Benoit Tardif: An Illustrator's Guide to Montreal

From spots to work and places to print to undercelebrated artistic curios, few people are better to offer a guide to Montreal from an illustrator’s perspective than this enigmatic artist.

J.P. Karwacki

J.P. Karwacki

May 10, 2024- Read time: 6 min
Benoit Tardif: An Illustrator's Guide to MontrealPhotograph: Cindy Boyce

He may live in Repentigny now, but illustrator Benoit Tardif’s known Montreal intimately for over a decade. From humble beginnings in Saint-Eustache, his work’s since appeared everywhere from the New York Times and The Walrus to Habs jerseys and iconic drawings of restaurants and bars like Joe Beef and Burgundy Lion.

There’s no style quite as playful as Tardif’s: Vibrant, whimsical, and characterized by bold colors, imaginative scenes, and a playful use of characters and elements, each of his pieces feel both exaggeratedly cartoonish and nostalgic, like a carefully filled in colouring book.

“I’m just trying to do something unpretentious. I want to have fun, so I’ve developed a style where I know I’ll have fun,” Benoit says.

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