The great New Yorker cartoonist and artist Saul Steinberg has been a hero since I first encountered his work while at NYU. Along with Ronald Searle and Jean-Jacques Sempé, Steinberg’s angular approach and light, improvisational-looking line took my breath away. Inspiration begat emulation, and my drawing style aped his work, particularly in college.One thing that was unique to Steinberg was the way he incorporated stamps and labels into his work, something I’d never done before. As my book projects multiplied, I needed to find a way to organize my work. So I visited an office supply store and bought a bunch of stamps and stamp pads in order to date and label all of my original drawings and sketches.Turns out, stamping a finished drawing is really fun! It’s like a little reward after a bit of work. In fact, the stamping was so fun, before I knew it, I got carried away. . . .
– Mo Willems
