Artist

Born in 1960 and raised in Brandon, Manitoba, I amused myself with various hobbies. I made flip-books and puppets, wrote stories, drew portraits, painted murals, and carved totem poles. Naturally, I turned to fine art as a career, attending the Alberta College of Art in Calgary Alberta and graduated from the Visual Communications program in 1984. My career has been made up of freelance illustrating, designing and ultimately a partner and senior creative director of a highly successful Vancouver advertising agency named Big House Communications.

I have a garden railroad that keeps me young. I hate flying. I love cooking. I especially love Christmas. I jokingly say "I must have been an elf", It’s the only thing that explains my affinity and passion for developing Kenfolks, an assortment of handcrafted figures that I’ve been crafting since 1989. Some are traditional, some contemporary. Some represent the future while others go way back in time. I like to think of them as people I know, or would like to know.

2016 marks a milestone, I've graduated to include full figure characters, creating maquettes that capture a moment from Christmas folklore or fictional classic stories. This art form has really brought my ideas to life. There is now an interaction of characters that is simply not possible with my line of hanging ornaments. I'm still passionate about the Christmas theme but hope to branch out and explore other ideas for my new-found creative expression.