three on the treetop - the illustrations of lillian mckinnon
It all started with a giraffe and a staircase. I remember thinking, “giraffes are so tall, they must be able to see for miles…..imagine how far one could see if it was standing at the top of a set of stairs!” That is the first drawing I created many, many, many years ago (OK maybe not THAT many years ago). Back then my vision was a little smaller - now I might wonder about the breadth of a giraffe’s view from the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro or at the top of the CN Tower (I am a proud Torontonian). But I digress…
Suffice it to say that at the beginning of my life a giraffe climbed up an imaginary staircase and I haven’t been able to put a pencil down since. I scribbled my way through childhood, doodled my way through adolescence and painted my way through young adulthood. At Sheridan and University of Toronto, where I earned an Art and Art History degree, I focused mostly on photography and printmaking but my love of the brush conquered, and for quite some time I created mainly in oils. Soon after I entered motherhood my work took on a more illustrative aesthetic and I began a new love affair with pencil crayons. With my pencil sharpener always at the ready I began to create whimsical smaller scale pieces: imaginary creatures with colourful backstories, illustrated animal line-ups inspired by nesting dolls, and detailed multi-tiered shadow boxes. Thus, Three on the Treetop, a collection of decorative and playful creations made with kids (both young and old) in mind, was born.
I’m eternally inspired by cephalopods, I believe in accentuating the mistake, I use too many exclamation points and I strive to eat many cupcakes. I love to create custom pieces so please contact me if you like my style and would like me to create something just for you. Feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for sneak peeks of my new projects, and visit my Etsy shop to purchase prints, shadow boxes and originals. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy taking a stroll through my imagination!!!!!!! (I warned you about the exclamation points!)
Suffice it to say that at the beginning of my life a giraffe climbed up an imaginary staircase and I haven’t been able to put a pencil down since. I scribbled my way through childhood, doodled my way through adolescence and painted my way through young adulthood. At Sheridan and University of Toronto, where I earned an Art and Art History degree, I focused mostly on photography and printmaking but my love of the brush conquered, and for quite some time I created mainly in oils. Soon after I entered motherhood my work took on a more illustrative aesthetic and I began a new love affair with pencil crayons. With my pencil sharpener always at the ready I began to create whimsical smaller scale pieces: imaginary creatures with colourful backstories, illustrated animal line-ups inspired by nesting dolls, and detailed multi-tiered shadow boxes. Thus, Three on the Treetop, a collection of decorative and playful creations made with kids (both young and old) in mind, was born.
I’m eternally inspired by cephalopods, I believe in accentuating the mistake, I use too many exclamation points and I strive to eat many cupcakes. I love to create custom pieces so please contact me if you like my style and would like me to create something just for you. Feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram for sneak peeks of my new projects, and visit my Etsy shop to purchase prints, shadow boxes and originals. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy taking a stroll through my imagination!!!!!!! (I warned you about the exclamation points!)
