User:NorthVanNick/sandbox

I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967 to parents in the Canadian Diplomatic Service. As part of a diplomatic family, I lived in South Africa, West Germany and Iraq and finally settled in Canada with my family in the 1980's. I have visited several countries including South Africa, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, England, Holland, Greece, Portugal, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, the Bahamas, Belize, Mexico, the USA and Canada.

I learned to appreciate art at an early age from my Grandfather and my Mother. I studied Fine Arts at the Queen's University School of Fine Art in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and spent 4 amazing years exploring oil painting, sculpture and printmaking. In my final year, I won the "Best Student Artist" award at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition with my graduating portfolio of oil paintings. More recently I have begun to explore the use of digital cameras and digital imaging software to create digital art.

I work as a manager in the area of digital product management and I live with my wife Tara, son Owen and daughter Alex in beautiful North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where I work and pursue my passions of digital art, sea-kayaking, alpine skiing, hiking and mountain biking.