Richard Kirk was born in Hull, England in 1962 and came to Canada at the age of 4. His work was influenced from an early age by the classic book illustrators and forms found in nature, particularly insects and their homes. It amazed him that creatures with weird, even monstrous, forms coexisted with the ordinary world of schools and gas stations. It was perhaps inevitable that his personal artistic explorations led him to explore fantastic and surrealist themes.

Richard works in silverpoint, ink, watercolour and oil paint, but like many artists he also enjoys experimenting with found materials.

Over the past few years, Richard has illustrated a number of books. Samples of work from these projects can be found by clicking on the illustration link above.