Jackie Besteman

Profile

I was born in Canada but raised in Holland and South Africa before I settled in Toronto which has been my home for many years. Drawing and colouring has been a part of my life since I was very young and drew me to study at The Ontario College of Art. I love being a freelance illustrator- being asked to illustrate an article or poster is always an exciting new challenge . Making images that pop and that communicate immediately with the viewer is always my goal. I have recently started adding motion to my images which is a lot of fun. Lifestyle and fashion are my favorite themes and I love to interpret the people in my work as well as tactile objects in a unique way by using vibrant colour, texture and detail. I am very inspired by People, Fashion, Opera, Ballet, Yoga, Animals, Nature, Cities and my ( vast) collection of magazines (which I would rescue first if our house was burning down). Oh wait first the cat. In the last few years I have also started painting birds perched on surprising objects like a Warbler on a Rolleiflex camera or a Starling on a Kokeshi doll. I love mixing up the digital ( illustration) and real paint on wood.