Alison Jay was born in Hertfordshire, grew up in Derbyshire and studied graphic design in London where she now lives. After graduating she worked in animation for a short while but gradually started to get commissions in illustration. She works in Alkyd a quick drying oil paint on paper and sometimes adds a crackle varnish to give the work an aged appearance. She has worked in all areas of illustration including advertising, packaging, editorial and design. Her commissions include a
48 sheet poster for B.T, a TV commercial for Kellogg’s corn flakes and has recently illustrated the new baby range of products for Crabtree and Evelyn. She has also illustrated lots of children's books including "Picture This", "William and the night train", "The Race", "I took the moon for a walk", "The Emperors new clothes”, If Kisses were colours” , "ABC Alphabet", an unabridged fully illustrated version of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", "Listen Listen", "Welcome to the Zoo ", "A Child's first Counting Book" "Today is the Birthday of the World" and "Nursery Rhyme Rainbow". She recently worked with Aardman Animation on the development of a feature film and is currently working on a version of "The Nutcracker". Her book "Welcome to the Zoo" which is a wordless visit to a cage less "animal hotel" has been selected as one of New York's Bank Street's 2009 best books of the year.
