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I began illustrating children's books because of a growing disillusionment with the sort of work I was doing in the advertising industry. Book publishing offered me the chance to be far more creative.

The illustrations in picture books are the first paintings most children see, and because of that, they are incredibly important. What we see and share at that age stays with us for life.

I have been illustrating Tolkien's books ever since I first read them, long before illustration became my profession.

I love graphic design. I love working with design, and I love storytelling, so I've been working on a children's book for a while, and I'd like to see that through.

Illustrations can be a big window: a looking glass into the author's imagination.

I used to do calligraphy, and I'm afraid that has lapsed, but I've always been interested in book printing.

For most of my career I illustrated books for other people.

With the Larry Bertlemann portrait, I started with a photograph that I could use for it. I built the drawing's identity to serve as a graphic identity. After a number of sketches, I went into my own abstract vernacular of drawn lines and shapes to create the composition for the poster design.

I like working on stories where I can explore the darker corners of childhood without illustrations but with humor.

I hadn't thought specifically about doing graphic novels until a couple of my friends got contracts for them. Then I started picturing how various of my stories or poems would work in an illustrated format and thinking how cool that would be.