Mimi Mckinney enjoyed drawing and painting from a very young age. She grew up in Portage Lakes, Ohio, a suburb of Akron, and began her professional artistic career in Flagler Beach, Florida, where she worked as a freelance illustrator. Her work can be found there locally as wall murals, on magazine covers, as prints, note cards, holiday cards, ACEO's, as well as commissioned originals in private collections, and also at local businesses including the Daytona Beach Pier and the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum. Though, now living far from the sea, she continues illustrating pirates, seaside and nautical artwork from her home in Southern Illinois.

Her mediums of choice are graphite pencil on paper and acrylic paint on masonite. The style of her artwork has been inspired by several very different art movements: classic realism--like that of renaissance masters, in addition to the bold lines and bright colors that are prominently featured in tattoo and comic book art, illustration, folk art, and the lowbrow / pop surrealism movement. From the time of her very first illustrations as a child, the innocent, yet seamless, blend of these movements had become a signature of Mimi’s artwork; and to this day she continues to enhance this integration, creating an overwhelming sense of magical, realistic surrealism in her artwork.

In addition to being an artist, she is also happily married, and the stay-at-home mother of two boys.

Over the years, working in several different mediums, I have specialized as an illustrator of pirates and portraits, doing most of this work in graphite pencil and acrylic paint. In my illustrations I romanticize reality by integrating familiar objects and people with dreamlike atmospheres, frequently combining realism with surrealism. The playful, enchanting subjects and settings in my illustrations are often inspired by my love of pirates and the sea, along with my two charming little boys living in that magical world of childhood.

My artwork is a means of converting my thoughts and dreams into something others can enjoy again and again. With each new work, I am striving for perfection in creating a beautiful piece that is definitive, and powerful, yet, executed with delicate precision; a piece that will give my collectors beauty to enjoy, encouragement to follow their dreams, and inspiration to truly see and experience the intrinsic magical characteristics radiating from everyday life.