Doris Ettlinger was born on Staten Island and graduated from RISD in 1973. She has been illustrating ever since. She lives and works in a 150-year-old grist mill on the banks of the Musconetcong River in western New Jersey. When she isn't working on an illustration project or taking care of her family or walking her little black dog, she teaches art at the mill and occaisionally visits area schools where she talks about her work and demonstrates her drawing technique.