Don Harrison Short,Toronto-based artist, is a travelling artscaper known nationally for his large format mural painting and teaching savvy. With over 25 years in the visual arts, Don offers a colorful portfolio with a diverse range of skill in illustration, graphic art and fine art. Don has taught art privately and publicly, participated in numerous solo and group art exhibitions, and painted large murals in residential, commercial and public spaces.
With an energetic sprint out of art school in 1987, Don immediately immersed himself in painting canvases and communicating art processes to eager students. His zeal for teaching spilled from the table of his kitchen to the larger studio spaces of university programs.
He holds two certificates in visual arts, a diploma in graphic layout and design, and has received many national awards for his accomplishments. In 2009, Don’s exhibit “Migrations” was featured in CATIE’s “Positive Side” publication and his artwork “Walk in Our Shoes” was selected the winner for the 2009 Scotia Bank AIDS Walk for Life national artwork competition. In 2010, Don won the Polar Ice Vodka label competition in which his design was used on a special edition bottle to raise funds for the Canadian AIDS Society. Locally, Don has exhibited in the Pozitive Portrayals art exhibitions at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa, Ontario and was recently featured as a showcase artist in RAW Toronto presents CONNECT, a multi-discipline, art event in Toronto.
His newsworthy mural installation at Purity Factories in St.John's Newfoundland garnered a CBC interview and was named the top 8 reasons to have a getaway weekend in St.John's by the Toronto Star. Currently, Don has illustrated two delighful children's books Suzy the Snoozy Fairy and Dolly's Rescue, both with FriesenPress Publishers.
Don's output of creative work results in enjoyable, relevant images that present a positive, poetic interpretation of life. His portfolio of mixed-media artworks centers on the strength of the human spirit as it awakens in times of change and transition. Don’s artwork speaks as quietly as it does loudly… what may not be noticed upon initial viewing of his canvases slowly comes to the surface, allowing the viewer to share in the artist’s vision; that the journey is often more paramount than the destination.