I was born in England and immigrated to Canada at a young age with my British father and Austrian mother.  Our family was very creative and my sisters and I were surrounded by music, art and dance.  For most of my young life my focus was dance, but I also took an interest in sports exploring everything from softball and tennis to swimming and gymnastics.  I was busy, but my passion for art became part of my daily existence and I spent many hours drawing and creating.  The illustrations in my story books were my main source of inspiration but I was also fascinated by the details and colours of nature.  As I grew older, I became intrigued by the variation of illustrative styles and I would create anything from cartoon-like drawings to realistic renderings.  One of my favourite books, One Morning in Maine, captivates me even to this day.  
After completing grade twelve, I was accepted into a two-year commercial arts program at the High School of Commerce in Ottawa.  After graduating, I continued to study at the Ottawa School of Art taking evening classes in drawing and painting.  Impressed by my work, one of my teachers encouraged me to pursue a career in commercial art.  It was then that I decided to apply to the Illustration Program offered at Sheridan College in Brampton.  I graduated from Sheraton College with a major in Book Illustration, receiving an award for Outstanding Achievement.
Today, I am an Illustrator and Graphic Designer with over twenty years of professional experience.  I began my career as a Freelance Illustrator at Pronk & Associates in Toronto and then worked full-time as a Graphic Designer at MDC Design Group.  After the birth of our second child, my husband and I moved to Whitby, Ontario, where I continued my work as a Freelance Artist.  My illustrations are created using traditional media (watercolour, acrylic, pencil, ink or marker), as well as digitally, using a Wacom tablet and Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.  Some of my favourite artists include M. C. Escher, Alex Colville, Ken Danby and the Group of Seven.

www.angelavaculik.com