I'm a 36 year-old cartoonist living and breathing on the island of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was born in Chicago ILL. and was raised in Napa Valley, California. I graduated from Napa High School in 1980 (GO INDIANS!). My career in cartoonist started at a very young age. My father, Clarence Beland, was a cartoonist in his spare time and all the boys in my family draw in one way or another. I was the one who became obsessed about it. I'm a seft-taught artist, although I had some art class experience in high school and a bit in community college as well. I studied on the television and also in Marvel Comics. I was heavily influenced by artist such as Al Herschfield, Chuck Jones, Charles Shulz, John Romita Sr., Gil Kane and others. Cartooning is an art that is seldom as respected as it is admired. Perharps that's due to it's visual simplicity. But simplicity is something developed out of style and not through laziness. I got my fisrt job at the Napa Valley Register in my early twenties. I was hired as a paste-up artist in the advertising department and soon moved over to the editorial side. There I became a photo technician and a page designer, while submitting cartoons on my own. After a few years, I left the Register to go to the Vallejo Times-Herald in Vallejo, California just up the road. It was a dream job with a fantastic group of people to work with. I couldn't ask for anything more. One day I received a press junket to cover the opening of the Animal Kingdom Park at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. I spent two days trying out everything and eating some great food. And that's when I met her. Lily García was from San Juan, and was also covering the Animal Kingdom opening when we met at a bus stop. We spent all night talking about family, work and life in general. When we parted, we exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and went our ways. We talked to each other as often as possible and a year later I found myself on a plane and moving to the island to live with her. Life's been good to me so far.