First Snow was painted for The Bosque Beast by Jill McElmurry to represent some of the animalsof Corrales. The illustrator of 16 picture books, four of which she also wrote, McElmurry is currently illustrating Tree Lady, about the botanist, horticulturist, and landscape architect Kate Sessions of San Diego (1857-1940), the “mother of Balboa Park.” McElmurry’s most popular book to date is Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle.
Born in Los Angeles to a family of artists and musicians, she was raised in Taos, where her grandfather, Mario Larrinaga, was one of the founding members of gallery A (1960–2007). She has also called home New York City; San Francisco; Hamburg, Germany; St. Paul, Minnesota; Takoma Park, Maryland; and Dunsmuir, California; and now lives with her husband and dog in the North Valley. For more information: www.jillmcelmurry.com
