Hi, I'm Sandy. I'm an author / illustrator / painter / art educator based in Montreal (originally from Toronto). I live and work in English et en français.
In all of my work, whether it be illustration, comics, or painting, you will always find an element of humour, weirdness and hopefully a new way of seeing the world.
I am currently working on a graphic novel series for young readers with Annick Press, and am illustrating a picture book written by Andrea Curtis, out with Groundwood Books 2027.
FREE TIME
Free time? What’s that?
My husband, kids and I are always walking around with our rescue dog Indy (who doesn’t listen or come when we call her.) My teens and I volunteer with a local organization that fights food insecurity in our neighbourhood (I'm deeply committed to my community of Rosemont, Montreal and it has inspired much of my work - especially my upcoming series Buddyville!)
One day I will live in the magical town of Val David, nestled in the Laurentian mountains outside of Montreal, where I will paint, write, adopt dogs, and maybe run for mayor.
Follow along on Instagram at sandradumaisbooks to see what I'm up to.
Let's learn a simple, accessible way to draw a real human face in all its emotions. We will actually be making these faces together (angry, happy, silly, embarrassed) and then observing each other before we start to draw. I am very good at making all kinds of faces and am happy to be the model for the artists.
We'll be looking at lines on our faces, the way we can draw hair, proportions of features, and what happens to things like eyebrows and chins when we express emotion on our faces.
Did you know that drawing from observation fosters caring for the object or person we are drawing? It's true!
Every participant will have completed a full page of faces that look amazing in their own personal style (this is NOT a "draw what I draw" or "draw in my style" type class.
I have given this class hundreds of times to thousands of kids (one time we had 6000 participants online all over the country!)
It was a long road to get where I am - I didn't go to art school, and I worked as a Graphic Designer before discovering that there was something I am much better at. Art!
Though never having gone to art school (or even university!) I have managed to cobble together my own targeted studies from evening courses in design, to part-time art studies in painting and a one year full-time program in Print Media. All of these gave me the basic skills I needed, but it was really when I started making things that were meaningful and interesting to me that things really took off.
I will talk to students about the value of working tirelessly on personal projects, finding their own unique voice, and how studying the "wrong thing" really isn't the end of the world. We are forever learning about new skills and interests we have.
I have given this talk to Seneca College students, CHAVÓN art school in Santo Domingo, DR, and to countless high school students on line through mentorship programs here in Montreal.
