Whidbey artist’s work appears on cover of bestselling novel
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 7, 2026
When Katy Holley set up her easel at Ala Spit on North Whidbey in 2024, she could not have anticipated that the ocean landscape she rendered would later emerge as the cover of the widely acclaimed novel.
“Whidbey,” by T Kira Madden, is already a national bestseller and was featured in media nationwide, from the News York Times to the Whidbey News-Times.
“It was completely out of the blue,” said Holley, an Oak Harbor artist. “I don’t exactly know how they went about finding me, but I’m very glad they did.”
Working in her characteristic style, Holley created the piece as an oil painting on stretched linen canvas. The work, measuring 9 by 12 inches, took roughly eight to ten hours to complete. The painting captures the beauty of the Whidbey shoreline on a gloomy day. The publisher later purchased the rights to the image for use as the book’s cover, applying subtle digital alterations to adapt it for print.
Having her work selected for such a resonant literary project has left a lasting impression on the artist.
“I’m incredibly grateful, I think it is highly meaningful,” Holley said.
Holley, who considers Whidbey Island a place of deep personal significance, is excited to buy the book and experience it firsthand.
“The subject matter, it’s personal. I have not yet gotten to read the book, but I know that it’s going to be highly impactful,” she said.
Although the original painting has since been sold, a closely related version, larger in scale at 16 by 20 inches, currently hangs at Camp Casey.
“If it is the case that it sold before it was used for the cover, I’m not even sure that they necessarily know,” she noted about the buyer of the original painting.
This is not Holley’s first time doing literary collaborations. She previously created artwork for the cover of “Paul” by Daisy Lafarge. In that instance, as with “Whidbey,” the painting had already been completed before rights were granted for its use.
Find Holley’s work at the Penn Cove Gallery in Coupeville or on Etsy at KatyLeighArtistry.
