Alayna Paquette is a freelance illustrator who lives on a lovely, small island.  She is a graduate of the Natural Science Illustration program at the Rhode Island School of Design, and, in a previous incarnation, earned a degree in biology while attending George Washington University.  She has created illustrations for text books, picture books, magazines, and advertising. In addition to her career in illustration, she is a prolific pet portrait artist.

Alayna has lived in Rhode Island, Texas, Georgia, and Washington D.C., and has visited almost every major national park in the United States and Canada. Her love of travel, animals, science, and nature are major influences on her art, and many of her illustrated characters are based on her own beloved and adorable niece and nephews. Working in pen and ink, pencil, watercolor, and, more recently, digital painting, she enjoys depicting animals and children interacting in unexpected circumstances.

As a professional illustrator, Alayna has worked with clients who include Belvoir Media Group, Balzac's Coffee Roasters, the Middletown Historical Society, and Girlguiding UK.  As for her pet portraiture, among dozens of others, her most well known client happened to be her own former state representative.