Richard Courtney is a free lance illustrator/artist who has worked in book publishing 

since the late seventies. His book publishing credits include work with various national 

and international book publishers and he has collaborated with his wife, Tricia, on many 

children's books and educational projects for Random House, Grosset and Dunlap, 

Scholastic, Western (Golden Books) Publishing, and SRA/McGraw-Hill. Most of his 

work in recent years has been illustrating projects with the popular "Thomas the Tank 

Engine & Friends" license for retail book publishing.

 

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Richard has spent most of his life in the Midwest, but lived a 

few years in Arizona where he developed a love of the rugged landscapes of the 

western states. He returned to the Midwest to pursue an education in graphics and 

commercial illustration. After graduating from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Ok with a 

Bachelors degree in commercial art, Richard worked for several years at The Joplin 

Globe newspaper as a graphic artist. Besides his work in book publishing, Richard 

enjoys painting commissions and gallery pieces with western and local landscape 

themes. His studio is in Joplin, Missouri.