Presenting the Along the Way series artist
Meeting Elly has been one of the GREATEST highlights of my life. I am pleased to be working alongside her. Elly (her dedication, passion and commitment) has exceeded my wildest dreams with her talents (too numerous to mention). I look forward to our future collaborations - I'm pretty sure there will be many :)
About Elly:
Elly Mossman - born in the Netherlands and immigrating with her family to Canada as a very young child, it was apparent that Elly Mossman would be “an artist” in grade 2. Her very detailed work stunned her teacher and drew the attention of the principal.
As a teenager, with the added encouragement from lessons at the Vancouver School of Art (now named Emily Carr) oils became her medium of preference.
A high school friendship finally flung her headlong into the cartoon world, when she chummed with a fellow artist classmate who later became a world renown syndicated cartoonist. With very little persuasion, her friend enticed her into the crazy world of caricaturing. It wasn’t hard, considering she already had an addiction to Disney cartoons and comics in general, but never tried drawing them herself. That friendship changed everything, and it is now finally being put to good use.
Mossman’s work from high school was award-winning, and one piece, unbeknownst to her, was submitted by her teacher and became part of a 1968 Children's Art Exhibit hosted by the Japanese Government. This art exhibit was sent on display around the world. She did not learn of this award
until three years after high school graduation, when her mother received a gold medal, a certificate and a gift from the Sakura Art Supply Company in the mail, courtesy of the Japanese exhibit officials.
Mostly self-taught, as there was no finances for further education of any kind, there was always something new to explore, some technique to master and more subject matter that inspired. The beauty of details, light and shadow and the subtle nuances of colour became the focus of her very realistic paintings. She specialized in portraiture and taught classes in Art Clubs and in adult night classes for a number of years.
Her main body of serious art work reflects her travels around the world that include Thailand, Cuba, Honduras, the USA, The Netherlands and of course, cross-country Canada. Her oil paintings hang in homes in Canada, The Netherlands and Shanghai.
She also worked for many years as a cartoonist publishing regular editorial cartoons in 3 local newspapers in the Cowichan Valley, plus one in Lloydminster, AB/SK. In 2018 and in 2019 Mossman garnered Second Place in the National Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for Editorial Cartoons - Local Humour Category. The 2020 pandemic brought that work to an end,
unfortunately, but since then has developed her own comic stories called “Grampa Was an Alien”. This work can be viewed at www.grampawasanalien.com.
Currently Elly Mossman is very excited and honoured to have illustrated a series of 12 informative children’s books, collectively called “Along the Way” written by Teresa Schapansky, author of such books as “The Coinkeeper” Series, “Imogene of the Pacific Kingdom” and Dager of the Tasman Empire”.
She has written various books of her own, most of which, in the near future, are set to be published through Amazon. Elly resides in North Cowichan with husband, Bill and cat, Bebe, both of whom keep her sane - more or less, and grounded.
Elly Mossman - illustrator of the Along the Way series