I am not a tidy person. My studio, in north London, is full of things. I have wash-basin that’s not plumbed-in that was used as a prop for a painting. I’ve got a lot of dolls, and a lot of different animals; all like different characters in a play. I move them around as I tell the story for my picture. My favourite, at the moment, is Francesca, who has pigtails. Sometimes I need to hand-make a particular character for a story.
I love being in my studio. I chose it because it has two huge roof lanterns, which give the most amazing light. It was built in about 1900. The Rentokil man said that it’s like a five-star hotel for the mice.
I still like to work – even at 79. Nowadays I try to start at 10.30 in the morning and carry on until 6.30 in the evening. I always have a rest after lunch. I’ve done that since I was a little girl growing up in Portugal. I eat two rice-cake sandwiches for lunch, full of salad, and a bit of ham or cheese, and an apple. I drink peppermint tea. When I have finished work for the day I enjoy one glass of champagne.
Creative block is agonising when it happens. My husband, the artist Victor Willing, really helped me. When I couldn’t think what to do next, he told me just to start by reading a story and illustrating it. That was very helpful. Before that, he once tried to help me by setting up a blue ceramic bowl with oranges in it. (Vic liked Matisse). That didn’t work; I didn’t know what to do with it because it didn’t have a story.
While I’m working, I like to listen to music. Opera in the morning, and fado in the afternoon. I also like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, and the French singers Mouloudji and Jacqueline François.
When I first start on a picture, or a series of pictures, I don’t like anyone in the studio except for Lila, my assistant and my muse. When I’m finishing a picture I like one of my friends, or a couple of them, to tell me what they think. Vic always used to do that for me, and I miss him.
Paula Rego/Honore Daumiér: Scandal, Gossip and other Stories, will be at the House of Illustration, King’s Cross, London until 22 March 2015
