My illustration career began at the age of four. I was inspired by a mural my father had painted of several ducks on a tranquil pond.  I was so inspired, that I drew eight, life-sized, Sesame Street characters in crayon on the other three walls of my bedroom! Resisting the urge to ship me off to China, my parents decided to encourage my budding talent and made certain that I was never without a generous supply of crayons and paper to draw on. As for my tribute to Bert and Ernie, it remained along with my father's mural, until we moved the following year.
		A few years later, academic life would present many opportunities for this precocious, young illustrator to move beyond mere vandalism. In grade school, I won a contest to design a banner for R.I.F. (Reading Is Fundamental), was selected to join Art Plus - an elite group of young artists, and created my first children's book titled: The Bottle That Rode The Waves. By Junior High, along with madly sketching Spider-Man on any available surface, I was taking art classes at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH, which exposed me to techniques and materials beyond cartooning with magic markers. At Bishop Guertin High School, in addition to caricaturing my teachers during class, I also held the position of Features Editor on my school newspaper and created posters for the drama club and school dances. At graduation, I was honored to receive a scholarship for artistic excellence.
		In 1988 I began my formal, commercial and fine art education at the Maryland Institute College of Art. After gaining a solid foundation in Baltimore, I continued my studies at Maine College of Art, where in addition to painting and drawing, I also studied courses such as photography and printmaking. Upon completing my Junior year in Portland, I transferred to Florida's Ringling School of Art and Design, where I focused on commercial art, electing illustration as my major.
		The year after college, I began contributing political cartoons and comic strips to the University of New Hampshire newspaper. Shortly thereafter, I began illustrating professionally and have been working in that capacity ever since. I enjoy working in a variety of media and styles. I use traditional materials including pen & ink, watercolor, and acrylic paint as well as Photoshop to color my creations. One of my greatest aspirations is to have a children's book published. If a 4-year-old kid were to draw the book's characters all over their bedroom walls, that would bring a mischievous grin to my face.
			© Copyright 2010 John B. Watson