About the Artist: June Valentine-Ruppe
About the Cover Artist
This month’s fantastical and festive cover art is by June Valentine-Ruppe, a self-taught artist who was born and raised in California, where she always had a passion for art. For more than 30 years, June illustrated over 120 children’s books for Disney, Scholastic, Golden Books, and more. In the books, she illustrated beloved characters from Sesame Street to Disney, and Lamb Chop to Barney the Dinosaur. She even created artwork at special backstage VIP events at Disneyland. When I asked if she still worked as an illustrator, June replied, “For many years now, I have devoted myself to creating my own original artwork.”Her original paintings are a far cry from Mickey, Minnie and Barney, as evidenced by the work on our cover entitled, “Mardi On”. Displayed in Gallery Orange in New Orleans, Louisiana, June tells us she always tries to create art to represent the location of the gallery, and this one is no exception—it’s all about New Orleans and Mardis Gras.