MJ Peñaranda was born in Murcia (a city in the southeast of Spain) in 1965, she is an illustrator and drawing artist with a degree in Fine Arts at the Murcia University and a Master in Artistic Production and Management at the same University.

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   Her love for drawing and painting started when she was a child, she learnt on her own practicing whenever she could. Her main artistic influence is the Spanish illustrator Maria Pascual.

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   MJ Peñaranda’s main work is focused on portraits and illustrations, most of them from her children and relatives, although she also includes abstract themes, landscapes and her latest collection of doll illustrations. She standouts for her special technique by using coffee in portraits and illustrations. Most of her work is done by traditional means, only a few are digital.