Tarja Barton, Illustrator / Graphic Designer
I was born in Tampere, Finland, moved to Canada in 1979 and settled in the Niagara Region. Since childhood, I have always loved drawing and painting.
In 1996, I graduated from the Scientific and Technical Illustration program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario and in 2013, I studied Botanical Illustration with Cornell University. In the Fall of 2018, I participated in an online course called Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration which is offered by The University of Newcastle, Australia. I passed the course beautifully and received a certificate of completion.
The Sheridan College Scientific and Technical Illustration program covered a wide variety of disciplines including, Technical and Interpretive Illustration, Architectural Illustration, Package Design, Graphic Design, Photography, Life Drawing, Object Drawing, Painting and Airbrushing. The Cornell University Botanical Illustration course was an intensive 6 week study that covered different drawing techniques and use of several different media to create beautiful expressive botanical illustrations.
Since graduating from Sheridan College in 1996, I have worked as a freelance illustrator as well as a full-time graphic designer for newspapers, advertising agencies and printing companies. My work experience includes the creation of detailed technical illustrations, logo designs and branding, full and partial vehicle wraps, indoor and outdoor signage, decals, maps, botanical and bird illustrations, brochures, business cards, invitations, event tickets, ads, annual reports, catalogs and magazine layouts.
I am a professional graphic designer and illustrator experienced in digital and traditional techniques for design, drawing and painting. I believe that constant learning in visual communication is a must, which is why I spend time experimenting with traditional media like watercolour and pen & ink, as well as, photography and web design. When time allows, I sign up for courses relating to my creative work.
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