Paul Morin (born 14 January 1959) is a Canadian artist and children's book illustrator. Morin started painting in 1977 before working as a freelancer throughout the 1980s. In 1990, Morin began his children's book illustrative career and had contributed to twenty books by the mid-2010s. Of his illustrations, Morin won the 1990 Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration with ''The Orphan Boy''. He also received the

Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award was presented annually by the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques (CLA) to an outstanding illustrator of a new Canadian children's book. The book must be "suita ...

for ''The Orphan Boy'' in 1991 and ''The Dragon's Pearl'' in 1993. As an artist, Morin established multiple art galleries in Ontario from the late 2000s to early 2010s. He also designed the

food packaging Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alteratio ...

for the maple leaf cream cookies for

Dare Foods Dare Foods, Limited is a Canada-based food manufacturing company. They have seven factories in Canada and the United States. Their products are distributed in North America and at least 25 other countries. Company history In 1892, the founde ...

Early life and education

On 14 January 1959, Morin was born in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. During his childhood, Morin lived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

until he was an adult. For his post-secondary education, Morin began studying art at

Grant MacEwan College , mottoeng = , type = Public University , established = , closed = , founder = , parent = , academic_affiliations = AUCC, ACCC, AACTI ...

. He later continued his studies at

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west- Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded i ...

before going to the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

Career

Morin started painting in 1977 and worked in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

as a freelancer during the 1980s. For his freelance career, Morin worked on film and literary artwork as an illustrator. In specific projects, Morin created billboard advertisements on ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' for the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

. Morin also created advertisements for the SkyDome's 1989 opening. In 1990, Morin's first children's books illustrations appeared in a work written by Tololwa Mollel called ''The Orphan Boy''. Throughout the 1990s, Morin continued to illustrate children's books for authors including

Joseph Bruchac Joseph Bruchac (born October 16, 1942) is an American writer and storyteller based in New York. He writes about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He ...

, Betsy James and Alice McLerran.O'Reilly ed. 1999, p. 108 By the mid-2010s, his children's illustrations had appeared in twenty books. For his own works, Morin published ''Animal Dreaming'' in 1998 and provided the illustrations in the book. By 2000, Morin's art creations were shown at the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History (french: Musée canadien de l’histoire) is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of C ...

and Wellington County Museum. From 2007 to 2012, Morin established art galleries in Rockwood, Ontario, Erin, Ontario and the Alton Mill Art Center. For his gallery works, Morin primarily focused on

landscape paintings Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

. In 2015, Morin bought a town hall in Alton, Ontario and spent almost two years converting it into an art gallery. Outside of his own galleries, Morin had heirlooms and artwork shown at the Milton Centre for the Arts in 2015. Leading up to that year, he had previously designed the

for the maple leaf cream cookies made by

. By 2020, Morin had expanded his artistry into art installations and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

Designs and themes

With his children's books illustrations in the 1990s, Morin drew pictures on the Maasai people,

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

, and

Ojibway The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

. He also wrote about

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

, the Ghost Dance and the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...

in Australia. To generate ideas for his illustrations, Morin travelled across the world and conducted in-person research. While illustrating, he played music he co-created that incorporated the local sounds he heard when he was completing his studies. In individual illustrations, Morin used natural materials he collected to create his illustrations for ''The Orphan Boy''. His illustrations were incorporated from twenty

oil paintings Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

he had created after living with the Maasai people in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. With ''The Dragon's Pearl'', Morin drew items he discovered while researching in

Yangshuo Yangshuo County () is a county under the jurisdiction of Guilin City, in the northeast of Guangxi, China. Its seat is located in Yangshuo Town. Surrounded by karst peaks and bordered on one side by the Li River it is easily accessible by bus or by ...

, China. With ''Fox Song'', Morin practiced

basket weaving Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

and referenced ''The Orphan Boy'' by including a bracelet made by the Maasai. For ''The Mud Family'', Morin designed a cliff in his house based on one he saw in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

that was covered with human hand prints. With ''The Ghost Dance'' and ''The Ghost Seeker'', Morin included artwork about spiritual visions.

Awards

Morin won the

twice with ''The Orphan Boy'' in 1991 and ''The Dragon's Pearl'' in 1993. Additional awards that ''The Orphan Boy'' received were the 1990 Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration and 1991 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award. In 2018, Morin was honored by

Caledon, Ontario Caledon (; 2021 population 76,581) is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. From a shortened form of Caledonia, the Roman name for North Britain; Caledon is a developing urban area, althoug ...

for his work on the town hall in Alton.

Personal life

Morin is married and has one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morin, Paul Canadian watercolourists Governor General's Award-winning children's illustrators 1959 births Living people