During my senior year in high school, I applied to four art colleges in New York City. Only Pratt Institute accepted me, so I left East Northport for Brooklyn. I've always loved New York City. Sometimes it exhilarates me; other times I find it fiercely depressing. But it always affects me. I expect the same from paintings, movies, and music. I don't have to like what I see or hear, but I want to be affected.

I hope to do the same in the picture books I write and paint: to leave the reader with something to think about. When I illustrate another writer's text, I want to extend the words by adding new ideas into the art. My pictures stray from the words but not from the story. I enjoy illustrating stories that are ethereal, airy, and emotional, not locked into a specific time and place. I think an illustrator also needs to recognize what not to paint. Some lines of text are so poetic and perfectly descriptive that a picture would dilute their effect. Metaphors and similes are important things not to illustrate. I don't think we ever need to see someone's "heart beating like a hammer."

In several books, I placed the title and credits after the story began, a format I always find very appealing in movies. However, I only do it when it feels right for the story. an idea can become a gimmick if used at the wrong time. Most people I meet in schools, libraries and bookstores are excited to see a new format. A few people have told me that they find it confusing. I'm just glad I affected them.

I believe a good book doesn't explain everything. It's a springboard, an open door. It gives readers some space to make their own choices and connections. To laugh. To cry. To be affected.

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