Carl Medley is an author-illustrator who combines 20 years of design expertise with a lifelong love of laughter and stories. Based in Las Vegas, he creates picture books that invite young readers to find the absurd and the heartfelt in the everyday. He will eat your pizza if you don't want it.
My visual storytelling roots were planted in the 80s, fueled by Choose Your Own Adventure books and a family that used humor to navigate life. I started to use that appreciation for humor in my work and I began to create things that reminded me of me. Now, my work is built for page turns, using a foundation in illustration and design to translate that wit into stories for both the young reader and the young-at-heart that can reflect the heartfelt absurdity of everyday life. I enjoy creating narratives that can feel present and impactful to someone while at the same time live on and feel relevant in future years to come.
When I'm not drawing for stories I am drawing on my kids' napkins for their lunches or watching Jeopardy with my wife while she pretends that she got more answers right than me in the "Rivers of Europe" category.
I enjoy the freedom of creating work I like and I like who I am when I create. My work has evolved with me over the years and I hope that you continue to come back and check out what I am working on.
For inquiries, contact Carl at carlmedley@mac.com
"Blunt but ambiguous, heroic yet hilariously deflated, [Carl's] works ... emphasize the incongruity between expectations and reality with mismatched imagery and messaging."
- Morgan Laurens, Editor-in-Chief, Not Real Art