Below are examples of my work. I love mixed media, digital watercolor, pencil sketches, and surprise combinations of colors and textures.

All work is digital, on Procreate, and can be printed in a variety of sizes.

NO AI USE of any kind at any step in the process.

I’m Laraine (Alisa) Herring, author, illustrator, and retired professor of creative writing and psychology.

My work incorporates whimsy, existential angst and anxieties, and hauntings to explore what it means to be human. I primarily illustrate animals (cats and bunnies are my favorites!) I returned to illustration after a forty-year hiatus after I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017. My first illustrated book, The Grief Forest: a book about what we don’t talk about, was released in 2021 from White River Press. The second book in the series, The Grief Carnival: a book about what we don’t talk about, was released in 2026.

I am interested in the intersection of art and healing, especially how art can help us navigate grief.