Marc Bell is a Canadian artist who is situated somewhere between cartoon and fine art. His attention to detail and exploration of forms mixed with a clever sense of humor and a bit of surrealism invite the viewer to get lost in the world each piece of his creates. Bell has self-published several collections of his work, both independent as well as collaborative.In 2006, he edited a compilation of artworks called Nog A Dod: Prehistoric Canadian Psychadoolia which included the works of Bell, Amy Lockhart, Jason Mclean, Dirty Debbie and more. Bell recently published Hot Potatoe: Fine Ahtwerks: 2001-2008; additionally, a touring gallery show under the same name is making it’s way from New York to Nebraska.
Did anything in particular spark your interest in Illustration, Zine Culture, Cartoons, etc? Have you always drawn, or did something get you started later on?
It’s hard to say what it was exactly but I was into Mad Magazine when I was a kid and Richard Scarry. I always drew and created little projects. I created my own version of Mad called “Dumb” Magazine. I watched Pee-Wee’s Playhouse when I was a teenager and somebody in my art class worked at a comics store and he showed me Yummy Fur and that led me to Peter Bagge’s Neat Stuff and I was pretty blown away by these “grown up” comics. This led to turning into a producer of self-published things as oppposed to just being a consumer.
