Below is a list of our current members. Member illustration samples can be viewed in the Gallery, or the members’ individual websites to see the full range of their talents. For information on acquiring artwork, please contact the artist directly.
Pat Achilles
Pat has illustrated for children’s books, magazines, advertising agencies and corporations for over twenty years, and worked as an art director for a Philadelphia publishing house. Her most recently illustrated children’s books are Mommy’s High Heel Shoes by Kristie Finnan, The Adventures of the Poodle Posse by Chrysa Smith, and The Lion, the Ostrich and the Squirrel for the Maasai Cultural Exchange Program. Pat received her BFA from Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art and is a co-founder of the Bucks County Illustrators Society. Her illustration for The Secret Garden was part of the 2013 Byers’ Bucks Fever Art Exhibition and she has received awards for her illustrations at the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s Phillustration Show. Her work can be viewed at http://www.achillesportfolio.com.
Sandy Bender
Sandy Bender is an artist specializing in marine, mammal, avian, botanical, geological, and meteorological illustrations aimed at scientific books for a youthful spirited audience. His whimsical line quality in ink and colored pencil may be embellished with soft watercolor tones to celebrate life’s spontaneity and vibrancy. Sandy is also a member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. He is a also a musician and an architect specializing in natural disaster resilience. His educational background in the creative arts include completed study at Art Students League of New York, Syracuse University, New York University, and Drexel University.
James Bennett
James Bennett began studying art at Bucks County Community College in 1981. His professional career as an illustrator started soon after receiving recognition from the Society of Illustrators and RSVP as a scholarship student at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
James Bennett’s conceptually humorous Illustrations have since appeared as covers and interior pieces for The New York Times, The L.A. Times, Forbes, Time, Sports Illustrated, The Weekly Standard, Mad, Business Week, New York, Smithsonian, Reader’s Digest, Yankee, Golf, and Philadelphia magazines, among others. He has also produced art for RCA Records, American Express, Paramount Pictures, Citibank, Hasbro, and Milton Bradley.
James Bennett has completed a number of picture books, two of which have appeared in the top 5 of the New York Times Best Seller list. “Tell Me A Scary Story… But Not Too Scary,” written by Carl Reiner and the picture book “Halloween,” written by Jerry Seinfeld.
“The 2000 Year Old Man Goes To School”written by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, and “Tell Me A Silly Story” by Carl Reiner have been added to the celebrity book shelves.
James Bennett’s awards include the prestigious Hamilton King, which acknowledges an illustrator’s outstanding body of work represented by the “Best Illustration of the Year by a Member,” the Stevan Dohanos Award from the Society of Illustrators in New York. The “Creative Show” in San Diego which recognizes the best in advertising for the year, awarded him a gold medal, and he has also won gold medals from the Society of Illustrators Annual Shows in New York City.Bennett received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater, and has also been the featured artist in issues of Communication Arts and Fantasy Art from China.
A member of the Executive Board of Directors at the Society of Illustrators, Bennett is also active in the Illustrators Partnership of America. He has taught classes in illustration and portfolio technique at The School of Visual Arts and Pratt in New York, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and has lectured extensively at various art institutions locally and nationwide.
He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in May of 2013, after giving the commencement speech to the graduating class of Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania.
James lives and works in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Amanda Lee Condict
An illustrator and designer, Amanda Lee Condict has worked in graphic arts and publishing her whole life, first as an illustrator for a department store, then as an art director of a monthly magazine and finally as the owner of a graphic design and illustration studio. She has illustrated for books, magazines and catalogs, created t-shirt and textile designs and done commissioned portraits. She has been called upon to draw dresses and dental appliances, batteries and babies, fairies and fuel filters, policemen and parrots; just about anything you can imagine.
Amanda is also an adjunct instructor in the fashion department at Albright College; teaches art at Yocum Institute; and paints murals, mostly as community projects with area schools. She has shown her work at various local galleries, most recently an exhibit of her watercolor paper dolls at Yocum Gallery and graphite portraits in the faculty show at Albright College.
Ponder Goembel
For as long as she can remember Ponder has enjoyed studying and creating art. Growing up in the multicultural city of Baltimore, she used to sit and look at picture books for hours as a child. Frequenting the Baltimore Art Museum, she was influenced by many older and contemporary artists. Now she creates award-winning illustrations for children in the form of picture books and children’s magazines. She was awarded with an S.C.B.W.I. Golden Kite Honor for the book, Sailor Moo, Cow at Sea, a Michigan Mitten award for Old Cricket, and several pieces of original art have been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators in N.Y.C.
She earned a B.F.A. and an Illustration award at the Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts. Later on, she taught there as well as the Baum School of Art in Allentown, Pa.
Starting her career in commercial illustration you could find her work in magazines, annual reports and record album covers before she moved on to children’s books. Her first book and a baby daughter came at about the same time and she has never turned back. Now she creates illustrations mostly for children and visits schools with her drawing demonstrations and different kinds of “thinking caps”.
You may view her latest piece, an animation, on her website: http://pondergoembel.com/fun.html
Pam Hamilton
Lifetime Bucks County resident, Pam Hamilton has worked many sides of the art/design industry from print houses, sign shops and her own design firm. Having an understanding of how all the businesses work from idea to completion allows her to use her graphic design and illustration skills to meet all her clients needs. Pam is also a published children’s author and illustrator. Feel free to check out her work on her website or contact her for your next project.
Deb Hoeffner
Over the years, deb’s work has evolved from a very tight realism to a more fluid, painterly expression. The title artist/illustrator suits her. With degrees and experience in art education, fine arts, and graphic design and an added passion for art history, deb has the experience, knowledge, and curiosity to constantly create new solutions to visual challenges.
Her drawings are realistic and fluid with a wide depth of tones. Working in the traditional mediums of watercolor, pastel, oil and pencil with a dash of digital, deb’s work reflects a touch of the old masters combined with her own vision. “My work has always been about expression and layers. Layers of thought, layers of pencil and eventually layers of glazed colors. The result is what I call “soft realism” which leaves room for the imagination. The brushstrokes and pencil strokes are a part of the image rather than masked.”
“Part of my expression is to say that even in this digital world, the human touch of a hand can create magic.” During the 30 years of her illustration career, deb’s work has been published in print, web and advertising worldwide.
John Huber
I just realized that a concise BIO is lacking from my various websites. My childhood was filled with doodles and drawings, and thankfully that tradition has continued into my adulthood.
I consider myself a John-of-all-trades, with experience with traditional mediums such as drawing & painting, as well as the digital realm. A fine artist, illustrator, graphic/web designer, photographer, and cat-owner.
Becca H Klein
I’m pretty sure if you peek at my chromosome situation there are Disney features and Warner cartoons fused to my life bits. Creativity goes way down deep in my soul, shoots out my fingers, and makes me supercalifragilisticexpialidocious happy.
My favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz which spawned a healthy infatuation with high heels and a two closet collection that supports the habit. I love old movies and classic musicals, wouldn’t mind if people spontaneously broke into song, and would read all day if I could.
I’m bilingual in English and Sarcasm and I loathe popsicle sticks. Laughter is the best medicine and I’m addicted to knee slappers and all things pun-y. Football and hockey transform me into a Colosseum spectator, and I’d like to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I grow up.
Linda N. La Rose
Illustration/Sculpture/Graphic Design: Graphic Designer for 30 yrs. Exhibiting Fine Artist for 15 yrs. Art Educator for 10 yrs. My proficiencies include Quark, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator with knowledge of Microsoft Programs, Dreamweaver, HTML5/CSS, Flash, Corel Painter Essentials, Adobe Photoshop Essentials, Autodesk Sketchbook Express, Google Sketch Up 8, and I enjoy using the Adobe CS6 Master Edition.
Christna Maniet
Christina Maniet’s pencil smudged fine art and illustrations portray a “play on contradictions” by capturing the look of stark realism while incorporating a whimsical flair. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, she studied at the University of the Arts and Arcadia University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Scientific Illustration. She currently resides in Bucks County and can be found perusing area thrift stores, flea markets and consignment shops in search of her next inspiration. The treasures she finds may become her next muse or occasionally be directly incorporated into her next work of art.
Rebecca Rhodin
Rebecca Rhodin is a children’s artist who works in both digital and traditional media. Her illustrations, published in newspapers and on CD covers, have also been the subject of a one-woman gallery show. A former editor and page designer, Rebecca has studied at Parsons and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
More samples of Rebecca’s lively and colorful art can be found on her website, http://www.rhodinart.com.
Dave Song
Hi! I’m an illustrator in the Philadelphia area. I specializes in vector based images ranging from editorial works to pop-culture. I have a B.F.A and M.A. degree from the Ringling College of Art and Design and Savannah College of Art and Design, respectively; both in Illustration. I’m looking for new opportunities and challenges while having fun at the same time.
Joe Tacynec
Hi I’m Joe and I created Taz’s Mania Studios. In case you are wondering, my last name is pronounced Taz Nik, hence the name Taz’s Mania Studios. I have experience in many different artistic areas. My photography has been published in The Philadelphia Business Journal, 2011 Valley Forge Visitors Guide and on various other promotional and marketing materials. I have also created graphic designs and written features for local tourism for two years. I hold a B.S. in Business Administration from Villanova University.
I am a huge fanboy of Blizzard Entertainment. I believe they are the pinnacle of creativity. I admire their incorruptable commitment to quality products. Their work has greatly affected me since I first saw Warcraft I in 1994 and I hope that Taz’s Mania Studios will one day do the same for others.
The journey is just beginning…
Marie V. Thresher
Marie V Thresher is a Tyler School of Art Graduate who works in interactive design, 2D animation, and sculpture. She illustrates at every opportunity, incorporating illustration into video projects, posters, catalogs, children’s books, social media campaigns, portraits, murals, etc. Not limited to digital media, Marie has created various size sculptures and taught classes in painting and printmaking. When she’s not involved in an art project, you can find her spinning her heart out on the dance floor.
Glenn Zimmer
I began my career in the creative arts lying on the carpet in my living room propped up by my elbows creating my own comic books using my coveted box of 72 Crayolas while watching Danny Thomas and the antics of Dick Van Dyke as Rob Petrie. At that time I was under the impression that my life was a sitcom and Ozzie and Harriet were indeed my real parents. After many years of television viewing and graduation from art school I gave up my dream of being a comic book artist in lieu of making real money as a graphic designer and eventually art director.
My career as art director, catalog designer, editorial designer, pre press manager and psychologist to the creative stars was peppered with opportunities to create humorous illustrations for clients such as The Wall Street Journal, Major League Baseball and Merck Pharmaceuticals. And now, I enjoy life lying on my living room floor propped up on my elbows, creating illustrations for children using my vast array of colored pencils while delighting in the humorous antics on HGTV.
2017 Members of the Bucks County Illustrators Society
Pat Achilles
Children’s book illustration, editorial illustration, cartoons, graphics and logos. www.achillesportfolio.com
Sanford Bender
Sandy creates botanical, marine, insect and mythical illustrations aimed at scientific books for young people.
www.sanfordbender.com
James Bennett
Editorial illustration, sports & celebrity caricature, book illustration. www.jamesbennettart.com
Dot Bunn
Fine art landscape, still life, portraiture, historical murals. www.dotbunn.com
Gil Cohen
Specializing in WW II aviation paintings and other historical subjects.
Joe DeVito
www.jdevito.com Heroic fiction and fantasy art. Also specializing in religious paintings and sculpture: www.novenaart.com
Ponder Goembel
Children’s book illustration and oil painting. www.pondergoembel.com
Pam Hamilton
Graphic design, fabric design, and children’s book illustration. www.gracefullarts.com
Rich Harrington
Editorial illustration, cartooning, fine art watercolor. www.raharrington.com
Monika Hinterwaldner
Children’s book illustration, greeting card and fabric design and illustration. www.monhin.com
Deb Hoeffner
Soft naturalism in illustration for books, children’s books, editorial illustration. Watercolor and oil painting. www.debhoeffner.com
Becca Klein
Fantasy illustration, character illustration. www.becsketch.com
Joe Kulka
Children’s book illustration, humor illustration. www.joekulka.com
Kim Kurki
Illustration for a wide variety of products, publications, and other venues. Style ranges from whimsical, juvenile images to graphic and decorative designs, to more realistic, still-life and natural subjects. www.kurkiilustration.com
Kathryn Maxwell
Specialty: both fine art and illustration–oil paint, chalk and oil pastels, watercolors
www.kathrynmaxwell.com
Rebecca Rhodin
Children’s book illustration, writing and editing. www.rhodinart.com
Seth Robinson
Fantasy illustration, writing, creative partnering, oil painting. www.sethdraws.com
Marie Thresher
Children’s book illustration, writing, graphic design. mthresherdesign@gmail.com www.marievthresher.com
Glenn Zimmer
Children’s book illustration, editorial illustration, book design and production. www.glennzimmer.com