Leo Vilela

Born in Italy and living in UK, I am a nurse by profession with a deep passion for traditional painting. All these years I have been self-studying and practice classical drawings and painting, a passion passed on by my mother.

I paused the practice when my lovely daughter was born. The inspiration for this first book then emerged during moments of play with her in 2021.

The settings used are inspired by the Chess Valley where I currently live with my family.

Every single original illustration is handmade in gouache, watercolour paint on watercolour paper and then photographed professionally.

With the speedy advancement of A.I. driven automation my aim is to preserve the handcrafted human creativity.

A big thank you to my partner Monica for the support in making this story from beginning to the end and to all those who provided with invaluable feedbacks before the launch.

The book is in process to be translated in Italian, which is my native language and I hope to translate it in many others.

I hope you find as much joy in reading this book, as I found in creating it.