Creating art one nap-time at a time.
Hello, I’m a piano teacher and part-time illustrator, working from my home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. These days, I’m mostly focused on self-published projects—my debut Christian children’s book officially made its entrance on November 14, 2025.
I grew up homeschooled in a remote farming community, where my free time was spent riding, gardening, and hiking with my dog, with a sketchbook always at hand.
My background in professional gardening and music, as well as my faith, still shape the way I create.
I’m also a mom and homemaker, which I consider my highest calling. Life is full, a little messy, and deeply meaningful—and somewhere in the middle of it all, I continue creating faith-based children’s stories, both on my own and along with other wonderful authors and creatives.
If you’d like to work together, you’re very welcome to reach out via email below.
Portfolio
Child Reading The Bible
Child Feeding Her Chickens
“I’m in the Lord’s Army!”
Sammy the Fox and His Friend Owl
Character Study
Watercolor and Ink, Girl and Dog
Landscape from Sammy the Fox Book
Page Illustrations from Sammy the Fox Book
Illustration for The Strong and Kind Shepherd Book
Page from The Strong and Kind Shepherd Book
Page from The Strong and Kind Shepherd Book
Page from The Strong and Kind Shepherd
Mare and Foal, Oil
Beloved Sheep
Watercolor Sketch, Procreate
Sammy and Grasshopper
Green Pastures!
Farm Girl, Pen
Dusk Scene, Procreate
Sketchbook Selections, watercolor
Work, inspiration, and style
Christel is a versatile illustrator who enjoys working with watercolor, ink, and colored pencils, occasionally exploring oil paints and pastels.
Her illustration process begins with hand-drawn character designs and storyboards on paper, which she then refines and transfers digitally in Procreate.
She draws inspiration from the pure and innocent moments of life—studying how children and animals move and play, and capturing a sense of time through seasons, light, and shadow in her illustrated scenes.
Christel prefers to express emotion through subtle pen markings, allowing feeling to emerge gently rather than overtly. Her work is often described as “heartwarming” and “emotional.”
She is deeply intentional about weaving meaning into her work, often drawing on her Christian faith as a source of inspiration. Themes of innocence and childlike wonder are central to her approach to children’s literature. To her, creating and worship are one and the same.
Christel can confidently create storyboards from manuscripts, draw up initial sketches, curate a suitable color-palette for the project, and create character and scene designs that remain congruent through lengthy book projects.
English