about

vanessa montano (she/her) is a michigan-based illustrator who focuses on quirky and fun work that consists of bold lines and color. her favorite things to draw are food, portraits, and animals doing human things (or a combination of all three). she has her bfa in illustration from the college for creative studies in detroit.

vanessa is also the big cheese behind lightning bug studios—her shop that makes frequent visits to craft fairs all over michigan throughout the year.

vanessa has worked for clients such as harper collins, william morrow, the los angeles times, the ann arbor district library, henry ford health system, and michigan united x aiga detroit.

when not working on pieces, she enjoys going on adventures with her partner andy and dog mabel, tackling a new bread recipe, watching hilariously bad movies, gardening, and collecting all of the power moons in mario odyssey.

feel free to reach out to her at
hellovmontano@gmail.com

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exhibitions & honors