I was born, grew up and still live in London, England. My father, Stuart Boyle, was an artist. He illustrated a number of books including Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One.

From an early age I learned to look and draw and draw and draw. One of my childhood memories was the thrill of receiving a parcel of picture books every Christmas from my uncle and aunt in the USA. There was something magic about them. I gazed for hours at pictures of another world far away, fascinated by the details, for instance, clapboard houses or fire hydrants standing on the sidewalk. It was the differences that intrigued me. I have tried in my own picture-books to evoke other places, times and lives.

I attended St Martin’s School of Art in London where I met my husband Andrew and after that I went to the Royal College of Art. While there I had my first son Shane and four years later I had my second son, Henry. I worked as an illustrator mainly for journals and newspapers but it was while reading to my children that I decided to change direction. I remember Shane saying, as I turned the page of a book I was reading to them ‘Hang on, I haven’t read that picture yet!’ Pictures are to be read and that is what I am about.