My name is Sam, and I have worked in the Canadian animation industry for almost 20 years as an assistant art director, colour key artist, background painter and matte painter. I graduated in 2007 with a B.A. in Animation from Sheridan College.

Aside from my day job in the animation industry, I love painting pet portraits and have been since 2000. Pastel is my favourite medium to use. I discovered a love for it while painting my own dog Mieka, and my heart horse Lance. Pastel has such a raw, magical quality and I'm always excited to experiment with it in portraiture. Creating a painting that encapsulates a pet's spirit is my goal, and I love the battle of attempting to make the final portrait the best that it can be.

I'm an animal lover (especially horses), and reformed dessert enthusiast. I have an amazing little family with my husband Josh and our puppies Beatrice (who we call Beetie) and Ruthie. In our spare time we love to train agility with our dogs.