“There is something                                                   in the repeated refrains of nature.”

infinitely healing

Rachel Carson

Hi I’m Rebekah and I love to make things and wander into the natural world.

My heart continues to be amazed by the natural world we live in and I want to share this through the words and images of my work. By teaching others to love nature, we encourage empathy, and in that we are saving the world.

I hope you come along for the journey.

Meet Rebekah

Artist. Illustrator. Writer. Observer. Naturalist. Survivor.

healing. peace. wonder.

I’ve always been drawn to the outside world. As a child I spent as much time in the woods and fields surrounding home as I could. This landscape inspires the work I create today because it’s part of my heart for this lifetime.

Around the age of five I recall drawing a mallard duck, complete with black curly tail, and was very proud of it. At age eight I drew a whitetail deer for a birthday gift to my brother. When I was ten, I wanted an Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers book, and still have it today. One of my favorite books as a child was a guided nature journal where I could check off seasonal lists of wildlife I found. I carried around a my own sketchbook, drew plants, to later identify them in my field guide.

In high school, I took as many art classes as I could, attended Heartwood College of Art during vacations and showed my work at local art festivals. My Dad built a display for me and made a sign. At 14 I won an honorable mention for an oil painting of a lighthouse and sold it for $100. I was on top of the world. 

It was never a question to me about what I would do after high school—I would go to art college. There was no plan B. In 2000 I began my college career at Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2001 I transferred closer to home to Rhode Island School of Design.

In 2003 I was married and all my plans to become a working artist were derailed as domestic abuse took hold. Though I still graduated with a BFA in Illustration from RISD in 2004, I fought hard for that diploma. Starting right after classes ended, for an entire decade I was confined to the walls we lived in, only venturing outside when the person abusing me would bring me out. My life has been forever altered by this experience and the innocent child that roamed the wildflower fields is gone. My heart though, has found a way to be resilient, and though it bears scars, it is strong. My desire to observe and create something beautiful never left. I would secretly paint or write in journals while he was gone for work. (I have 18 journals from those years). When he came home, I would quickly pick up, for fear of the consequences seen doing something that didn’t serve him. I had learned how to survive, and raise two young daughters, while teaching them how to survive in that environment as well, until one day, I knew we wouldn’t be able to survive much longer. On March 6, 2013, we left, with the help of family and local law enforcement, and recovery began.

Recovery is still ongoing. Making art and writing stories is part of that process for me, for us. I love spending time outside, painting, and writing. Sharing what I love about nature with others brings me joy and I hope it brings you joy as well. In my work, I long to encourage empathy for the natural world, and in doing so, empathy for each other.

We can learn a lot from nature. It goes through seasons of change, rest, growth, and renewal. Birds and butterflies make journeys over thousands and miles, plants tarnish with brown leaves and grow vibrant again each spring, frogs freeze underground, coming back to life when the sun warms the earth. We too, can survive like they do, and then thrive like they do as well.

In 2014 we moved to Caring Unlimited and they helped get back on our feet by providing an apartment to live in, support, encouragement, and resources. In 2014 I also created a painting for the Maine Duck Stamp and won. Later that summer returned to school to pursue my master’s degree at Hollins University study children’s literature and illustration, bringing my four and six-year-old daughters with me to Virginia. I couldn’t afford it, especially since I had left our previous life with no funds at all, but I knew it was what I needed to do. My family and friends fought to help us succeed. I applied for grants, scholarships and loans, and somehow found a way. After five summers of driving back and forth between Maine and Virginia, I graduated with an MFA in Children’s Literature and Illustration, with a 4.0 GPA and several awards for my work. While at Hollins I worked on my craft, writing picture books and middle grade work, created illustrations, and wrote academic papers.

In 2018 I signed with my first literary agent and we sold my illustrated middle grade novel in verse, THE ROAD TO AFTER, to Nancy Paulsen at Penguin Random House to be released in spring 2022.

Bringing in the new year in 2021, I signed with Paige Terlip at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and my family and I celebrated with not one, but two flavors of ice cream cake. Paige and I went on to sell my debut picture book, CATCHING FLIGHT to Frances Gilbert at Doubleday Books for Young Readers. I couldn’t be more thrilled!
 
I’m currently working on more picture books, more middle grade novels, and I recently learned the art of surface pattern design with Bonnie Christine and my first fabric collection is releasing in spring 2023. The possibilities feel endless.  

I continue to develop my skills as an author, illustrator, designer, and citizen naturalist.
I’m a homeschooling mom to my two daughters, a part-time children’s librarian, birder, gardener, feral cat rescuer, and butterfly conservationist.

My hope is to share my love of the natural world and show you how resilient, strong, and beautiful it is, and that you have all of those things inside of you, too.

with love, Rebekah

There are endless wonders around us, if only we have the heart to see them with.

When not in her studio...

you can find her wandering outside — birding, gardening, raising butterflies, nature journaling, and volunteering for Avian Haven as a bird rescuer – often with her daughters, who she homeschools.

As a survivor of domestic abuse Rebekah has found the outdoors to be a healing grounds. She lives with her family in her hometown of Biddeford, Maine. 

01.

In the spring, I’m watching buds unfold on stretching tree branches, hoping my dahlias will come back to live, and yes, stomping in puddles. I’m also planting seeds, and tending seedlings, and planning my garden. Hope comes to the surface.

02.

In the summer, I’m searching for tiny and eggs and caterpillars on milkweed from local hayfields and raising them to safety so they can become monarch butterflies and feel the air in the their wings. I’m tending the garden for them, and for us.

03.

In the fall, I’m listening to leaves crunch under my feet, looking up at the sky and observing migration of monarchs, of birds, leaving and returning. I’m harvesting the garden, but leaving the dry stalks for the birds to take cover and eat seeds. I’m saving seeds for next year, too.

04.

In the winter, I’m outside looking around at the small, often overlooked intricate details of nature like the way a bird leaves behind a ghost of their wings upon takeoff on the snow. I’m taking time to rest and rejuvenate, or working and reading inside like I’m hibernating, waiting for the wonder to start all over again.

MFA, Hollins University '19
BFA, Rhode Island School of Design '04
Maine Duck Stamp Artist '11, '14, '17', '20
Brush with Nature Plein Air Event 

Rachel Carson 50th Anniversary poetry contest
Kentucky National Wildlife, OVAL, 3rd Fifth Bank Award
Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award 
NESCBWI 4x4 Mentorship Program

NESCBWI Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship
Hollins FBC Ruth Sanderson Award 
Hollins FBC Margaret Kates Award
Hollins FBC People's Choice Award 

Press Kit

Bio (Short)

Rebekah Lowell is an award-winning author/illustrator with a curiosity for nature. Her childhood, filled with wildflowers, finds its way into her work. A mother of two and survivor of domestic abuse, she is passionate about resiliency, freedom, and hope. Her MG debut, THE ROAD TO AFTER (Nancy Paulsen) published in May 2022, and her picture book debut, CATCHING FLIGHT (Doubleday) published in March, 2023. She is represented by Paige Terlip at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Bio (Long)

Rebekah Lowell is an award-winning author/illustrator and surface pattern designer with a passion for the natural world. As a survivor of domestic abuse, she’s found comfort in creativity and time outside. Her debut novel in verse, THE ROAD TO AFTER published by Nancy Paulsen Books in May 2022, offers a story of healing from trauma, and was a Junior Library Guild selection and recipient of the Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Her debut picture book CATCHING FLIGHT published by Doubleday Books for Young readers in March 2023, provides hope on the wings of birds. Her artwork has been featured on the Maine Duck Stamp five times and has been included in various shows around the country.

When not in her studio, you can find her outside—birding, gardening, nature journaling, rescuing birds for Avian Haven, and raising butterflies – often with her daughters, who she homeschools. Rebekah has a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in Children’s Literature and Illustration from Hollins University. She lives with her family in her hometown of Biddeford, Maine. Rebekah is represented by Paige Terlip at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

Booking Agent

Headshots

Logo File

Board of Directors, York County Audubon
Board of Directors, Caring Unlimited
Avian Haven (rescue and transport)
Project Wild, education
Hollins FBC Advisory Board

Hollins FBC Conference co-chair 2019
Homeschool Co-op Art Teacher, 2016-2023
FBC Art Committee, 2017, 2018, 2019
12 x 12 Illustration Elf, 2019
NESCBWI Spring Conference, Portfolio Showcase 

Maine Duck Stamp Judge '12, '15, '18, '21, '23
Maine Audubon Brush with Nature 
River Tree Arts: donations
Center for Wildlife, teaching workshops

Intricately detailed birds seemingly fly off the pages of this poetic and encouraging picture book about hope and resilience. It’s the perfect gift for birdwatchers, graduates, or anyone seeking motivation.

Catch the current of a bird’s wing. Dance with hope into open skies.

From avid birder and acclaimed wildlife illustrator Rebekah Lowell comes a soaring message of encouragement. Readers will find inspiration in a Yellow Warbler greeting a sunrise, a flock of Canada Geese supporting each other by sharing the weight of the wind, a Red-Tailed Hawk trusting its own wings, and a plucky Northern Saw-Whet Owl braving a chilly night. Ending on the optimistic note of a new day, this book is a parable about enduring life’s setbacks, as well as a glorious celebration of the outdoors. An afterword is included, with factual information about the ten birds featured in the book

Catching flight

order now!

soared onto shelves
March 7, 2023

This poignant debut novel in verse is a portrait of healing, as a young girl rediscovers life and the soothing power of nature after being freed from her abusive father. For most of her life, Lacey has been a prisoner without even realizing it. Her dad rarely let her, her little sister, or her mama out of his sight. But their situation changes suddenly and dramatically the day her grandparents arrive to help them leave. It’s the beginning of a different kind of life for Lacey, and at first she has a hard time letting go of her dad’s rules. Gradually though, his hold on her lessens, and her days become filled with choices she’s never had before. Now Lacey can take pleasure in sketching the world as she sees it in her nature journal. And as she spends more time outside making things grow and creating good memories with family and friends, she feels her world opening up and blossoming into something new and exciting.

order your copy!

Behind the Scenes

@rebekahlowell

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with love from Rebekah