Shelagh Armstrong Artist
Shelagh Armstrong (born 1961 in Owen Sound, Ontario) is a Canadian illustrator, and was the recipient of the 1985 Will Davies award for excellence in illustration.Armstrong is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Ontario College of Art. She holds degrees in Fine Arts and Communications and Design.Launching her illustration career in the Canadian book industry, and working with publishing houses such as McClelland and Steward and McGraw-Hill, Armstrong’s diverse artistic accomplishments also include book cover illustration for acclaimed authors as Alberto Manguel, Dionne Brand, Lillian Nattel and Shauna Singh Baldwin.With her versatile artistic style, Armstrong’s explored work as a courtroom illustrator, excelled at projects with retail fashion giants, and savoured engagements with top Canadian design firms. During her celebrated career, Armstrong’s been commissioned for private portraits and proudly exhibits her work in private and university galleries, group and solo exhibits.She has received commissions from Canada Post for two Canadian stamps - Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and Canada's International Year of the Older Persons. She was also commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint to create various coins. Her first coin was the 1999 Special Edition Proof Silver Dollar for the International Year of the Older Persons. The coin supported Canada's concept of A Society for All Ages. Recently, she created a coin for the XXI Olympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver in 2010. She created a design named Athletes’ Pride, struck on both a 2007 $25 Sterling Silver Hologram Coin and a 2007 $75 Gold Coloured Coin.Armstrong currently resides in Toronto with husband,graphic designer Paul Hodgson and has a son named Caden who was born in April 2000.