Siteway is home to Antony Hare's illustrations and a gateway to his art brands: Tonicville, Phelts, Coastalmatic, and now, Theatorium.
I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on a Monday morning in spring. My family includes: my parents, William and Niki, and my two brothers, Andrew and Stephen. My childhood was very happy and formative. I got to experience a bunch of swell things: epic summers, family vacations, great food, art, activities, and candy. Especially influential were my regular visits to England and Cyrpus to visit my extended family. I've been drawing pictures, characters mostly, pretty well all along. I remember wondering if learning a craft had to be a tortuous experience like it was when I tried to learn to play piano. I struggled, not completely without benefit, from early childhood until late high school with this instrument. I'm now of the opinion that disposition has a lot to do with learning a craft. This disposition could be a burning desire, a physical aptitude, or a combination. ¶ Even though I change my mind from time to time, I've always wanted to be an artist or at least have creativity as part of my job. ¶ My favourite class during public school was Art. No big surprise. In actual fact I enjoyed much about school and miss it to this day. In school one was always allowed, in fact encouraged, to take notes, and so I would spend most classes daydreaming and doodling. Paying just enough attention so as not get lost. This delicate balance proved challenging. Always with pen and paper: that's the life of the student. And it's not a bad life. ¶ Somewhere along the way the Web hit big and it seemed entirely plausible to me that this would be, in the main, the future of communication (visual and otherwise). It wasn't such a leap. A lot of people were saying big things about the Web and, coming from dial-up bulletin boards and Usenet, I realised the broad appeal of connecting computers ubiquitously. So did lots of smart folks in the mid-20th century, for that matter. For many people my age, the Web was always going to be big no matter what the pundits were saying. We grew up as it grew up. This is the major reason I don't have digital hang-ups. In fact, much of my academic and artistic work has to do with the very concept of representation and so I take pleasure in my attempt to debunk most misguided digital vs. analog debates. They're almost never about the nature of digital information. Instead they're arguments about CDs and Photoshop and of course there are problems with these digital manifestations. I decided to learn all about "web design" in the summer of 1994 and it seemed really straightforard. ¶ The next thing I knew, I spent a year drawing caricatures on my Wacom in Nottingham, landed a web design job back in Toronto, and my post-university days were really beginning. It was 2000. ¶ Coming back to Toronto was good for many reasons. One, it connected me back into my social network born during my time at Western. Two, it forced me to re-think Toronto as a city. I'd need to give it another shot. It's not an easy city to love, but it's a city worthy of love. ¶ Since leaving full-time work in advertising, my life has changed dramatically. And of course it's not easy (even saying "it's not easy" doesn't quite capture the precise challenges). But for the most part my working week is something I covet, dive into, and love. Bouts of anxiety in high school and after university had me concerned that my ability to earn an income with a flexible schedule, independance, ownership, and the rest of the dream, would be unrealistic. But people do it. One way or another, I had to make a real freelance career work. ¶ I work with book publishers, newspapers, magazines, and advertising agencies big and small. Most of my work is signed with my initials, ARH, or my dual-ARH spade logo, but not always. Some of my early work included an AH mark. ¶ Please take some time to explore Siteway. I've been doing this for over ten years and Siteway is still the freshest public representation of my professional art life. ¶ I currently live in Toronto with my wife, Pauline.
Antony Richard Hare
Toronto, Ontario
January 2008
Contents of this site are © MMVIII Antony Hare.
Home / About (top) / Blog / Illustration / Lettering & Wordmarks
There are two main things here on Siteway. The blog, and the illustrations. In addition to these two aspects there are some examples of ads I've art directed, some choice portfolio pieces, and a few experiments as well.
Antony Hare, P.I.
192 Spadina Avenue
Office 310
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 2C2
416-516-1294
antony@siteway.com
