The end is the start for picture book author

Why do children have to go to bed if they are not tired? And why do they have to wake up when they are?

And what can parents do if there are monsters in the little princess's wardrobe, her soft toy cannot sleep without a glass of water or if a spider with hairy legs sits on the wall of the bedroom?

The illustrator and author of original and traditional picture books, Tony Ross, says he finds it difficult to be serious and, therefore, all his drawings are humorous.

"I believe the whole point of a book should be a surprise ending, something no one has thought of. That is why I first work out the ending, and then, the rest of the story just jumps in, completing the book," says the British artist while sipping a glass of white wine.

Inspiration, he adds, is not something he aims for but it just comes to him - suddenly - in the funniest every day situations.

"Oddly enough, my creativity usually awakes when the rest of me is just about to fall asleep. Therefore, I keep a notebook and a pen next to my bed. The problem? Often, I am so sleepy that I scribble everything down... and can't read it the following morning."

Writing and illustrating a book, he says, is a "massive battle and fight" with himself.

"My work mainly consists of tearing out paper, crumpling the drawing, throwing it away and starting again. To be honest, I actually hate it but once I have an idea, I cannot stop thinking about it. Finally, putting the pen aside and holding a complete book in hand is a terrific feeling."

Among the 900 children books Mr Ross has illustrated - 100 he wrote himself - his favourite is always the one he is currently working on. Using pencil, pen, crayon, pastille colour or watercolour, he likes to experiment with different techniques and likes trying new things.

"My work changes according to the text. It is such a great luxury to read text and just draw, without worrying about the style. And it's good to keep changing - it makes you feel you are learning something.

"When did I become interested in art? I was never not interested," says Mr Ross, who studied graphic design in Liverpool and Manchester.

"When I'm illustrating someone's stories, the writing is a very strong influence and reading a story tells me what the characters look like.

"I tend to stick to stereotypes and in my books the princess is always beautiful - preferring blondes with blue eyes - whereas the evil one is thin with long, black hair."

Recently, however, he had been thinking over proving himself wrong and writing a story where the "ugly is good".

After all, a children's book should be a lesson for life...

Mr Ross regrets that he has to leave Malta, as he would have liked to see more of the island's treasures. "Malta is the pearl in the Mediterranean. It's simply beautiful and the people are... they just match the island."

In fact, he took a magazine about the island away with him.

Mr Ross's illustrations are on display at St James Cavalier, in Valletta as part of the British Council Magic Pencil exhibition, a touring exhibition of children's illustrations.

The exhibition features 60 facsimile prints of original artworks by 13 British illustrators such as Quentin Blake and Raymond Briggs.

Other artists present new and varied ways of approaching book illustration such as the use of photographic collages by Lauren Child, innovative layouts of Sara Fanelli and the work of Posy Simmonds, which marries formidable powers of social observation with cunning text.

The Magic Pencil exhibition will be on until March 10.