I have always loved to read and, through that, I have always loved the Art of Illustration. As a young person my friends and I used to go into Monroe's Bookstore (where at times Alice was there) to look about and purchase cards and posters of Arthur Rackham, Klimt, Cheret, Toulouse Lautrec and others. I bought a book of works by Aubrey Beardsley there (and was rather shocked when I got home and looked through it - but they were beautiful) as well as a poster sized paperback book of Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' with gorgeous engravings.
As a young adult I discovered Joan Miro and Alex Calder - who in truth were not classic 'illustrators'....but they had a playfulness in their work which I identify with: work that in some way tells a story. Work that somehow still gives room for imagination and personal interpretation.