Maria Mola

Photo provided by illustrator

Maria is an illustrator from Barcelona currently living in Boston with her husband and their three children. She is the illustrator of Sparkle Boy, Maya Papaya, Koala Challah, and others. Maria’s whimsical art often explores the beautiful inner world of kids, the meaningful little things in ordinary days, and she enjoys sneaking quiet hopeful messages in her illustrations. Maria creates her work digitally and in traditional media, often combining both.
When not creating children’s book dumies, she enjoys making crafts with her kids, reading, or cooking. Most of the time doing everything at once
www.mariamola.com.

Interview

What was your favorite book when you were a child?: My favorite book when I was a child was one I am unable to recall the title of. It was about three little sibling cats wearing mittens. I really liked the pictures—they were not actual drawings, but puppets. I could spend hours looking at the images, very real.
What’s your favorite line from a book?: My favorite line is from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland: “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Very focusing effect…
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?: Authors: Dahl, Sciesca
Illustrators: Rebecca Dautremer, Anna Laura Cantone, E. Odriozola
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?: While I had always been passionate about drawing and creating stories, I never thought I could be a professional illustrator. At some point, when I was already an adult, I took an illustration class for fun and I realized I could not stop thinking about illustration, to the point that I remember going to sleep and dreaming with illustrations. The instructor of the class was very supportive and encouraged me to try to become professional… and here I am!
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?: Keep on drawing every day. And of course enjoy it!