“Artful Friendship” celebrates the work of three long-time friends who at one time worked together as designers and artists at the Canadian Museum of Nature where the friendship was formed. Over the years, they have spent many hours talking, lunching and gallery-going and now their creative lives are coming together in this exhibition. Although the three friends have similar interests, they have very different artistic visions.

CHRIS JACKSON worked at the Museum of Nature until 1993 as Head of Graphic Design. More recently, he is the author and illustrator of many children’s books including the popular China Plate Farm series (Harper Collins) as well as a new series called “The Gaggle Sisters”. Chris recently began experimenting with abstraction and in “Artful Friendship”, his enthusiasm spills over into pictures of barely contained energy and joy.

DON MACMILLAN is a professional illustrator, cartoonist and visual artist who worked for many clients including the Museum of Nature. With work experience that ranges from views of components in the “Avro Arrow” to drawings of an on site surgical operation for hiatus hernia; from national magazine covers to a three-year award-winning poster for Winterlude, Don MacMillan brings an unerring use of colour and well thought-out compositions to his paintings in ”Artful Friendship.”

NORMAN TAKEUCHI worked at the Museum of Nature as an exhibition designer until 1996 when he left his design career to become a full-time artist. Since then he has participated in many solo and group exhibitions. Norman loves to draw and this is very much in evidence in his charcoal Tree series which he is showing in “Artful Friendship”. His bold use of black and white sometimes verges on the abstract.