Bio

By the time I reached high school, my artistic talent was beginning to turn heads, while my passion for horses drove me to read every horse book I could get my hands on. There were never enough horse books. I was hungry for more.

After graduation and a winter of work, I enrolled in the Equine Studies program at Humber College. (west Toronto)

Humber’s program introduced this farm-raised kid to the professional horse world. I devoured the courses, and since I'd begun riding at the age of seven, my first real riding lessons. I couldn’t soak up enough. All the while, my instructors had noticed my ability to draw.

It became clear to me in those early years, that the artist hat would be the best and wisest fit.

Following my study at Humber College, I applied and was accepted into the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) in Toronto. There, I earned my art degree, at every opportunity doubling up course assignments with commismions that were already coming in through my equestrian connections.

Marriage and children closely followed my graduation from art college. My spouse's carreer then took us to Georgia, USA where, in time, I found a network of equestiran friends, while continuing to create illustrations and comics for equine periodicals.

As our sons grew, I found myself riding regularly, and worked for a local carriage business, continuing to hone my horsemanship skills. In my home studio I created illustrations and cartoons for the Paint Horse Journal, Horse Illustrated, Quarter Horse Journal, and many other periodicals, as well as book illustration projects.

Along with my love for horses, I have held a fascination for tack. To accurately draw the harnesses and saddles for every imaginable sport, discipline, and time period, a clear understanding of the gear was a necessary and happy study. When time allowed, I dabbled designing and building western saddles.

Fergus, the cartoon character, was conceived in 2000 when I stopped drawing generic horses for my comics, developed a specific character, and gave him a name. Comics featuring Fergus were published in a few equine periodicals and product ads for a few years. The Ocala Star Banner (Florida USA) ran the Fergus comic strip weekly in the early 2000s. When I learned to colour the comics digitally, and introduced them onto Facebook, Fergus' popularity exploded. Following my return to Canada in 2012, six Fergus books have been published. During my 20+ years of creating Fergus and becoming an author, working for ten summer seasons as a trail guide in a Provincial Park fed the muse.

Presently, my livelihood continues with work creating Fergus cartoons, researching for personal projects, as well as illustrating for other authors. Which is my favourite project? Probably the next one...