Lou Fancher  

Steve Johnson  


Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher have worked together for more than twenty years; developing an unusual approach wherein both artists conceive, draw, design, and paint. A husband-and-wife team, they have created paintings for annual reports, brochures, posters, advertisements, book covers, magazines and movies, including Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, for which they provided pre-production set and character designs.

In 1989, Steve and Lou began illustrating children’s books when Random House asked them to illustrate No Star Nights by Anna Smucker. Together, they have illustrated and designed more than thirty-five children’s books, including The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer (Random); Felix Salten’s Bambi adapted by Janet Schulman (Simon & Schuster); Cat, You Better Come Home by Garrison Keillor (Penguin); My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (Random); New York’s Bravest by Mary Pope Osborne (Knopf); The Velveteen Rabbit abridged by Lou Fancher (Simon & Schuster); Casey Back at Bat by Dan Gutman (HarperCollins); Star Climbing by Lou Fancher (HarperCollins); and Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou (Random). Their 2000 release, I Walk at Night by Lois Duncan (Viking) was recognized as one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books. They are the recipients of a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators and have been recognized by Communication Arts, Print, and Graphis.

Steve Johnson grew up in Minnesota and studied illustration (BFA) and painting at the College of Visual Art in St. Paul. Lou Fancher was born in Michigan and studied art history while earning her BFA in Dance at the University of Cincinnati. They live with their son, Nicholas, in Moraga, California. 

Additional children’s books illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, with book design by Lou Fancher:

The Boy on Fairfield Street; How Ted Giesel Grew up to Become Dr. Seuss written by Kathleen Krull (Random House)
The Bebop Express written by H.L. Panahi (HarperCollins/Laura Geringer) 
All God’s Creatures written by Karen Hill (Little Simon) 
The Cheese written by Margie Palatini (HarperCollins) 
The Ugly Duckling retold by Stephen Mitchell (Candlewick)
Amazing Peace written by Maya Angelo (Schwartz &Wade/Random House) 
The King’s Taster written by Kenneth Oppel (HarperCollins)
Anytime, Anyplace written by Marcus Hummon (Simon and Schuster)
What a Good Big Brother! written by Diane Wright Landolf (Random House)
Sunday is for God written by Michael Smith (Schwartz &Wade/Random House)

www.johnsonandfancher.com