Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Tripp grew up in rural New Hampshire and New York. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) where he studied graphic arts. He received a bachelor's degree in education from Keene State College and studied English at the University of New Hampshire. He then taught English for three years until choosing to devote himself full-time to illustration. For a time, Tripp's wife Marcy ran a publishing house, Sparhawk Books, that published two of his books, including Wallace Tripp's Wurst Seller. Wallace created many greeting cards for Pawprints, a family-owned business run by wife Marcy. He now lives in Hancock, New Hampshire and typically works for HarperCollins. Wallace and Marcy Tripp have three children, two sons and a daughter. He has been retired for over 20 years due to Parkinson's disease.

"Genius is rare as turtle fangs, but talent is common enough."

"Illustrators are word people who happen to draw. We work with one foot in a book, the other stuck in a paint pot. Our shoes are a disgrace."

"The experienced illustrator subscribes to the principle of the application of the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. Should inspiration whisk down your chimney, be at your table. The first ten thousand drawings are the hardest. Put another way, you have ten thousand bad drawings within and should expel them as quickly as possible."

"In children's books I look for artists (not necessarily the best draftsmen, either) with vitality, integrity, humor and a powerful story-telling bent. There is too much arty, pretentious, self-indulgent illustration (often not a considered accurate reflection of what the story says) looking as if intended as a portfolio presentation or a contest entry. Give me N.C. Wyeth, Ernest Shepard, Garth Williams, Bill Peet, Raymond Briggs, Richard Scarry and Graham Oakley and forget those [who perpetrate] lovely curlicues and fabulous puce washes."