Bio

Around age ten I knew my purpose - to be an artist. I remember seeing those first images
of the Sistine Chapel, as my earliest inspiration. My desire for detail compelled me to
become a medical artist, but upon graduating from The University of Michigan’s School
of Art and Design, I decided to follow a commercial direction.

Early on I discovered there was not much difference between a blank page, a blank canvas
or a blank wall. Each demands an OBJECTIVE and a VISION and then the creative medium
chosen directs the growth of any venture.

In 1979 I began Gordon & Group Design and in 1984 took the business and headed west.
I was able to successfully blend fine art and illustration with graphic design and advertising
in the heart of the booming high-tech industry in California. I was fortunate to work with
clients such as Atari, Hewlett Packard, Visioneer, Aradigm, Synopsys and countless startups
and local businesses in Silicon Valley.

As business flourished, my passion for painting resurged. So alongside Gordon & Group,
I began Walls of Wonder in 1998, specializing in trompe l’oeil painting and murals, along
with innovative, elegant and decorative faux treatments.

In 2000 I returned to my Midwest roots and Michigan where I’ve continued to provide
the full gamut of my creative services. I’ve enjoyed producing for clients such as The
University of Michigan, Farbman Group, American Spoon Foods, Abbott Nutrition, and
Intellx, Inc., along with the many private and individual commissions. I have the greatest
contentment in knowing I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and where I’m suppose
to be living. I believe I reap the real benefits, which are the relationships created when
people share that special part of me - my art.

It’s been a fortunate adventure with a mouse in hand one day or a brush the next.

Background

Birthplace
Detroit, MI

Education
Ted and Irene (parents), Mike, Gail, Ted, Lisa and Lynne (siblings)
Bishop Borgess High School, Detroit, MI
University of Michigan, School of Art, Ann Arbor, MI - Bachelor of Fine Arts
Faux Effects Academy - Seattle, WA - Private instruction Nicola Vigini - Trompe l’Oeil
Faux Effects Academy - San Francisco, CA - Specialty decorative finishes
Scottsdale School of Art, Phoenix, AZ - Private instruction Gerald P. Hodge - Trompe l’Oeil

Experience
Montgomery Ward Corporate, Southfield, MI
- Layout/page designer, product illustrator
Advergraphics, Ann Arbor, MI
- Creative director, graphic designer, illustrator
Communications Concepts, Toledo, OH
- Production artist, graphic illustrator
Gordon & Group Design, Ann Arbor/Farmington Hills, MI
- Graphic designer, illustrator
Gordon & Group Design, Los Gatos/Campbell, CA
- Graphic designer, illustrator
Walls of Wonder, San Jose, CA
- Muralist, specialty decorative painter
Gordon & Group Design, Petoskey, MI
- Graphic designer, illustrator
Walls of Wonder, Petoskey, MI
- Muralist, specialty decorative painter
Jil Gordon – Fine Art, Petoskey, MI
- Private commissions for paintings and illustration

Current Location
Gordon & Group Design, Ann Arbor, MI
Walls of Wonder, Ann Arbor, MI
Jil Gordon - Fine Art, Ann Arbor, MI

Currently Exhibited
- The Inn at Bay Harbor, Bay Harbor, MI