For this article in the international artist series, we turn to Canada,
featuring five artists who create fantastic work, from illustration to
graphic design and more! I asked each artist how their country and
culture inspired their work, and they delivered fantastic answers.
Enjoy!
Marie Bergeron
Marie is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Montreal. She creates vibrant designs and colorful fan art mashups with some of your favorite titles. Check out a small selection of her work below or see more in her portfolio.
Captain America x Hail Hydra
Canada is a very peaceful country. We are very open
minded and multicultural. It makes us a great country for this. One of my favorite pastimes is to get lost
in nature. I don't do it as often as I used to do, but our countryside and
nature is unbelievably rich.
Here Lies Joe x Sweven Films
Art is pretty much everywhere in
many forms. We have a lot of festivals. Jazz, World festival, African, Arabic,
Just for laughs, Street art. It's everywhere! Those
art festivals have inspired me the most. Artists
from around the globe bring their skills to a next level here in Montreal.
Hannibal x Screenprint
The Force Awakens x Poster Posse
No one I know in the art industry is playing a solo game. We all work
together. We all push each other. Our roots are there in the art field
and it is only growing every year. Though there are few of us in the field compared to the wide range of
studios and creative people in the States, we do manage. I wouldn't trade
this country for anything.
Caleb Hamm
Caleb is a freelance artist based in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. Inspired by his surroundings and love of nature, his beautiful work has incredible detail and symbolism. Check out a small selection of his work below or see more in his portfolio.
Scattered Wampum
Having had such a massive influx of immigrants, the ethnic
diversity is a massive influence on our global outlook. My small city of
10,500 went from a mostly mono-cultural farm town to now a booming community
representing people from 125 countries in just the past two decades. Our first
art gallery is having its official opening tomorrow.
Rooted in the Ground of Being
The Messenger
Spending my early childhood on a international missionary
base in Papua New Guinea also had a huge impact on the anthropological interest
I have for culture and more specifically the disappearing indigenous cultures
around the world. Ever since I was a kid, I have had a strong interest in the
First Nations of North America. I spent a few years teaching art and music on
an isolated Ojibwe reservation and that simply watered the tree of my growing layers
of research.
Lunar Sanctuary
Canada is such a huge country and still so much of it
remains untouched. The vastness and wild beauty of each province offers another
rich source of inspiration. There is nothing better than to disappear on a lake
or river system for a canoe trip with old friends. Not only is the beauty
intoxicating, but it brings me back to the easel with many new inspirations.
Shawn Hight
Shawn is a designer and motion graphics artist based in Vancouver, Canada. His animations are sleek and sophisticated with great storytelling involved. Check out a small selection of his work below or see more in his portfolio.
Matsu
I love the people here. Canada seems to attract
a positive, forward thinking type of
people. Because of that most of the
people who live in Vancouver aren't actually from here which creates a place
rich with culture and different view points.
Costa - Fix Florida
Vancouver is such a creative city. It is full of
artists and innovators pushing our industry forward. It's also an amazing
beautiful city with nature right in your back yard. You have hiking and skiing 30
minutes right out of the city. You're surrounded by beaches and rain forest
so it's easy to escape the everyday hustle of the city.
FITC: Teaser Toronto 2016
Slack - Work Simplified
Having access to the
outdoors and being surrounded by the forest and water has also influenced my work.
I have many friends into the outdoor lifestyle who also work in the film industry. They're always
doing small passion projects and need titles or graphics which I'm always
happy to volunteer for.
Lidija
Paradinovic Nagulov
Lidija is a surface and pattern designer currently based in Toronto, Canada. Her beautiful patterns draw on her love of nature, and you may have come across her tutorials here on Envato Tuts+. Check out a small selection of her work below or see more in her portfolio.
Rose du Monde
I'm still
adjusting to the new surroundings but the thing that's impressed me the most is
how many different people live here, and how genuinely nice they all are to
each other. I used to live in a very homogeneous society, we all kind of
looked the same and came from a largely similar background. Toronto is an amazing palette of human diversity, and it
makes me feel at home somehow.
Florida Tapestry - Fashion Pattern
Magnolia Bloom - Seamless Floral Pattern
Nature
is such an important part of Canadian life and it's also my main inspiration. I
spend crazy amounts of time at Ripley's Aquarium sketching the fish or just
staring at them. I'm also a pretty regular visitor at the ROM, the botanical
garden, and the Toronto Zoo. Basically since I've come here I've been drawing less from digital references
and more from life, and I think it's giving my work a more authentic note.
Beauty Immortal - Tee Shirt Design
Walking
around town it's easy to see the loving relationship Toronto has with art and
artists, there are so many amazing wall murals, indie art stores, pop-up
exhibitions, and just lots of creativity in the air. I'm glad I'm a small part
of it all.
Giuseppe Simpatico
Giuseppe is a designer and contemporary portrait artist based in British Columbia, Canada. His unique portraits are textural and full of vibrant color. Check out a small selection of his work below or see more in his portfolio.
Digital Drawing No.28 - Heath Ledger
Canada
is an amazing country that offers a diversity of landscapes. It’s an inviting
country that loves to celebrate all cultures. I have traveled to a handful of
cities in Europe, Mexico and North America and I truly believe we have so many
great aspects of the world's offerings in one place. Every time I come back
home from another country I realize that where I live is a great place to be.
Contemporary Portraits - Digital Drawing #26
Contemporary Portraits - Digital Drawing #20
I’m
from the Okanagan Valley, located in the south of British Columbia, Canada. When
I have the opportunity to get away from the busyness of life, I love that BC offers a stage for me to think about what to create next. My
art style tends to be raw and organic. The unique texture and
colors I use create a result rich with emotion. I find beauty in light and
texture created by simple markings and layers of colors. My work is an
opportunity for me to create something unique, bold, organic and fresh -
mirroring BC itself.
Contemporary Portraits - Digital Drawing #19
The
tech community is growing quite rapidly too, attracting a surge of developers,
designers, and animators. They all approach creativity in their own unique way.
This is one more reason why I love being where I am. Technology and art are
merging here, and I think we'll start to see some interesting projects start to
emerge.
Many thanks to the artists who took time to answer my questions
and share a bit about themselves and how their country and/or culture
has affected their work. You can check out more of their work in the
links below:
Marie Bergeron
Caleb Hamm
Shawn Hight
Lidija Paradinovic Nagulov
Giuseppe Simpatico