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MEET WILSON SWAIN
by Ann Stalcup

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

Wilson Swain

I read and drew, of course, snipped out comics from the newspaper and built play-sets for my toys.  We had a tire swing out back, and I would spend some time out there.  It was a normal childhood in a small, mid-western town.  We had a train that ran very close to our backyard, and when I was very young all the noise would scare me, but after a while my family wouldn't even notice when one was going by.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up? 

I'm an animal in clothing kind of guy, and I always have been.  Richard Scarry, James Marshall and the muppets still make my heart beat.  George and Martha's silly fights and misunderstandings made me laugh.  My dad would read me Ferdinand the Bull with some regularity and that's still a favorite.  

When you were a child did you ever have a moment when you decided that you were going to be a illustrator when you grew up?

I don't think there was ever one moment when my whole life appeared clearly before my eyes, but I do remember thinking to myself 'with enough work and dedication, I think most anything is possible'.  I was sitting in the back end of the station wagon, picturing a small puzzle I had back home, sure that with enough practice, I could draw that too. From then on, for the longest time, I rarely got tired or frustrated with sketches.  There are a lot of bad drawings you have to go through to get to the good ones and I understood that.

What audience did you have in mind for your career as a illustrator - adult or children?

I create for me.  Absolutely, I want others to enjoy the paintings and illustrations, but if I'm not pleased with the work being produced, who else will be?  It's possible I'm painting images I would have wanted to see when I was younger.  I create for 8 year old me.

What kinds of things inspire you to draw? 

I love to watch people, and look at the artwork other illustrators have produced.  Recently I've been writing and illustrating short little poems just to keep me interested in the world around me.  I'll pick a running theme from my day and practice looking at it in a new way  I have no intention of pushing any of these short ideas toward publication, but they do keep creativity fresher.

Do you enjoy researching or do you prefer working totally from your imagination?

I draw completely from my imagination, but I love to research before I get started.  I head to the library and pour through volumes of photos and illustrations.  I might rent a movie or take some photos of my own if I'm looking for specific details for a bit of costume or a type of tree.  The whole world becomes more fascinating when I start paying a little closer attention to a detail I'd overlooked one hundred times before.

When is your next book going to be in book stores?

I'm finishing up a Christmas story for Chronicle books, A NUTTY NUTCRACKER CHRISTMAS by Ralph Covert and G Riley Mills.  It should be available in the fall of 2009. 

Do you draw every day and do you have set hours that you work?

I draw most everyday.  I set a certain number of hours as a goal each day, but it changes depending on what other errands I have scheduled to accomplish that day as well.  For me, I've found that it's important that I dedicate a balanced schedule of working and playing.  Too many hours at the drawing table makes my painting dull and too many hours away from it dulls my skills.  I have to live some life to illustrate it.

Does writing or illustration give you the most pleasure?

I'm an illustrator first.  I have not yet written anything that's been published, but I do see the value in being the main contributor to a book by being both author and illustrator.  Telling the story that way brings a strong personal viewpoint along with some focus and clarity.  But I see a strong value in two people, a writer and a picture-maker, bringing separate viewpoints to the same story as well.  Sometimes more perspective brings about a richer tale.  It's a little like describing an object in three dimensions instead of two.  It takes a second eye to promote depth.

The main books that I have illustrated are:  THE CASTAWAY PIRATES a pop up book written and engineered by Ray Marshall and THE MISFITS, by Kimber MacDonald.