Bernadette Watts and Shadra Strickland



Recently author and illustrator Shadra Strickland talked about illustrating PLEASE, LOUISE (written by Toni and Slade Morrison).  

To illustrate PLEASE, LOUISE Strickland used a wax resist technique with crayon and watercolor washes. She mentioned the work of Bernadette Watts as a "great source of inspiration." 


Wanting to know more about Bernadette Watts, I followed the link from Kirkus to an interview found here. The interview with Watts is fascinating for many reasons, including her telling of plans to sleep in the Frankfurt train station for the duration of the 1967 Frankfurt Book Fair. (If only libraries were open 24 hours a day.)