The illustrator of Parkite Melissa Marsted’s new “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” book comes with natural clout.
That’s because Alexandra Lehner’s day job is being one of the U.S. Forest Service’s wildlife technicians.
“I work out of the Washburn Ranger District in northern Wisconsin, and I’m an artist on the side,” she said.
Marsted, who needed someone to illustrate her new book, “Rascal’s Year of Adventure,” which will be published on Sept. 20, was on a road trip with her son Peter Bermant when she discovered Lehner’s work.
“I had never been to Michigan, and we decided to visit its upper peninsula in February,” Marsted said. “We then ended up on the banks of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin, and went into a coffee shop called the Black Cat.”
Marsted discovered some of Lehner’s art cards at the shop.
“I thought she had a younger vision than I was used to, so I tracked her down on Instagram,” Marsted said.
Marsted’s message surprised Lehner.
“I’ve always been interested in illustrating a children’s book, but I never had the chance,” the artist said. “Because I have another job, it’s something that I haven’t pursued. So when Melissa approached me about it, I was definitely excited to work on that.”
Lehner never thought showing her art at a coffee shop would lead to this dream.
“The coffee shop is a well-known place in town, and they have been selling my cards for a few years,” she said.
Alexandra Lehner is a wildlife technician for the U.S. Forest Service. Her art caught the attention of Park City resident Melissa Marsted, who recruited Lehner to illustrate the new “Wildlife Adventures for Young Readers” book. Credit: Photo courtesy of Alexandra Lehner
The shop hosts an art show every month, and Lehner is friends with the organizer.
“So every now and then if someone drops out, she’ll give me a call and ask if I want to hang up some of my stuff,” she said. “I’ve had stuff in the shop and prints for sale, too, for a few different months here and there. It’s a pretty cool place. But what are the odds a book author will stop in town and go to a coffee shop that has my cards? That was a really happy coincidence.”
Marsted and Lehner began working together in March.
“Early on, Melissa sent me one of the first drafts of the book, and had me produce some artwork for specific pages to see if this was something we were both interested in,” she said. “Once she told me she liked what I was doing and said she wanted to keep going, we both agreed to continue with the project.”
The two, who haven’t met in person, discuss the storyline and illustrations before Lehner begins her work.
“I see if there is anything specific Melissa wants the image to depict,” she said. “In some cases it was ‘yes,’ but at other times she just wanted a general habitat piece. So, she gave me pretty much free rein with most of the pages.”
Art has always been a part of Lehner’s life.
“I was pretty involved in high school, and I minored in art in college,” she said. “But I don’t think I technically finished the minor, because I double majored in biology and natural resources. So, the schedule was pretty much the opposite of the art classes.”
Still, Lehner took drawing and printmaking.
“I took the fun classes but skipped art history and the more technical classes,” she said with a laugh.
Lehner stopped art after college to focus on her career.
“I would casually sketch and do things like that, and got into different forms of arty hobbies — crossstitching, beadwork and that kind of thing,” she said.
During COVID, Lehner returned to making art.
“I started working with this type of media called POSCA pens, which are essentially acrylic paint in the form of a marker you can draw with,” she said. “It really worked with my style, and I did more and more full pieces with those. In fact, some of my most popular prints I sell today started with those acrylic paint pens.”
Lehner now also creates art digitally, which has helped with her collaboration with Marsted.
“I had been wanting to try digital work, but part of it intimidated me,” she said. “I didn’t have a lot of experience in the Adobe suite kind of thing, and I didn’t have the tablet or materials to start.”
That changed when Lehner and her husband learned they needed a computer tablet.
“He encouraged me to get one that we could use for other things as well,” she said. “So, now I work with an iPad and an Apple Pencil.”
Lehner uses a program called Procreate.
“It’s a $10, one-time purchase app with no fees, and it’s really awesome,” she said. “Unlike Adobe Illustrator that works off of points and lines, Procreate transfers your lines on a screen with a pen, which is very similar to drawing on paper. It is working really well for me because the app is very versatile. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of it.”
Lehner has done all the work for “Rascal’s Year of Adventure” with Procreate.
“I’m able to send Melissa and the book designer Aileen (Aquino) the files directly, and they have everything to work with right there,” she said. “I think my style of bright colors and the simplified shapes lends itself pretty well for work that is good for kids.”
Much of the art in the book is informed by Lehner’s job working for the Forest Service.
“I do a lot of surveys — bird surveys, pollinator work, anything from bats to frogs to snakes — and I occasionally do bigger animal work with bears and wolves,” she said. “So I get to see a lot of wildlife and rare ecosystems.”
Even outside of her day job, Lehner is outdoors.
“I do a lot of birding and gardening,” she said. “Sometimes I will have something in my head that I would like to create, and sometimes I’ll come up with something that will slowly form over time.”
Lehner enjoys illustrating wetlands, which is what Marsted’s new book is about.
“There are some pretty unique plant and animal life and interactions, and I like depicting what’s above the water that you can see, and also what’s underwater that you can’t see,” she said.
Lehner enjoys working with Marsted.
“You can tell through casual conversation how much these books mean to her and how passionate about the subject she’s writing about,” she said. “You can also see how eager she is to learn about it as she’s writing. And that’s so contagious.”
Lehner is especially excited that her work appears in a children’s book.
“I’m happy to be able to produce art that will hopefully inspire people to get out in nature and appreciate the wild spaces in their communities,” she said.
For information about Alexandra Lehner and her art, visit Alex Lehner Art on Facebook and @alexlehnerart on Instagram.
For information about ‘Rascal’s Year of Adventure,” visit luckypennypublications.com after Sept. 20.
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