William Rafuse
Will Rafuse
Will Rafuse was born in Calgary, Alberta.
He was raised on the Canadian Prairies in Regina, Saskatchewan and lived for over twenty years on the West Coast in Vancouver, British Columbia. Educated at Capilano University in Graphic Design & Illustration in North Vancouver. Since 2006 he lives and paints in Montreal, Quebec.
He worked as a freelance illustrator for many years becoming well known for his published work which was distributed to over 50 countries including the United States and Canada.
His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, New York City, Atlanta, Greenwich, Boston, Carmel, Whistler, Edmonton and Saint John.
Will’s style became popularized by his “Chef” series; featuring stylized faces and scenes that can now be see on special edition kitchen accents. Since the success of the “Chef” series, Will has endeavoured to develop his range by including pseudo political artworks with strong themes of counter consumerism, as well as contemporary realism depictions of urban landmarks. His “neon sign” series has become wildly popular all over Canada.
A number of his paintings may be found in collector’s homes throughout Canada, the United States of America and Europe.