Carson Friedman Ellis is an artist living in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. She is best known for her children's book illustrations and her album art.

Career

Ellis is an award-winning illustrator of several children's books, including the New York Times Bestsellers Wildwood, written by Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy

Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...

, The Composer is Dead, written by Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American novelist Daniel Handler . Snicket is the author of several children's books, serving as the narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events and appearing as a character within the series. Because of this, the name Lemony Snicket may refer to both a fictional...

, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, written by Trenton Lee Stewart

Trenton Lee Stewart

Trenton Lee Stewart is an American author best known for the Mysterious Benedict Society series. Stewart is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop...

. She received a 2010 Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators for her art in Dillweed's Revenge, by Florence Parry Heide

Florence Parry Heide

Florence Parry Heide was a bestselling American children's writer. Born in Pittsburgh and spending most of her childhood in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, she studied at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA. After two years, she transferred to UCLA and graduated in 1939...

.

She is also well known for her work with rock band The Decemberists

The Decemberists

The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...

, for whom she has created album art, t-shirts, websites, posters, and stage sets. Her album covers for the Decemberists include The Crane Wife

The Crane Wife

The Crane Wife is an album by The Decemberists, released in 2006. It was produced by Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter...

, Her Majesty the Decemberists, Castaways and Cutouts, The Hazards of Love

The Hazards of Love

The Hazards of Love, released March 24, 2009, is the fifth album by The Decemberists. The album was inspired by an Anne Briggs EP titled The Hazards of Love. According to the band, frontman Colin Meloy set out to write a song with the album's title—eventually leading to an entire album...

, and the EPs

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 5 Songs and The Tain

The Tain

The Tain is an EP by The Decemberists released in 2004 by Acuarela Discos and in 2005 by Kill Rock Stars. The single 18-plus minute track is the band's take on the Irish mythological epic Táin Bó Cúailnge which is often simply called The Táin...

. She has also created artwork for other musicians, such as Laura Veirs

Laura Veirs

Laura Pauline Veirs is an American singer-songwriter.Veirs was raised in Colorado, studied geology and Mandarin Chinese at Carleton College, worked as a translator for a geological expedition in China, and now lives in Portland, Oregon.While growing up, she heard folk-country, classical, and pop...

, Beat Circus

Beat Circus

Beat Circus is a band from Boston, Massachusetts fronted by multi-instrumentalist / singer-songwriter Brian Carpenter, who has been its only constant member since its inception.-Musical style:...

, and Weezer

Weezer

Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...

.

Personal Life

Carson Ellis is married to Decemberists singer Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy

Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for the Portland, Oregon, folk-rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica, percussion and interpretive hand gestures.-Early life...

, whom she met as a college roommate creating posters for his alt-country band Tarkio

Tarkio (band)

Tarkio was an alternative country band from Missoula, Montana which included Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by Kill Rock Stars in 2006.-History:...

. She and Meloy have one child, Henry "Hank" Meloy.

External links

• CarsonEllis.com, with art
• interview with Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, a children's illustration blog that includes many of Ellis's images
• An interview with Ellis about her work at Design Sponge
• Five questions for Carson Ellis at the Huffington Post