47

Today I turned 47.

47 years old! Goddamnit. Some folks assume that I’m younger, based on how my drawings look. I’ve been drawing pretty much the same way my whole life, so I might age, but my work stays the same.

It made me realize that although I’ve been sharing my drawings online for 12 years now, you probably don’t know that much about me. Sure, I share little bits about what I’m doing with my work, but not a whole lot else. So I think it’s time we get caught up:

I grew up in a small town in Quebec.

I went to school in French, all the way through High School, although my family is English-speaking (we call ourselves Anglophones in Quebec, a term I later realized is not used in the rest of the country). I can still speak French a bit, but it’s really really rusty. Comment ça va?

I live in Victoria, BC with my wife and two sons.

My drawings are sometimes funny, but I’m often a pretty serious guy. I often have a furrowed brow. Sometimes people (mostly on Facebook) get mad when my drawings aren’t funny. What? Did I promise you that I’d make funny things all the time? No. My blog is called ‘Serious Drawings’. I’ll make my drawings funny when I want to, and when it makes sense to me. If you want 100% consistent funny, go follow The Oatmeal - he’s really good at it.

My drawings are often seen as positive or uplifting, but I’m not necessarily a super cheery fellow. I draw them as reminders to myself. There’s a quote from Carol Shields: “write the book you want to read, the one you cannot find”. I make the drawings I need to see.

Well, actually it's more complicated than that. Making art for a living is a delicate balancing act between making work that you care about and that OTHERS will care about too.

Okay, I just realized that the last few paragraphs made me sound like a grouchy grouch. I'm not, I swear! Ugh, this is why I don't write about myself...

Lots of people get my drawings tattooed. But I never design tattoos. It still feels strange to see my work on other people’s bodies. It’s a very odd feeling. But I’m honoured that my work has enough meaning to them to decide to make it a part of their lives.

Do I have any tattoos? Nope. I’m too afraid to get one, and it’s too much commitment.

I like fish & chips and hamburgers and sushi and yakisoba and coffee and dark chocolate (not all at the same time).

I like long walks on the beach, but a good walk on a trail in the woods is better because you don’t get sand in your shoes.

Okay I think that's enough for now!

featured in Obscura magazine

Obscura magazine did an 8 page feature on my work in their latest issue. Obscura is a beautifully made magazine (lovely uncoated paper, fabric taped spine, etc.) based out of Hong Kong. They asked me to answer a number of questions with drawings, and this was the result.

What do you like to eat?

What kind of things make you happy?

What does your favourite outfit look like?

What do you consider to be your daily essentials?

What do you find beautiful lately?

If you could invent a tool for collecting inspiration, what would it be like?

Read a bit more about the feature here.

About the magazine: www.obscura-magazine.com/en

interview with Ohh Deer

The lovely folks at Ohh Deer interviewed me for their blog. In case you don't know, Ohh Deer sells an amazing collection of gifts and stationery featuring art and illustration from a variety of artists, including myself.

Read the interview here.

Workspiration interview

I did an interview with Workspiration, and talked about the various tools I use, including software and scanners.

Workspiration has a terrific collection of interviews with photographers, illustrators, designers, writers, entrepreneurs and developers, including folks like Derek Sivers, Erik Spiekermann, Sacha Greif, and other interesting people.