 

Althéa is significantly inspired by different cultures, nature and the outdoors. She approaches her character art and illustration with a sense of playfulness and fun to capture the unique personalities that inspire her. Althea is a keen trail runner and nature lover and enjoys spending her free time running and hunting for references in nature to paint in watercolour.