MY ART OVER THE YEARS

I have always enjoyed art. By the time I was five, I had drawn on, cut, pasted, painted on, and generally used up a large amount of paper. Around the age of 10, myself and two friends were given some instruction in the use of acrylic paints. The painting I did during that time was entered into an art competition. I took first place for my age group.

At the age of twelve, I was the artist for my high school's yearbook. That was my first experience with setting up layouts for print. The next year, I had an illustration published on the cover of the Edmonton Journal's comic section ( I was paid $10 for it! ). Around that time I started taking private lessons in oil painting.

By grade ten, my school notebooks weren't much more than binders full of drawings and doodles. I can't tell you how many times I heard a frustrated teacher say, "This isn't art class, Mr. Millar!". During grade twelve, a pen sketch (done with a ballpoint, Paper-Mate I believe) of mine was shown at a juried exhibition at the National Exibition Centre, in Castlegar, BC. I designed the cover for the high school yearbook that year, as well.

After high school, I enrolled in college. I took a year of graphic design and a year of desktop publishing. Both years were very hands-on, with many 'real world' projects including two magazines, a comic book, and a brochure for Red Mountain ski hill. I drew a monthly comic strip for the school paper both years, and I did a little sign painting on the side.
Since then, I've done illustrations for seven years of cartoon calendars, returned for more education at the Alberta College of Art, and taken on a number of freelance jobs. Most recently, I started up my own graphic design and illustration business.


All design and contents of this website ©1999 Colin Millar.
All rights reserved.