Tadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.
His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US. Tadgh juggled writing and illustrating with a full- and then part-time teaching career, but after fifteen years as an elementary school teacher, he left the profession to pursue creative endeavors full-time.
Tadgh retains a love of education and a passion for the written word. He is eager to share his enthusiasm and to de-mystify the creative process- in particular encouraging young people to see ‘mistakes’ as a valuable part of learning.
Tadgh is a self-taught artist who uses a mixture of traditional and digital mediums for his work. He began his illustration career using primarily digital means, which always felt slightly fraudulent- there are huge advantages and freedoms to working digitally, but the lack of a ‘real’, unique original always left an itched that needed to be scratched.
Having barely picked up a paint brush for almost two decades, Tadgh began exploring more traditional painting mediums, mostly with oils and gouache, with his favorite subject being landscapes around his home.
If you have a project for which your think Tadgh’s art may be suitable, feel free to contact him at his email address, listed below, and he will get back to you in the first person.
Email: tadghbentley@gmail.com