Ron Lightburn

Ron Lightburn (born 24 June 1954) is a Canadian illustrator turned landscape painter.

Lightburn's birth occurred at Cobourg during 24 June 1954.

During his childhood, he created comic books while living in Vancouver.

During the 1970s, Lightburn went to the Alberta College of Art.

During the mid 1970s, he went to Victoria, British Columbia after his education.

Lightburn began his career as a visual merchandiser.

During the 1980s, his art was displayed by the North Park Gallery and the Sooke Arena.

Lightburn started his artistic career as a visual merchandiser before he moved on to illustrations by 1984.

By 1984, some publications his illustrations appeared in were for Butchart Gardens and Western Living.

He was also interested in creating drawings of actors.

Between 1984 and 1994, Lightburn created seventeen book covers.

Authors he created these artwork for include Denise Robertson and William Bell.

In 1984, Lightburn received the Graphic Illustration Award as part of the Western Magazine Awards.

In 1991, Lightburn expanded his illustrative career to children's books.

During this time period, Lightburn became a children's book illustrator in 1991 with Waiting for the Whales.

Lightburn received the Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award and Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award during 1992 for Waiting for the Whales.

For Waiting for the Whales, Lightburn won the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award during 1992.

He had created seventeen book covers leading up to 1994, which included ones for Denise Robertson and William Bell.

In 1996, he co-won a Mr. Christie's Book Award with Nan Gregory for How Smudge Came.

He continued his illustrative career before moving to Kentville in 1997.

He used pencil crayons for his drawings until he switched to oil paint in 1999.

Throughout his career, his creations were based on photos.

Some of his inspirations were Alfred Bestall, Mary Cassatt and Stanley Kubrick.

The people in Waiting for the Whales were based on people Lightburn knew.

He continued this process for Driftwood Cove.

Lightburn focused on "sensitive subjects such as death and illness" before moving on to different topics.

Additional subjects included the juba dance and Rick Hansen.

With Eagle Dreams, Lightburn went to the Royal British Columbia Museum and Cobble Hill, British Columbia.

Working with his wife, Driftwood Cove was inspired by people who lived on Sombrio Beach.

Pumpkin People was based on a tradition they learnt about while living in Nova Scotia.

Outside of literature, Lightburn made highway signs throughout the 2010s as a landscape painter.

Outside of books, he created a highway sign on William Hall during 2011.

Leading up to 2012, Lightburn contributed to multiple publications by Sheryl McFarlane and Nan Gregory as part of his 13 illustrated books.

Of his illustrated 14 books, he wrote 1 book ending his literary career in 2015.

In 2015, he provided the artwork and became an author with ''Frankenstink!

Garbage Gone Bad''.

After ending his literature career in 2015, he created his third Nova Scotia Highway 101 sign as a landscape painter during 2017.

Lightburn used "rough sketches ... to work out content, colour and composition" for his illustrations.

At the 2016 Atlantic Book Awards, he won the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration with ''Frankenstink!

Garbage Gone Bad''.