Tell us a little about yourself, where you live and a bit about your life at this moment in time?
My name is Mateusz, I'm a polish illustrator currently based in Toronto, Canada. I only moved to this city last year, so I'm still exploring new places, and still feel like a newbie here. I love discovering new neighbourhoods with my little pup Willow.

‍How long have you been an artist for? Was it something you always wanted to do?
I suppose the artist was in me my whole life, but it wasn't until 2016 when I went freelance and started pursuing my passion for art as a career. I was always drawn to digital arts and graphic design, but in my teenage years I wasn't aware that you can have a career as an illustrator. I always knew I wanted to do something creative, something design related. Once I was exposed to commercial illustrators who's work I admired, something in me "clicked" and I was on a career path towards illustration.

‍If you weren’t an artist, what would you do instead?
I'd like to say I'd be an architect, but that is also a form of art. Earlier on I wanted to be a fashion designer or a hair stylist. I suppose all of these paths are pointing towards art in one way or another haha.

What’s happening in your near future?
‍I'm currently working on a series of murals and this will carry on for the next few weeks. Once that's done I'll  have some family visiting from the UK and we're going on a little holiday together.

‍What has been your career highlight so far?
‍There is a couple that come to mind - the first one was actually my very first commission as a freelance illustrator. I was commissioned by Computer Arts Magazine to create an illustration for their inside cover. Sadly, this magazine is not in print anymore, but it was my main source of inspiration and discovery of commercial illustration in my early days. It was through that magazine that I found the work of Aries Moross and Mike Perry, who were some of my earliest influences. So naturally, being commissioned by the magazine felt very special! The second highlight would be seeing a bottle packaging I designed on a shelf in a shop. It was an amazing feeling to see a tangible object that I designed out in the wild haha!