Les Toil

Piedmont, CA

I grew up in Berkeley, CA surrounded by Big Daddy Roth car models, paintings of big-eyed children, The Fantastic Four, MAD Magazine, The Jackson Five and Bruce Lee. These are some of the aesthetic forces that have molded my art. I broadened my creative horizons when I attended the California College of Arts and Crafts and The San Francisco Academy of Art and exposed myself to the works of the great artists of the Renaissance era as well as the many masters of 20th century American Illustration. All of these influences comprise the art that you see in my portfolio. The name Les Toil was invented when I fancied the idea of creating cool, hip rock 'n' roll art poster and CD cover art for the bands I loved. The technique I employed when signing under that name was one that involved pen & ink and digital painting as oppose to the style and technique I typically used which was traditional oil and acrylic paints.