I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE
One of the best things about being a children’s book illustrator and author is getting to know the kids and adults who enjoy my art and books.
So we can get to know each other better, allow me share a little about myself.
HI, I'M RALPH
As a young child, I didn't realize I had artistic talent, but while in college, studying Marine Biology, I learned what all my childhood teachers saw in me: I had artistic ability. So, decided to devote myself to painting and turn my passion into my life’s work.
MY "REAL" STORY
Ralph was born and raised in the state of Massachusetts, where he lives with his daughters Alexa and Talia. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, Illustration, 1985), Ralph has illustrated for magazines, newspapers and books, created posters and prints, and shown his fine art paintings in galleries throughout the world. Beginning with The Icky Bug Alphabet Book in 1986, Ralph has become internationally known for the children's books he's written and illustrated. Since 1987, he has visited over 3,300 schools all over the world, inspiring children with his life story, humor, and art. While visiting schools, he is often inspired himself by the enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work of the students and teachers. This led him to create his unique "How to Draw" book series. The most recent, Ralph Masiello's Unicorn Drawing Book released in 2021.
UNOFFICIAL BIO
In 1961, the year of the Ox, I was hatched from an opal colored dragon egg that lay in a dung heap on a skunk cabbage farm near my parent's house. Taking pity on me, they raised me as one of their own, but always wondered about me. They knew I was "different" from my brothers somehow.
MORE SILLINESS
- I drew pictures while hiding under my bed.
- I liked to watch tv standing on my head.
- I played with toy knights.
- I stared at clouds for hours on end.
- I ate Brussel Sprouts.
- I liked The Color Purple.
- I went to the College for Children Born from Dragons where I studied Artistic Alchemy. I graduated and became the Grand Poobah of the Artistic Wizards Guild.
- Through a mixture of mythology and alchemy, my two daughters were born after hatching from a similar egg lying in a dung heap.
