o make a long story longer, in 1998 after graduating from the Graphic Design and Advertising program at Conestoga College in Kitchener Ontario, I moved to Toronto. I soon landed a design gig at a corporate packaging firm that had a roster of big clients. As a commercial artist I created corporate identities designing packaging on anything from Dunlop golf balls to Cadbury’s chocolate.
It was during this period I met Rue Morgue magazine’s president and founder Rodrigo Gudiño at a Fantasia Film Festival screening of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond. Having already bought issue #3 I was already impressed on how slick and well written the magazine was. And it was from Toronto?! I quickly got involved, designing and illustrating all manner of creepy things, including the recognizable Rue Morgue masthead.
Still at my design firm day job, I spent the next couple of years moonlighting for Rue Morgue in my off hours. Needless to say, it was becoming a lot work. The magazine was becoming more successful and eventually Rod was able to hire me full time to handle layout duties and take over the art department (well, become the art department). I grew up reading horror mags, so I was dedicated to making ours stand out. Seven years later, Rue Morgue has become a very important part of my life.
Working with everyone at RM is a great experience and I hope some of that passion for horror bleeds onto our beloved ‘zine. Of course, the macabre has always been in my blood. Even as a young boy growing up in London (Onterrible), I couldn’t get enough. Movies, magazines, comics, music – the impact that generations of horror culture had (and still has) on me is undeniable. I loved it all: The Universal monster flicks of the late ‘30s and ‘40s, the invasion cycle of the ‘50s, the drive-in madness of the ’60s, the grindhouse terrors of the ’70s, to the (mostly censored) splatter of the ‘80s, and the explosion of international horror from the ‘90s and beyond. Early mornings watching the Hilarious House of Frightenstein (it aired at 6am!), weekend afternoons with Godzilla, late nights hooked on The Twilight Zone, and of course all those video store gems that got past the parents watchful eyes, made me what I am today.
This brings me to the present. I felt it was about time I collected some of the work I’ve amassed during my career and have my own little corner of the weird wide web. I’ve decided to include a bit of everything from the commercial art stuff, Rue Morgue, freelance gigs, sketches and some other scary surprises. Many other artists have inspired and motivated me, so check out my art link page for some of my favourites. Visit often, lurk about and feel free to write.
Stay Ghoul!
