PAUL HERRIN

Julie Baroh is one of those people who, through no fault of her own, makes the rest of us feel like lazy slobs. While you and I sit on our duffs slurping down orange mocha Frappuccinos and watching Paris Hilton do even less than we do for five times the money, Baroh plays bass for local band Rot, plays soccer for an all-women's local team (The Phoenix), is a dedicated recreational cyclist (she's riding in this year's Seattle-to-Portland Classic), and is a member of the Rat City Rollergirls roller derby league ("I'm the mouthy little one named Jinx").

None of this hints at what the West Seattle resident does in her quiet time. Believe it or not, this two-fisted action hero draws faeries. For the past 12 years, Julie Baroh has made her living as an illustrator of faeries, trolls, mermen and other fantastic creatures. If you've ever played Wizards of the Coast's "Magic: The Gathering" card game, you've seen her works; she's also shown her menagerie in scores of local galleries and in David Riche's 2003 compilation "The Art of Faery."

Baroh's illustrations are very much in the style of Maurice Sendak and Beatrix Potter; her gorgeous, earthy palette and meticulously-drawn lines don't seem to belong to this new century, where the quiet wonder of storybooks is drowned out by noisy bastardizations like "Shrek 2." Fortunately for us, Baroh's keen to share her talent: She's planning some art classes for children this summer ("The focus is either bookmaking or printmaking"), and will submit some pieces to another upcoming David Riche book.

In the immediate future, however, Baroh will be finishing up a "long-time coming" comic strip called "Bitter Girl," keeping up with her various enthusiasms and answering these five questions.

Well, I've always been drawing, and since I was 3 or 4, I have been making my own little books. However, I didn't have a rich fantasy life as a child that expanded too much further than wanting to hang out with Donnie and Marie, or being in "Star Wars."

Faeries came later. Much, much later. I don't even really recall drawing or painting one until the '90s, to be honest. I think the "Magic" card "Fire Sprites" was the first sprite/pixie piece I did that I can really remember. But they work for me for some reason. Little creatures are fun to draw. They just come to life. And they work very well for my painting medium of choice, which is gouache.

Well, for one thing, the imagination is the womb of everything man creates. The imagination is an amazing tool. It's like this dynamic, conceptual dimension we pull from, to our own "real" three-dimensional world. Just because it's intangible doesn't mean it isn't real.

Eh, naw, not really. I get inspiration from really uninspiring little things. Like a leaf in my yard, or my cats. One of my cats just died; he was a big inspiration to me and was featured in many of my drawings. Or the inanimate objects I've collected over the years in my study or studio. I get a lot of inspiration from my books and from other artists.

The real world is fascinating to me because it holds so much potential. Sure, it's not like the faery world, but it's just as cool, and it inspires the faery world. It inspires me to draw, to think.

The experience of doing trading cards for Wizards (WotC to the old folks) — and for other games like "Legends of the Five Rings" or "Shadowrun" — was really valuable and I love the people who've supported my career since then. However, I gotta be honest: I was not really ready for that kind of career at that time. I was too young, too inexperienced of an illustrator and not ready for what was in store for me. I freaked out in the mid '90s and just quit. It's been a struggle since then, getting back into the swing of things, but on my own terms this time. I think my work has grown and matured since then.

I have only played the game ("Magic") ONCE. Sad, huh? I played with my friend and college classmate Jesper Myrfors (the first art director of "Magic: the Gathering") and one of his friends. Jesper was cheating. He says it wasn't cheating — it's just he was "forgetting" to tell me the rules as we were playing. I got so frustrated I haven't picked up a deck since. He'll kill me for saying that. He's a good guy all around ... unless you're pitted against him in a game.

Ha, they DO wear pointy hats, or they used to. They don't know where I live now so I can say that without fear of retaliation (wink).

I think it surprises them that my art is like it is, for who I am. I'm not lithe and flowy; I don't wear velvet dresses and participate in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) or anything. My house isn't full of faery paraphernalia. I bend their concept of a female fantasy artist a bit, although honestly, most of us are just ordinary people who can draw and paint.

My fantasy work doesn't look like it comes from me. I think people expect an older woman or something, I dunno. It's more mature than I am, I suppose.

I have many, what to choose ... hmm. Okay, how about this: the BEST Italian restaurant in Seattle, hands down, is La Rustica. I have been to most of the local Italian restaurants; I have eaten in Little Italy in NYC; I have been to Tuscany. La Rustica holds its own. I have seen people cry with joy over their blue filet mignon. My favorite dish? Penne Alla Norma. Magnifico.

I have been going to B & O Espresso since 1985. I always get a mocha, Egyptian lentil soup and a cream cheese brownie (not on the menu, but in the pastry case). Yes, I still remember the old bathroom (shudder). Good times, good times... If Heather still works there, treat her nice — she's the greatest waitperson ever!