Children and Animals To Capture Your Heart

Melissa Raine (Carter) Morgan, talented artist and illustrator,  has always gone by her middle name Raine since she can remember. "It all started with my love of rain, playing in the rain and running in puddles as a child. Although I am older now I still find time to walk thru puddles and often play in the rain. I live in the country and also grow an organic garden every summer," says Raine.

"I was born in Philadelphia PA to a middle class family. I actually started drawing on my bedroom walls when I was 5 it use to make my mother angry as it was hard then to remove the crayon marks. I use to draw things I saw outside when I played. The apple tree in the backyard a bumblebee sitting on a flower, etc. Since the walls were hard to clean I was sent outside with chalk I suppose that's when I began to get more creative. Being a lover of nature, the outdoors it made it more comfortable. As I got older I went from sidewalks to tablets of paper. I sat outside and began to draw children playing discovering things like learning to ride bikes, animals especially bunnies, birds, and deer. A lot of my work comes from childhood memories, and my own children. When I got into High School I began to move to other mediums and started painting portraits and landscapes, I tried oil's, watercolors, acrylics but found pencil and ink to be my most favorite medium with animals and children. I moved to a small farm town in Ohio in my early twenties were I still reside today."

"I truly live from my heart and am very humble. I knit and donate hats for children with cancer. Every night before I go to bed I knit another hat. I have been doing this for many years. A percentage of my funds I make on artwork is donated to a local hospital (for children) and helps purchase the yarn. I strongly believe what we give to others comes back to the heart and keeps it humbled."
 
"My favorite experience with my profession is the joy I see in others when they view my work, but more so in my three children's expressions in how proud they are by my ability to create. I have done portraits of each one of them. Outside of that I would have to say it's the ability to know I can create something that comes from my hands my thoughts what I see and remember. That it's truly a part of who I am this person who has been given the wonderful gift to create. Some people may like my style and some may not. I invite all opinions as art is an experience for all with everyone having there own particular likes and dislikes. I am never insulted when someone does not like my style or for that disappointed as my work is me and that's something no one else can take away."

If I ever decided to write a children's book, I would choose Raine as my illustrator.  Her work has captured my heart and I know it will yours as well.
 
My store is www.raineedaydesigns.etsy.com