About

I have been drawing since the age of three. In preschool I painted a picture, “Best Friends” (tempura, 1986), that instantly garnered the attention of my teacher. The moment she took it from the easel to show it off to the teacher across the hall, I was hooked— I knew I wanted to create art for the rest of my life.

My first entrepreneurial effort was as a door-to-door sales-child, selling my drawings for $1 each to confused neighbors. This was quickly put to an end by my apologetic mother. At the age of ten, I wrote and illustrated my first book; a gift for my best friend. I continued to draw throughout my school years, and enjoyed being the staff cartoonist for my high school newspaper.

I have a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts, and have done a little bit of everything in the years since; greeting cards, comics, pen and ink, watercolor and acrylic paintings, colored pencil, markers, some pro-bono illustration work for personal projects, as well as commissioned artwork.

The goal of my work is to connect creatively with others through humor, honesty, and/or purity of purpose. I like to infuse a hearty dose of personality into my illustrations and comics. My interests are book illustration, album art, portrait comissions and comic work.

My creative influences include but are not limited to: Wes Anderson, Tomie de Paola, Andrew Wyeth, Byzantine iconography, Swedish folkart, the Muppets, the 1970s, Charles Schulz, Edward Gorey, the southern Oregon coast, British humor and nearly everything New England.

I am an Orthodox Christian, and my faith informs a lot of what I do. When I’m not creating art, I enjoy spending time with my husband and four kids, sewing, knitting, and taking long walks with April, our Border Collie-Whippet. Oh yeah, I live in Oregon!

Interested in a print of my work, or a creative collaboration? Drop me a line at xktussing@yahoo.com, or contact me directly via my Instagram or Facebook accounts.

Thanks so much for stopping by!