Art, Illustrated

After 25 years of collaborating with his late mother on 23 published children’s books and the popular Nickelodeon cartoon “Maggie and the Ferocious Beast,” Southampton-based illustrator Michael Paraskevas had to decide whether or not he wanted to continue illustrating without her after her death in 2010.

When longtime friend and author, Sarah Maizes, approached Mr. Paraskevas about the concept for the children’s book, “On My Way to the Bath,” he said he loved the idea but candidly admitted he didn’t take it all that seriously.

“I drew up some sketches and next thing I know, they had hired us to do two books,” he said during a phone interview earlier this month.

The story follows a procastinating young girl’s imaginative journey as her mother calls her for bath time. The sequel, “On My Way to Bed,” which Mr. Paraskevas is drawing now, will follow her from the bath to bed.

Traditionally a canvas painter, Mr. Paraskevas said he relished the opportunity to expand his horizons with “On My Way to the Bath,” by drawing the whole book digitally on a drawing tablet.

“It was a really interesting and eye-opening experience,” he said.

As a young boy, Mr. Paraskevas said Broadway was a huge part of his life. For a long time, he thought that his professional life would revolve around the theater.

“My mother was very involved in Broadway performances,” he said. “I watched shows before I saw movies and originally, I wanted to be a set designer.”

Somewhere along the way, painting and the idea of being an artist captured Mr. Paraskevas’s heart, he said. And the rest is history.

He received his bachelor of arts and a master’s degree at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. It was there that he perfected painting on canvas, and that he approached his mother with a challenge.

“I said, why don’t you write a kid’s book, I’ll draw and we’ll get it published,” he said. “She replied, Oh ... we’ll never get it published.”

But in 1992, their first effort, “On the Edge of the Sea,” was published. The book was written by Betty Paraskevas and illustrated by Mr. Paraskevas.

From there, the mother son duo took the children’s book market by storm. In October 2000, the pair created “Maggie and the Ferocious Beast,” and later that year, Nickelodeon approached them to turn the books into an animated series.

“That was a lot of work,” Mr. Paraskevas said. “The whole thing is rewarding but comes with its own set of pressures, there are a lot of ups and downs.”

Chances are that most illustrators would have a hard time pinpointing a specific book or illustration that inspired them from a young age, but that is not the case for Mr. Paraskevas.

“Winnie the Pooh,” he said. “There was no other book I liked better than Winnie the freakin’ Pooh. Maggie is actually inspired by him.”

Mr. Paraskevas believes there is a difference between being an artist and being an illustrator. And, he added, he knows exactly why he so enjoys the latter.

“I think the life of an artist is very solitary. You sit at a board or an aisle and you are basically by yourself. I didn’t like that aspect of it,” he said. “I like working with people. Doing books and the television series brought me into that collaborative world to be part of a team. It’s a great experience being an artist, but also being able to have more contact with people.”

The solitary artist in him still lives in the form of his sketch books though.

“I bring my sketchbook to every event I go to,” he said. “I love not bringing a camera and just sketching what I see.”

The illustrator is currently collaborating with his twin sister, Judy, on another upcoming children’s book. He’s also working on a beach-inspired story that has potential as an animated series, he said.

Having had such a rich career in illustrating, Mr. Paraskevas said that he has much advice for young artists regarding what he calls “the original iPad.”

“Fundamentally, drawing with a pencil and paper is the most important part of being an artist, in my opinion. Modern day art students should not rely on the computer as a crutch and only learn to manipulate imagery,” he said. “However, they should take advantage of the internet in terms of promoting themselves through blogs and websites. It’s not easy, but nothing is easy.”

What Mr. Paraskevas does might not be easy, but in his drawing, he simply and vividly captures a child’s desire to see him- or herself in the pages of a book.