Thérèse Cilia is a painter and illustrator whose whimsical and detailed work finds a home in children’s books, fine art prints, stationery, and commissions. She obtained her BFA in 2007 at OCAD University, in Toronto. In 2012, she turned a two-week artist retreat in Newfoundland into a year-long residence in Bonavista, where she began illustrating her first children’s book, Over by the Harbour, with Flanker Press in St. John’s. Bullet the New Steam Engine is their second collaboration. Thérèse is inspired by the stories of the human spirit, the natural world, and an obsession with artist’s materials and paper products. She currently lives in Belleville, Ontario, where she is working on her third picture book Keeper of the Light by Formac Publishing, launching Fall 2016.

Thérèse recently received an Arts Recognition Award from the Quinte Arts Council for her contribution to the arts.