Maurice Sendak

As a child I loved Maurice Sendak's books and have passed this love of his work onto my children. There is many a bedtime when the house resounds with 'I'm not the milk and the milks not me I'm Mickey.' So it is with great sadness that I today I learnt of Maurice Sendak's death. He was 83 and died from complications from a stroke.

Maurice Sendak is the reason I wanted to become an illustrator. He has been a major influence and inspiration of mine for as long as I can remember.  He illustrated many other authors work but is probably most well known for the stories he wrote and illustrated, in particular Where The Wild Things Are and my favourite, In The Night Kitchen.

 In the Night Kitchen published in 1970 is a dark children's story that explored relationships with his relatives whilst playing with childhood fears and aggressions. Bizaarly it was banned for innocent nude images of Mickey.

His work is quite beautiful. I love the compositions of his images, the restrained use of colour and the wonderful personality he brought to his lines. It is his linear quality that particularly inspired my linocut work.

Today has become a sad day with his death, but it is tempered with the knowledge that Maurice Sendak's unique, wonderful, beautiful work will be loved by children and adults alike forever.