Marie-Alice Harel

I am a French author and illustrator based in Edinburgh. I was a Geosciences PhD and researcher before becoming a full time illustrator in 2016. My watercolours and drawings can be found in books, picture books, galleries and magazines. I also create artist books, another playful way to combine images and stories. I love to draw from imagination or from observation, and regularly self-publish books of stories and images under the name MÄ Harel.

I joined the Edinburgh Drawing School in 2018, where I currently teach life drawing and illustration to teenagers and adults. I love to work with museums and galleries to design workshops around exhibitions or permanent collections. Recently I taught a linocut workshop for adults at the Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, for the exhibition Charles II: Art & Power. I've also organised workshops for younger kids and families, for instance at the Scottish Storytelling Centre or the Institut français d'Écosse in Edinburgh.