Karissa Miller Laffey

KARISSA MILLER LAFFEY

Illustrator

Karissa Laffey is a native Texan and natural born artist who enjoys expressing her love and appreciation for the natural environment through her drawings and paintings. She creates the majority of her work using watercolor, gouache, and acrylic paints. Karissa is largely inspired by the beauty she experiences in nature. Her work utilizes vibrant colors, which amplify the striking features of the natural environment. Her vision is to draw people in using rich colors and inspire them to share her delight and curiosity for nature. This is Karissa’s first project as a children’s book illustrator. She is the daughter of the author, Melanie Miller, and looks forward to many years of creating with her mother. Karissa graduated from Texas A&M University in 2015 with a degree in marine biology. Presently, she is employed as a high school science teacher at Pasadena ISD in Texas.

Illustrations by Karissa Miller Laffey

“But Gertie Garza, You’re a Girl!” by Melanie Mathis Miller. A young girl in a blue dress, tennis shoes, and a bandage on her knee looks confidently forward with her hands on her hips.
“Iris and the Turtles” by Malanie Mathis Miller cover. A young girl is floating on her back with a sea turtle swimming on either side of her. There are also many fish in the water.