For many illustrators, being commissioned to create a U.S. postage stamp is a career high; getting a return engagement is even better. When I saw that Sergio Baradat has a set of five postcard stamps being issued this week, I called to ask the Miami-based artist about the allure of creating stamps.

Tropical Fruit postcard-rate stamps by Sergio Baradat.

"You know," he said, "When I was growing up, I lived in Cuba, then in Spain, and later on in Miami. As a kid, I collected stamps. I knew I wouldn't be flying to Monaco or Mauritius, but I could look at the stamps from these places and imagine being there. They became tiny ambassadors of art and culture. It made me think, 'One day I will go to the Seychelles.' Some countries, like Rwanda, would reproduce master painters such as Renoir and Leonardo da Vinci. When you're a kid with an artistic sense, it moulds you."

Sergio went on to say that after studying art and illustration at Parsons, and after working as both an illustrator and an art director, "it was a 360-degree moment when I got my first commission to do a stamp." That was a couple of years ago, when he was one of four Latino artists selected to do a set of stamps celebrating Latin dance. "Creating art for stamps," he says, "is a way to connect on a different level with people doing everyday things, like paying their bills."

Veteran stamp artist Nancy Stahl has created nine so far. "It sounds hoakey," she said, "but stamps are such an important part of our lives, from childhood on, that it's really a big deal to create art for a postage stamp. For a series of holiday stamps, the New York-based artist replicated the idea of Norwegian sweaters, including a raindeer and a snowman, by actually knitting the art. Her 2003 Snowy Egret stamp turned out to have the biggest printing - 8 billion - since records have been kept. "I think because it hit at a time when there were no rate increases the postal service just kept reprinting it," she said. "But it was a thrill to hear from one of my high school friends who called to say she was using my stamp."

Sergio Baradat's new stamps feature five different mouthwatering tropical fruits that look good enough to eat, even though they're the self-adhesive kind. The Tropical Fruit set will be dedicated and issued in a ceremony at the 2008 Westpex Stamp Show, at 1:00 pm on April 25 at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Hotel in Burlingame. Sergio will be on hand to sign first day covers both Friday afternoon and again on Saturday. Please check the website for details and directions.