| Anthony
Mars Jenkins was born in Toronto, Canada in 1951 and spent a
happy childhood there. He attended the University of Toronto
and the University of Waterloo, from which he graduated with
a B.A.
After a brief stint at the Toronto Star, he joined the Globe
and Mail newspaper, where for nearly three decades he has
drawn editorial cartoons, caricatures and illustrations. When
the Globe went colour in 1998, Jenkins did likewise and began
to paint in acrylics, taking courses at The Toronto School
of Art and at OCAD.
He is best known for his spare, elegant caricatures - drawings
that are characterized by flowing lines and a less-is-more
philosophy. He is becoming known for his portrait painting
as well.
His long training in black-and-white media has influenced
his painting in its search for line and structure. His travels
and photography in the Third World have engendered a love
of dramatic colour and a heightened fascination with his favorite
subject - the human face.
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While on lengthy
backpacking trips through Australia, Asia, Africa and South
America he filled sketchbooks with drawings, cartoons and
portraiture done from curbsides, rail platforms, elephant
back and outrigger canoe. Some of these sketches appeared
as illustrations in early editions of the Lonely Planet travel
guides. Many were collected, with accompanying text by the
artist, as 'Traveller's Tales - An Illustrated Journey through
Australia, Asia and Africa'. Jenkins continues to travel and
sketch to this day.
He writes on occasion for the Globe and Mail, having penned
the Urban Scrawl and Person, Place and Thing weekly columns,
as well as numerous travel articles and social reportage pieces.
Tony Jenkins resides in Toronto with his spouse and two daughters and plays something like hockey twice a week.
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