About

Ashley Barron is a multimedia artist who is best known for her paper collage work. She is the illustrator of over a dozen picture books and has worked on a wide assortment of advertising and editorial projects over the years.

Ashley grew up in the Oshawa/Whitby region of southern Ontario with her parents, younger sister and their many pet dogs and rabbits. Ashley’s love for books was ignited at an early age thanks to her mother, a preschool teacher, who kept an extensive collection of children’s literature in their spare bedroom. Although Ashley was very much an outdoorsy kid, she savored rainy indoor days, which allowed her the freedom to daydream, read and draw pictures to her heart’s content.

Ashley’s love for art and literature followed her into adulthood. She graduated from the illustration program at Ontario Collage of Art & Design in 2007 and has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since.

Ashley lives in Toronto with her cinematographer partner, Kevin. Together they share a bright, plant-filled studio with their four cats Nori, Yeti, Flo & Maeve.

For all inquiries, please contact me at hello@ashleybarron.com

Highlights

2017 - Selected as Toronto Library's Illustrator in Residence: a program organized by IBBY Canada honouring children's book illustrator Joanne Fitzgerald

2019 - Toured Vancouver, BC as part of the CCBC’s TD Children’s Book Week

2022 - My City Speaks (written by Darren Lebeuf, Kids Can Press) was awarded the ALA Young Children’s Schneider Family Book Award.

2023 - Chaiwala! (written by Priti Birla Maheshwari, Owlkids) was chosen for the TD Grade One Book Giveaway , where grade one students across Canada got to take home their very own copy of the book.

Clients

Disney, Kashi, Owlkids Books, Kids Can Press, Orca, Groundwood books, Canadian Wildlife Federation, TEDX Toronto, Ontario Parks, Woodland Park Zoo, Children’s Wish Foundation, The Globe & Mail, Elle Canada, TD Bank, CAA, Cover Girl, The Royal Ontario Museum, Humane Society (HSUS), Leaves of Trees, Wesbanco, LOFC, St. Louis Magazine, Skirt!, Shameless Magazine, Kind News, Chirp Magazine, Spidar Magazine, WILD Magazine, Innovate, Cottage Life, Workforce, Best Health Magazine, This Old House Magazine, GE, Pepsi Canada, Highlights, Quill&Quire, Ontario Nature, Ontrario Charitable Gaming.