Ruth E. Harper is a self-taught artist from England who immigrated to America at age 16 and became a US citizen in 2020. She has been a professional artist for over 35 years. 

Ruth uses primarily watercolor to convey warmth and joy in her nature and animal paintings. From an early age she buried herself into drawing nature, a deep solace in her family’s very tumultuous world. In her art she hopes to convey calm and a little humor and spread love of the outdoors. 

Her books have won the Ed Press Award for Distinguished Achievement for The Kissing Hand and a Mom’s Choice Award and a Moonbeam Children’s Award for Happy Mamas.  

Aside from the sketchy world of illustrating, she is perpetually powered by her faith and dark chocolate, and is often snatched up by breezes, colors and pint-sized things like bugs, feathers, rocks, leaves, shells, and creatures of all kinds. She may or may not collect some of those. She gets distracted in her garden, hiking, and riding her bicycle into the gorgeous countryside of western Iowa, where she lives in a tiny town with an adorable husband and very thoughtful cat. They have six marvelous grown-up kids between them and many grandbabies.

Visit Ruth online.

Books by Ruth Harper