about Billy Mackay

Billy Mackay was born in the 50s and began to draw and paint immediately. As a young boy, Billy was interested in everything about cartooning and spent much of his time drawing, on everything. In his early teen years he began to study the art of caricature by copying the work of modern-day master Mort Drucker, and portraiture by copying the works of old masters. Bill was pleasantly surprised to find that the greatest of artists, Daumier, Rembrandt, and Delacroix, fused caricature and realism to create masterful portraits.

Bill received his formal art training and education at the University of Alberta.

While many of Bill's university classmates were waiting for their perfect north light studios, Bill decided 'better a flawed studio than no studio which is perfect'. So Bill turned his van into a studio, "north light if you wanted to park that way", and travelled across Canada every summer for many years drawing caricatures, painting portraits, and filling sketch pads with reference material to be used in later paintings.

After working for a number of daily newspapers, Bill signed a ten-year syndication contract with Miller Syndicate (Toronto) and Rothco Syndicate (New York). "It's been great to meet and work with some of the great artists I idolized as a child. I learned more after spending just one weekend with Mort Drucker of Mad Magazine than I learned in many years of 'art classes'."

Bill has continued to work with and train under Master Artist / Teachers from around the world. "The computer has made it possible to take 'one-on-one' instructions from many of the world's great artists."

An aspiring Renaissance man who has survived too many 'isms', Bill is now a tranquil proponent of 'East meets West' and the 'Old Books Philosophy'. A jazz drummer, cartoonist, painter, and poet all his life, and now a student of tap and the sax, Bill LIVES art and music, and, in the age-old tradition of artist-teacher, is always painting, performing, giving and taking lessons.

     Bill now enjoys the pleasures of a north light studio with his magically beautiful wife Karen.

                                  In 2019, Bill passed away.
                Please see In Memory and check back for additional art to be added.

Education:
University of Alberta 4 years - Art Music Education
Private Instruction - Rita Beckley, Michael Lavine, Daniel Greene (Portraiture)

Teaching/ Lectures / Public Speaking:
    Taught Junior High School Grades 7-9, 1984
    Course Instructor - University of Alberta, "Cartooning and Drawing techniques",1994
    Alberta Symposium Panel Member (Alberta Press Council), 1993
                                 Issue, "The Artist's Responsibility to Society"
    Annual Public School Seminars, Subject, "Working as an Artist", 1985 -1995

Commissions / Collections / Publications:
    Many private and corporate commissions / collections including
         Price Waterhouse Coopers
         Dome Petroleum
         Mr. Scott Kennedy
    Bill's work is published in many international "Best Of" Anthologies including
    "PORTFOOLIO - The Best of Canadian Cartooning",
    and is regularly used by book publishers worldwide.

Internationally Syndicated Political Cartoonist:
Miller / Rothco Syndicates - since 1987

Exhibitions:
    House of Humour and Satire - Bulgaria 2001, 1994
    Biennale Internazionale Della Caricatura - Vercelli, Italy 1998
    International "Feed The World" Cartoon Exhibition - New York, Japan, Greece1992
    Witty World Cartoon Gallery - USA 1992
    Canadian Centre for Caricature - National Archives of Canada 1991
    Man and His World Exhibition - France 1991

and more not included in this list...