maria van lieshout was born and grew up in holland. her family had five people, seven
bicycles and a citroën deux cheveaux, which is basically an umbrella on four wheels,
even though it survived many family camping trips to france.
their house had one bathroom, their supermarket sold one type of
peanut-butter, her bedroom was the size of an american closet and their
fridge was the size of an american cereal box. well, almost…
some of maria’s favorite things remind her of her childhood in holland:
cycling through the city, cows, a cup of hot tea on a rainy afternoon, fresh
flowers…
dutch illustrators that influence maria’s work are dick bruna, fiep
westendorp and michael dudok de wit. their art is unexpected, expressive
and emotional. they say more with less. this is what maria aspires
to do- capture energy and emotion with only a few lines.
maria van lieshout and her husband peter live in a 100-year old
victorian in san francisco with creaky floors, where she has
her studio and works full-time on children’s books and her line
of cards and art prints.