Whimsical Wednesday: an interview with Maria van Lieshout

click image for Amazon

I recently came across this wonderful book and highly recommend getting your hands on it and head into it.  I asked Maria to respond to the following questions and here is what she had to say:

Why do you create what you do?

I love working on my books. I have a young son at home, and he is so full of wonder about the world around him that I feel fortunate that I get to write words and create art for that age group. I love to write. I love to create art, narrative art, and to be able to combine the two is a real joy. I am very lucky.

How would you describe your creative process? (maybe use Hopper & Wilson as an example)

I don't have one set process; each book is distinct and calls for a different process. For my book Hopper and Wilson, I decided I would love to do a book about the sea. It has such a strong personality with so many moods, and I decided I wanted to include that moody sea in a book, almost as another character. I had also wanted to experiment with mixed media/collage, so I created the story around those two goals. I came up with some images, wrote a snippet, went back to the art, wrote some more...When we showed my editor, he really loved the story and decided to publish it, but it changed quite a bit after it was acquired, since both the editor and art director had a strong creative vision for the story.

What's your thought on whimsy: how would you define it?  Why does it matter?

Whimsy is like a butterfly in the sky. Not sure that "it matters" per se, but it sure brightens up your day!

more on Maria van Lieshout @ www.mariavanlieshout.com

coming in April 2014!