Sue Kerr 1924-2018
Having authored and illustrated five children’s books, Sue worked for a number of years as the staff artist at Pioneer Press in Chicago’s northern suburbs. She started doing portraits of homes, using pen and ink and filling in with water color, after a Realtor asked her to paint a picture of someone's family home . It was about 1978. (BTW, any interested may look up and purchase her box of Kenilworth cards at the Kenilworth Historical Society.)
She and her husband Jamie moved to Houston in 1982. Eventually, she began to do portraits of homes
In 2012, she and I (her daughter Lucy) collaborated and started a business around her detailed pen-and-ink drawings of iconic city sites--beginning in Chicago. Totally jazzed over this new venture, she created a plethora of gorgeous drawings. I couldn’t wait to expose the world to this great talent. I loved being able to tell her that her drawings were in Chicago’s Art Institute and serving tourists from around the world at the Empire State building. Mom insisted that this gave her a new lease on life. I knew we only had a window, so we made the most of the time we had. We spoke over the phone daily, sometimes several times a day. So much fun. I recommend starting a business with your mom when she’s in her late 80s!
Most of her exquisite drawings are available as individual note cards/stationary, grouped in gift boxes, and various print sizes. We offer calendars in Chicago and Houston. She tackled American cities Chicago, New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Houston, eventually turning to London and Paris.
We do sell this product, but mostly Mom just gave it away. She was tickled pink to show people what she was doing.