y  parents always encouraged my interest in drawing. At the age of five I decided that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I was born in London, Ontario. I attended the Art Program at H.B. Beal Secondary School, where I studied drawing, painting, graphic art and animation. Following graduation I worked as a graphic artist in London. After moving to Toronto I attended Illustration and Media Studies classes at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Gradually my work came to consist primarily of illustrations in children’s books, magazines, anthologies, and educational publishing.

The shapes of letters have always fascinated me. My dad gave me a calligraphy set the Christmas I was 15, and my first paying art job was inscribing names in a memorial book a year later. Calligraphy has always been a big part of my business and personal work. I participate in the (almost) annual Calligraphic Arts Guild of Toronto exhibits, and my work was included in the ACA "Alphamark" exhibition which travelled throughout Canada and the US from 1999 to 2002.

I teach calligraphy, drawing and watercolor, and occasionally visit schools and libraries to talk to children about my work. In May 2003 I was a workshop presenter at the MASC Young Authors Conference in Ottawa. Since 2003 I have co-ordinated the art show at the annual "Fall Festival of the Arts" weekend at Rosedale Presbyterian Church in Toronto. My work is also in the travelling CANSCAIP collection. Additional painted works include several murals, and two moose for the summer of 2000 Toronto outdoor exhibit "Moose in the City". While the majority of my paintings are done in acrylic, I also work in watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil.

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