Zoe is a cartoonist and illustrator who uses her life-long passion for humour by sharing stories through pictures. She discovered her love for drawing at the age of 5 when she realized her dream job would be to illustrate the images in the books she read. Instead of pursuing art school, Zoe ended up going to university and became a lawyer. However, she never stopped drawing and began to post her cartoons online on her widely popular Instagram (@zoesees). Eventually, she was offered an opportunity to illustrate her first children’s book, and she now makes art full time.

Zoe’s works include a number of children’s books including the Wolfie & Fly series (2018), The Sorry Plane (2019), and the upcoming picture book The Sorry Life of Timothy Schmoe to be released in the spring of 2021. In addition to books, Zoe contributes cartoons to The New Yorker and other publications, and still regularly shares comics on her Instagram.

When asked about her influences, Zoe credits Quentin Blake as her biggest inspiration: “I love his loose, lively style – his drawings look like they are leaping from the page, and I strive to recreate this feeling in my own drawings.” She also lists comic artists Kate Beaton, Lucy Knisley, and Jillian Tamaki as inspirations for their “smart, hilarious, and beautiful comics [made] in their own unique styles and voices.”

Inspired by the wonderful drawings of Quentin Blake and Robert Munsch’s sense of humour, Zoe is the perfect artist to capture this year’s mystery theme into BC SRC’s artwork.

Zoe grew up in Surrey, BC, where she spent her summers reading and drawing, as well as participating in the Summer Reading Club where she avidly collected stickers and stamps. Today, she lives with her husband (a video game sound designer aptly named “Homeboy” in her comics) in Vancouver where she enjoys climbing mountains and petting dogs.