The Following Aesthetic Reasons

(Paula Put the Kettle On by artist Paula Rego)


I am embarking on a new side project, writing and illustrating a childrens book. My idea isn't new, it's as old as the first stories ever told. In fact, what I'm writing is based on folk tales and fairy tales, embracing the darkness and mystery that these traditional stories often revolve around. Some of my inspirations are Paula Rego's art , Hans Christian Anderson's stories , Edgar Allen Poe's short stories , Luella Bartley's Fall 2008 fashion show, Pan's Labyrinth, and my dreams. I remember when I was 8 my father reading Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with me and my siblings in a tent at our summerhouse in Maine. And from the Hans Christian Anderson catalog my favorite was "Wild Swans". I would love to hear some new stories/folktales as I do research these next few weeks...