Overview

Alicia Schwab (a-LEE-sha SHH-wab) (she/her/hers) is an award-winning freelance illustrator, designer, and co-founder of the picture book co-marketing group, PB24Galore.

She supports those with a broad spectrum of backgrounds and experiences and strives to create quality literature that reflects the lives of all children. She advocates autism and learning differences and specializes in heartfelt stories about overcoming hardships. Alicia holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and has over 20 years of experience as a children’s book illustrator in multiple genres in the USA and Germany. She is a member of:

MIXED-MEDIA ILLUSTRATION

Alicia combines pattern, mixed media, and bold colors with beautiful, resonant acrylics dancing with light. She starts by sketching and designing in digital media. Then, she paints layers of acrylic washes on watercolor paper and adds mark-making with colored pencils and crayons to capture the character’s emotion, plot dynamics, and the setting’s feeling. Finally, she finishes the art with digital media to make the illustration come alive.

BACKGROUND

Alicia grew up in the wooded hills of southern Wisconsin in an eccentric house her dad designed and built. They accumulated a motley crew of pets (including a toucan!) But when her older brother had a speech delay, he was encouraged to draw his thoughts to release the words stuck inside him. Alicia started “speaking in pictures” just like him and began writing and illustrating her stories. Today, Alicia lives in Minneapolis, MN, and enjoys cooking from scratch, visiting zoos, gardening, and hiking around the numerous lakes with her husband, daughter, and their sweet dog, Luna.

Select Clients

Amicus Ink
Beaver’s Pond Press
Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing, BreathLogic
Cricket Media
General Mills
Germanic American Institute
Minnesota Historical Society Press
Rockford, MN School
St. Catherine University
Search Institute Press
Smiths Medical
Balance-Verlag, Germany
Stadtwerke Energy Co., Germany
Germany, and Timona-Verlag, Germany

AWARDS

IPPY Book Award (Bronze)
Illustration Department Mentorship Award
People’s Choice Illustration Award–
Honorable Mention, SCBWI Marvelous
Midwest Conference
Green Book Award
Premiere Book Award
Reviewers Choice Award from Reader Views
Independent Publishers Book Award
Best Design, Chicago Athenaeum
Museum of Architecture and Design
Germany’s Most Beautiful Book Award

TESTIMONIALS

GoodReads

Media Kit

I appreciate having your book. It is lovely, and I look forward to reading it to the young people in my life.
Secretary Deb Haaland
U.S. Department of the Interior

Alicia’s work is magical. She brings life and passion to her subjects.
Kerry Solberg
Solberg Creative

In October 2021, Alicia joined several illustrators to help raise over $7200.00 for environmental causes during the AWEtober Art Auction/Fundraiser.
Shirley Ng-Benitez, author-illustrator
and founder of the AWEtober Art Auction/Fundraiser

One of the things I receive rave reviews on about my book is the cover art, so beautifully rendered by the talented artist Alicia Schwab. From my babbled description of what my intent was with my book, she created my touching, poignant cover.
Sid Korpi
Author

Alicia Schwab is a unique creative force with excellent skills. She's easy to like and brings a worldly and whimsical presence to all her work. We were always delighted with her work and working with her.
Deb Grossfield, Controller at Albertsson Hansen Architecture, Ltd.

That pair of illustrations (by Alicia Schwab) stood out for me too because the general scheme of the book was that each cell illustrates one line of the poem…So I thought that was very clever.
Freeman Ng
Author, and Poet.

The clients (and) several others are all just blown away by (Alicia's) illustrations. The colors, texture and composition surprised and delighted them. However, the most impressive is that, to a person they all commented on how (Alicia) really understands us.
Carol Evans-Smith
Art Dir. at St. Catherine's University.