Sometimes I find the stories distract me from understanding how these artists worked: when they got up, how they avoided procrastination, how they got their work done, and whether they were happy doing it.

Saint-Exupery may have based the Rose in the Little Prince on Consuelo, his wife, and current popular wisdom holds that Lewis Carol, who wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was obsessed with children. But perhaps that’s because Carol’s family purged his archives after his death to remove any records of Carol’s relationships with adult women, in an effort to protect his reputation as an unmarried don.

While my interest in art trivia could be seen as a waste of time, I prefer to view this research as giving me permission to live my life first, and create my work second. I aim to live a drama free life so that I have the energy to create interesting work, but if I live no life at all, the creative well will be dry.