1. Please tell us your origin story as an artist and creator.
I clearly remember exploring different mediums as a child. At age three, I was handed construction paper for the first time and saw instantly that blue could be sky, green grass and brown trees. The feel of the paper and its smell captivated me. Soon, this was followed by splashing watercolors across the paper and going through boxes of crayons layering colors to make new ones (my favorite combo Brick Red and Yellow Crayola Crayons). So, by the age of five I knew I wanted to be an artist.
We only had a couple children's books at home, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Go Dog Go, but as I entered school I became enamored with Tommy DePaola's Strega Nona and Blair Lent's The Funny Little Woman. I took their books out so frequently that my school librarian pushed me to look at other books, but I didn't. Ironically too I never read the words but read the books through their art. That was it, by six I knew I wanted to make books with my art.
2. What is your creative process like?
My creative process is both very formal and informal. As I read a story that I will illustrate (or write my own), I like to let it bounce around my head for a while. Some pages come into my head instantly while others slowly emerge. As the pages emerge I'll sketch them down. Often very rough sketches with notes to myself for colors and lighting. Day after day the images will become clearer to me until I have the whole story sketched out. Where I differ from a lot of artists is I like to go from the rough sketches to final art. This allows for the art to tell me what it needs. I have found that if I over plan art, creative opportunities can be lost. It's a lot like a conversation. You think it's going to go one way but it can turn in another more interesting direction when you stay open.
3. What is your message for young visual storytellers?
The most important message that I like to pass on to visual storytellers is stick with it. So often I will hear people express a dream of doing what I do but fear that it is impractical or hard. I'd suggest that if you love something, that is the most essential thing you can do. It's much harder to do something you do not love. Stick with it, stay open to ideas and opportunities. Consume books, travel, music, movies and life experiences that will fuel your creativity. Build that internal library of life so that when your art and stories emerge you have the means to express it. If you stick with it, what blooms will be even more beautiful than you can imagine. Even the failures will teach you something and propel you forward.
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