I've been a professional illustrator now for almost 20 years but have been drawing since I could hold a pencil. My mother tells me that my drawings were descriptive from the very start, and I still find it almost impossible not to 'tell' a picture.
I attended the Ontario College of Art in the early 80s, but didn't take any communicative art courses there. Instead I was fortunate enough at the onset of my college years to move into a house where a well-known illustrator and photographer were living upstairs. They adopted me as their protege and friend, and taught me more than any school could about the illustration/commercial art biz.
I took a few animation jobs before striking out on my own as an illustrator. The combination of having to imitate other's work and draw very tightly all day (which stiffened my hand) prompted me to develop my own, loose, pen and ink style back at my home drawing table.
I sent some of these pieces out to art directors. My last animation job was for a butter commercial, and with my pay, I took a ten day trip to Paris and submerged myself in art. After that I was determined never to draw in any style but my own.
My first US editorial job was for Patrick JB Flynn of the Progressive. He read the article to me over the phone and trusted me enough not to request a preliminary sketch.
My next major assignments were for the Bostonian and Esquire, while some local Canadian magazines and weeklies provided regular gigs.
Portfolio slogging trips to New York proved fruitful and in no time I was illustrating book covers and editorials for major publishers.
Early on, I did a series of Angela Carter and of Flannery O'Connor covers with Michael Ian Kaye, another fine art director that trusted my conceptual ability.
I suppose my 'big break' was when Tina Brown took over the New Yorker and they began hiring new illustrators to liven up the once strictly black and white pages. I worked for them quite a bit in the 90s, and when was living in New York in 1996/97, they sometimes sent me to sketch from live performances.
Another highlight of my career was an all expenses paid trip to Tokyo by a Japanese purse designer I'd created a poster for.
Today, most of my editorial work is for books/book covers, in the UK and North America, though I still maintain a clientelle in other arenas.
My current, personal projects include a series of Tarot card paintings, a fairy tale book, belly dancing and astrology.