Meryl has known since childhood that art was her calling. She spent endless hours drawing and painting. In 1974 she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University, graduating summa cum laude. While living and working as a freelance illustrator in New York City, Meryl took courses at Parson’s School of Design and the Art Student’s League. For 3 years she studied traditional art systems with Myron Barnstone at the Barnstone Studios in Coplay, Pennsylvania. She recently studied landscape painting with F, E, Green of Catskill, New York, and is currently studying portrait painting at the Woodstock School of Art.

 

For more than 35 years Meryl has worked as a full time professional illustrator, specializing in children’s illustration. She has illustrated more than 40 books as well as thousands of illustrations for magazines and educational books.

 

Born in Chicago, much of Meryl’s childhood was spent moving from state to state. She has lived in Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. She now lives in the lovely, small town of Catskill in upstate New York. She shares her life with husband Jim Learnihan and 4 adopted dogs. Three parrots share the studio with her, and answer hello in unison when the phone rings.

 

Long walks in the beautiful Catskill area with her dogs are a daily pleasure. Other interests are landscape painting in oils and etching scenes from nature using her 1850’s etching press. She exhibits and sells her work in local galleries.