Hamptons Artist Michael Paraskevas On His New Book And His Inspiration

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — He may be the Hamptons' most famous illustrator, but family comes first for Michael Paraskevas.

And on Sunday, it’s what he did as a family guy that just might have made him a star at home: He's the man who took his mother-in-law, Priscilla Bruno, to see Coldplay at Stephen Talkhouse Sunday.

But Paraskevas, although a Coldplay fan, is a well-known Hamptons name in his own right: He's an accomplished artist and a star in the Hamptons constellation for his children’s books, illustrations, animated children’s TV shows and his comics in Dan’s Papers.

Paraskevas knew ever since he was in grade school that he wanted to be an artist. “That’s when I first became aware of Peanuts. I loved that strip and thought: 'Wouldn’t that be a great job?'"

He toyed for a while with becoming a lawyer, a set designer and even an astronaut. "I didn’t see much opportunity; there just weren’t that many of them." He laughed.

But for Paraskevas, there was only one true calling: "Being an artist — sitting in a studio, creating, was more attractive to me.”

Paraskevas was self-taught for years until he attended college in New York City at the School of Visual Arts.

That's where, he said, he met the great artists who gave him the tools he still uses today. “Marshall Arisman, Jack Potter, Gilbert Stone, Robert Weaver, Herb Tauss and Sam Martine. Marshall taught me to be myself. Weaver taught me not to rely on photos so much, and to draw on the spot. Stone taught me to paint and love illustration. Potter taught me how to draw with a line and Sam Martine convinced me one day to just paint my drawings. That was a revelation. I never forgot that.”

For a Jersey boy, the Hamptons turned out to be the perfect place to nurture artistic creativity. “Lucky for me my mother and father wanted to get a small house here." The family moved to the East End in 1979.

Paraskevas added, "I took one look at the ocean and mentally never left. This is without a doubt one of the finest places to live in the country. The light's good, too."

Not a fan of the snow, Paraskevas said he and his wife, Maria Bruno, hole up in Manorville at his mother-in-law's, when the temperatures plunge. "She has a dog we all love," he said.

That dog, along with his sister-in-law’s dog, were the inspiration for his popular daily comic strip Lili and Derek, which he creates with his wife.

"Lili is based on Maria’s sister’s Westie and Derek is her mom’s German Shepherd. We’re always laughing at these two dogs and we just decided a comic strip was a good idea."

The comic strip, he said, takes a great deal of time, but he and his wife are fueled by creativity, even planning on an animated television show down the line.

"TV takes forever, it seems. Maggie and the Ferocious Beast took years to get off the ground," he said.

Paraskevas began his career with another family member, his own mother, Betty, who passed away a few years ago. They created a series of beloved children’s stories including Junior Kroll, “based on me and my mother, in an odd way. Junior reflected my mother’s personality. I think the Ferocious Beast was based on me.”

His mother was an inspiration for his earliest dreams, Paraskevas said.

“Betty was a true writer. She didn’t think as visually as I do,” says Paraskevas. “With my mother, it was always the words. Except when I drew up a picture of the Ferocious Beast and handed it to her and said, '‘Here, write something for this thing.’"

Creating with his wife is just as much a collaborative process. "Whereas my mother was more of a wordsmith, Maria has a clever way of blending visuals with words."

The couple worked together on an optioned animated television series and launched the comic strip.

But despite the hectic schedule, the pair still found time to create a new children's book.

Paraskevas said a combination of his mother and his wife, as well as his own drawings, are all responsible for the newest book, Mr. Moon, slated for publication on October 4.

“I sometimes paint these little round canvases to look like moons. My mother came up with this idea years ago. She told me: ‘Paint them to look like moons.’ I did and we sold a ton of them out of our gallery in Westhampton."

Even today, a moon hangs in his home. "My wife took one look at it and told me: ‘You should write a book about that moon.’ And now here it is: Mr. Moon.”

Paraskevas Gallery closed a few years ago, Paraskevas said. “It was sad to close it, but frankly when my wonderful mother died it was too sad, and just too much work. She loved to sit in the gallery and write and sell books and paintings. It wasn’t the same without her."

Today, Paraskevas sells his artwork at Messina’s in Westhampton. He's also got two websites, where his artwork is displayed. To view, click here and here.

While he says he's a big kid at heart that never grew up, Paraskevas firmly believes that children inspire his work. It's critical, he said, “to listen to kids. They are much smarter than TV executives or book editors give them credit for.”

Paraskevas will be doing book signing in the Hamptons and the dates will be announced soon. For more info on Mr. Moon, click here.