About

After a first short career in Musical Theatre I hung up my tights and tap shoes and studied Art History + Comparative Religion at The University of Toronto. After graduating I went back to my first love: visual art and dove into the world of illustration + art. Eric Mutrie of Design Lines has described my style as “combining a storybook illustrator’s sense of whimsy with a fashion designer’s sense of style" - and to that I say…. Why Thank You Eric! :-) I’ve worked for editorial, design + advertising clients and my images have appeared on many surfaces including wallpaper, greeting cards, dinner plates, + postage stamps.

My client list includes:

The New York Times, Google, Four Seasons Hotel, Penguin/Random House UK, Ireland, USA, and Canada, Neiman Marcus, The Toronto Symphony, Ritz Carlton, Tattly, Crane stationery, Bon Appetit, InStyle magazine, Forbes Tokyo, The Smithsonian, Cloud Nine fabrics, One Kings Lane, VISA, Leo Burnett, The Globe + Mail, Simon + Schuster, Hollace Cluny, Real Simple, The Hudson's Bay, Wall St. Journal, National Post, Little Brown + Co, Arnold Worldwide, Air New Zealand, Type Books, Chicago Tribune, Good Egg, The Atlantic, Elle magazine, Porter Airlines, Canada Post, + Vogue Japan.
My silkscreen prints are a favourite amongst Interior Designers and have been featured in Apartment Therapy, Canadian House + Home, Covet Garden, Chatelaine, and Design Lines.

Role Models: Saul Steinberg, Maria Bamford, Leandra Medine Cohen, Karla Welch, Lotta Jansdotter, Greta Gerwig, Jenna Lyons, Lin Manuel Miranda, Miroslav Sasek, Tomi Ungerer, Phoebe Waller Bridge, Saul Bass, Denyse Schmidt, Paul Rand, Tina Fey, Elana Glazer.

Favourite Things: Vintage watches, Stephen Sondheim musicals, plants, plants, plants, kilm rugs, used bookshops, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, How I Built This with Guy Raz, folk art + puppets!, my partner Myles, (yes corny) clothes with pockets (always!) and the words aplomb + gravitas.

Coming up: Sat May 11th 10am - 3pm I’m participating in a Group Show at The wonderful Bookhou 798 Dundas St West Toronto Recently I collaborated with The Gardiner Museum on a Tote bag to celebrate their 40th Anniversary Available Summer 2024

Want to collaborate or just say hi? Send me a note: alanna(at)alannacavanagh(dot)com

To see my press Click here.