Dante's Heart
An Interview with Michelle Boulad
Resident in Australia, Michelle Boulad is an active illustrator of fairy tales, and
runs a shop on deviantart. When we contacted her by e-mail, she said graciously
that she would be excited at the thought of an interview about her work.
Dante's Heart: Dear Michelle, thanks for taking the time to join us for an e-
mail interview. First question: what do you think of interviews?
Michelle Boulad: If you’re asking my opinion of interviews in general, I love
reading interviews, just as I love reading autobiographies. It’s interesting to have
a look inside someone else’s head. But if you’re asking my opinion of giving
interviews, I’ll have to answer at the end of this one, as it’s my first.
DH: Michelle, some of your work has a subtle darkness to it, only really visible
at second glance. Could you speak to that?
MB: I worry that the darker aspects of my work are often overlooked. There's
nothing more upsetting than a fairytale without any teeth. I’ve been a voracious
reader all my life, and I think this has had great impact on my art work. My
paintings almost always start with an idea similar to the conception of a written
story, and as the painting progresses, the story fleshes itself out. What good is
a story that doesn’t have conflict, make a strong point, or reveal an aspect of
Page 2 Back to Interviews
Resident in Australia, Michelle Boulad is an active illustrator of fairy tales, and
runs a shop on deviantart. When we contacted her by e-mail, she said graciously
that she would be excited at the thought of an interview about her work.
Dante's Heart: Dear Michelle, thanks for taking the time to join us for an e-
mail interview. First question: what do you think of interviews?
Michelle Boulad: If you’re asking my opinion of interviews in general, I love
reading interviews, just as I love reading autobiographies. It’s interesting to have
a look inside someone else’s head. But if you’re asking my opinion of giving
interviews, I’ll have to answer at the end of this one, as it’s my first.
DH: Michelle, some of your work has a subtle darkness to it, only really visible
at second glance. Could you speak to that?
MB: I worry that the darker aspects of my work are often overlooked. There's
nothing more upsetting than a fairytale without any teeth. I’ve been a voracious
reader all my life, and I think this has had great impact on my art work. My
paintings almost always start with an idea similar to the conception of a written
story, and as the painting progresses, the story fleshes itself out. What good is
a story that doesn’t have conflict, make a strong point, or reveal an aspect of
Page 2 Back to Interviews
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