John Mantha is a Toronto-based artist
and illustrator. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, he graduated with
honours from the Ontario College of Art.
His major commissions include the design of the design of four
gold coins for the Royal Canadian Mint,
a series of works for the Ford Motor Company
and the Toronto Transit Commission as well
as 34 paintings for The Church of Our Lady
of Good Counsel. Other clients have included Fox Television,
Imperial Oil, Penguin Books, Kids Can Press, Better Homes and Gardens
magazine and Cottage Life magazine. Working for book publishers,
advertising agencies, magazines, corporations, television and movies,
his work has been seen throughout North America. His paintings,
done in oils, have been exhibited in galleries across Ontario and
hang in corporate and private collections. He freelances for television
stations and The Globe and Mail as a court room artist.
Thus far, John has illustrated twenty-four books including the Kids Book of Canada's Railway, which won
The Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada 2001 Information Book
award, and was an official selection for the 2002-2003 Red Cedar Book
Awards. The Kids Book of Canadian Exploration was nominated for the
2006 Hackmatack Award for non-fiction. The Kids Book of Aboriginal
Peoples in Canada was nominated for the BC Book Prize, and the Christie
Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize. He has illustrated numerous books for Kids Can Press and Annick Press.
He works in oils and oil-wash. His style is realistic in nature
with an emphasis on texture. He lives in Toronto with his wife Leanne, daughter Lauren and their cat Charlotte, who thinks she is a dog.
Currently, two books he has illustrated, "The Siege" (check out John's blog for samples), and "The Kids Book of Canada At War" are nominated for The Red Cedar Information Book Awards for 2009-2010. The Red Cedar is British Columbia's Young Reader 's Choice book award. He designed the 2010 $100 gold coin for the Royal Canadian Mint. It commemorates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson exploring Hudson"s Bay.
