Carl Heywood was born in Toronto and studied at the Ontario College of Art. He began his career as a painter, but took up printmaking seriously following a two year stay in Paris, where he received training from S. W. Hayter at Atelier 17. Upon returning to Canada in 1969, Heywood quickly established his reputation, participating in national and international print exhibitions. Since 1974, he has taught painting and printmaking in the Department of Fine Art at Queen’s University. Through his printmaking, Heywood frequently explores aspects of his personal experience, but at the same time, he combines references to various media with historical quotations, such as the use of the still life in the Dutch tradition seen in Carpe Diem, in a way that speaks to the broader act of representation itself.