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I’ve had a lot of nicknames based on Popescu: Pesc, Pescu, Pope, Scu, et al.

Darwyn Cooke gave me the name Pesky.

We worked together in our 20’s at a terrible ad agency, using our creative talent for less than creative things. One day he asked if I would do an illustration for a magazine he was working on, which was flattering and terrifying because even then he was the greatest illustrator I’d ever seen.

When I handed it over he took a second then said ‘I like your Pesky style.’ In the layout he added ‘Illustration by Pesky’. Then he asked if I would do more. Yes.

After the project was done he bought me a little gift with a thank you note inside, still flattering to this day.

That’s why Pesky. It embodies everything about why you become an artist.

Romanian/Scottish heritage, a student of The Ontario College of Art and Design, I’ve travelled to 40+ countries, thinking, sketching, paying attention and now creating art full time in my studio The Art Room in industrial west Toronto.

David Popescu