I am an illustrator, a designer and an illustration advocate. I have a B.A. in Neuroscience at Smith College (although, I felt more like an artist than a scientist while earning that degree). My professional background is in advertising. I worked several years at various advertising agencies in New York City as an account executive and as a copywriter. Along the way, I managed to take several fine art courses at a few art schools. Today, I specialize in hand-drawn illustrations and photo-illustration montages inspired by biology, fashion and pattern design. I am in an open relationship with art and science. I love using the arts to inspire people to appreciate the natural world. One day, I hope to create a foundation that funds conservational efforts through the income generated by my designs. For centuries artists and designers have used nature as their muse, now more than ever it's time to give back. I'm also the founder of Illustration NYC (www.IllustrationNYC.com), a weekly digest of the illustration scene in NYC. She was a gifted artist, full of life and always on the move, who loved to dance, laugh, and throw herself into new projects and had passionate conversations on all sorts of topics. Survived by her mother Lula Peralta, six aunts, many cousins and friends in Nicaragua, Canada, USA and many other places around the world, she had touched so many lives and will be sorely missed.