Obituary: Chandler O'Leary
Chandler O’Leary, Sasquatch Books author and founder of the stationery and paper goods workshop Anagram Press, died on April 2 of sudden, severe pneumonia. She was 41 and leaves behind a spouse and 4-year-old child, as well as a grieving arts and literary community in her adopted hometown of Tacoma, Wash., reported the Tacoma News Tribune.
O’Leary arrived in the Pacific Northwest in 2008 and made her mark with affectionate images of natural settings, architecturally precise renderings of landmarks, and jaunty public art, which often featured local curiosities and nautical settings around Puget Sound. She blogged about her travels, and her sketchbook art combined a Kodachrome palette with a witty take on roadside nostalgia.
In prints and watercolor illustrations notable for meticulous detail and stylish composition, O’Leary captured the sky blues and evergreens of the West Coast. Her books include Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color, a collaboration with Tacoma letterpress artist Jessica Spring (2016), The Best Coast: A Road Trip Atlas (2019), and On Island Time: A Traveler's Atlas, published this February.
