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I began my career as an illustrator like many do - crayoning on walls. Back then it was considered a bad habit, now I get paid for it. In fact, I've somehow managed to doodle my way into a great career.

While I now live in the United States, I was born and raised in Montreal. (I happen to like four seasons and snow, so it worked out well). I went to a traditional art school with painting, printmaking and sculpture, and then university for a B.F.A. in Graphic Design and Illustration. That meant I got a much bigger box of crayons and a big black portfolio to drag around.

Pretty soon I was working full-time doing graphics and illustration for clients like Gillette, Kraft, Disney, Pfizer, Calvin Klein and a big bunch of others. I worked as an Art Director, Creative Director and then started my own business. Getting paid to draw all day is not a bad deal, though it does mean working some long hours. Being self-employed has been great - though there are some days my boss and I don't get along.

I went to Syracuse for an M.A. in Illustration to help me focus my direction and get a better handle on the U.S. market. And as a bonus, I made some weird new friends just like me. That made my big move to America much easier. I’ve lived in a bunch of great places on the East and West Coast, and now settled in Vermont, where I can ski, bike, kayak, and do all kinds of sporty things when I’m not painting.

Along the way my illustrations have won a bunch of awards, and my “Who Was…?” book series climbed to #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List, and was made into a cool Netflix show. I’ve now illustrated over 200 book covers (yes, that’s a LOT of painting!), 20+ kid’s books published in lots of countries, and illustrations for magazines, posters, Apps, websites and eBooks.

I still doodle every day, though now I paint digitally. I also teach Digital Painting and Illustration, passing along many of the tricks and tips I've picked up along the way. And it gets me out of the studio, so I can torture some amazing students. Teaching has been loads of fun and I’ve learnt a lot from students, while they seemed to have survived and even thrived. I hope I’m able to “pay it forward” for having a job so awesome it shouldn’t be legal.

I hope you like my art and this dandy website. Drop me a line and let me know.

CrayonKid