The illustrator of Parkite Melissa Marsted\u2019s new \u201cWildlife Adventures for Young Readers\u201d book comes with natural clout.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Alexandra Lehner\u2019s day job is being one of the U.S. Forest Service\u2019s wildlife technicians.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work out of the Washburn Ranger District in northern Wisconsin, and I\u2019m an artist on the side,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Marsted, who needed someone to illustrate her new book, \u201cRascal\u2019s Year of Adventure,\u201d which will be published on Sept. 20, was on a road trip with her son Peter Bermant when she discovered Lehner\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had never been to Michigan, and we decided to visit its upper peninsula in February,\u201d Marsted said. \u201cWe then ended up on the banks of Lake Superior in Ashland, Wisconsin, and went into a coffee shop called the Black Cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsted discovered some of Lehner\u2019s art cards at the shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she had a younger vision than I was used to, so I tracked her down on Instagram,\u201d Marsted said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marsted\u2019s message surprised Lehner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in illustrating a children\u2019s book, but I never had the chance,\u201d the artist said. \u201cBecause I have another job, it\u2019s something that I haven\u2019t pursued. So when Melissa approached me about it, I was definitely excited to work on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner never thought showing her art at a coffee shop would lead to this dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coffee shop is a well-known place in town, and they have been selling my cards for a few years,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Alex-lehner.jpeg\")
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 \u201cWildlife Adventures for Young Readers\u201d book. Credit: Photo courtesy of Alexandra Lehner<\/p>\n
The shop hosts an art show every month, and Lehner is friends with the organizer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo every now and then if someone drops out, she\u2019ll give me a call and ask if I want to hang up some of my stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve had stuff in the shop and prints for sale, too, for a few different months here and there. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsted and Lehner began working together in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly 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,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce she told me she liked what I was doing and said she wanted to keep going, we both agreed to continue with the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two, who haven\u2019t met in person, discuss the storyline and illustrations before Lehner begins her work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see if there is anything specific Melissa wants the image to depict,\u201d she said. \u201cIn some cases it was \u2018yes,\u2019 but at other times she just wanted a general habitat piece. So, she gave me pretty much free rein with most of the pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
Art has always been a part of Lehner\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty involved in high school, and I minored in art in college,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Lehner took drawing and printmaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took the fun classes but skipped art history and the more technical classes,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Lehner stopped art after college to focus on her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would casually sketch and do things like that, and got into different forms of arty hobbies \u2014 crossstitching, beadwork and that kind of thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
During COVID, Lehner returned to making art.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d she said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner now also creates art digitally, which has helped with her collaboration with Marsted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been wanting to try digital work, but part of it intimidated me,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a lot of experience in the Adobe suite kind of thing, and I didn\u2019t have the tablet or materials to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed when Lehner and her husband learned they needed a computer tablet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe encouraged me to get one that we could use for other things as well,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, now I work with an iPad and an Apple Pencil.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner uses a program called Procreate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a $10, one-time purchase app with no fees, and it\u2019s really awesome,\u201d she said. \u201cUnlike 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\u2019t think I\u2019ve scratched the surface of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner has done all the work for \u201cRascal\u2019s Year of Adventure\u201d with Procreate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m able to send Melissa and the book designer Aileen (Aquino) the files directly, and they have everything to work with right there,\u201d she said. \u201cI think my style of bright colors and the simplified shapes lends itself pretty well for work that is good for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Much of the art in the book is informed by Lehner\u2019s job working for the Forest Service.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do a lot of surveys \u2014 bird surveys, pollinator work, anything from bats to frogs to snakes \u2014 and I occasionally do bigger animal work with bears and wolves,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I get to see a lot of wildlife and rare ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even outside of her day job, Lehner is outdoors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do a lot of birding and gardening,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes I will have something in my head that I would like to create, and sometimes I\u2019ll come up with something that will slowly form over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner enjoys illustrating wetlands, which is what Marsted\u2019s new book is about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some pretty unique plant and animal life and interactions, and I like depicting what\u2019s above the water that you can see, and also what\u2019s underwater that you can\u2019t see,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lehner enjoys working with Marsted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can tell through casual conversation how much these books mean to her and how passionate about the subject she\u2019s writing about,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can also see how eager she is to learn about it as she\u2019s writing. And that\u2019s so contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lehner is especially excited that her work appears in a children\u2019s book.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For information about Alexandra Lehner and her art, visit Alex Lehner Art<\/a> on Facebook and @alexlehnerart<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n For information about \u2018Rascal\u2019s Year of Adventure,\u201d visit luckypennypublications.com<\/a> after Sept. 20.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated Stories\n<\/p>\n \t