Biography Sandra Klaassen

Sandra Klaassen is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Art and Design (‘s-Hertogenbosch,The Netherlands) where she studied Graphic Art and Visual Communication, specialised in Lithography.

She is an established and much published illustrator of children’s books and works for several publishers. She has adorned dozens of books with her drawings and was awarded ‘Compliment of the Month’ several times. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Book Fair in Italy, De Kunsthal in Rotterdam and on various occasions in The Netherlands, Japan, Scotland and Brazil.

Fairy-tale like, sentimental and cheerful are key characteristics of Sandra Klaassen’s work. With pen and soft watercolours she creates an atmospheric and warmhearted experience for young children. The facial expressions are only a small part of communicating; Sandra knows how to subtly convey emotions through the postures of her characters, animals and magical beings. Because of her unique translucent style Sandra has repeatedly attracted attention to her work.

Sandra has lived for several years on the remote Isle of North-Uist in Scotland from where she drew her inspiration for the picture books ‘Uan the little lamb'(2006) and ‘Peg the little sheepdog’ (2015), written and illustrated by Sandra through the eyes of her two children.

Nature has a great influence on Sandra’s life. Because of her passion for flora and fauna, Sandra has turned much of her attention towards botanical drawing. She obtained her Diploma in Botanical Illustration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,awarded with distinction and the top student prize.