Q&A with Donald 'Drawbertson' Robertson, an Instagram star

Visual artist Donald Robertson has amassed a following of more than 150,000 on hisInstagram account @Drawbertson.

And some may think the father of five in his 50s is not the usual contender for #Instafame. But "Drawbertson" as he is known has charmed thousands with his artwork, one square crop at a time.

Robertson is in Toronto to promote his children's book Mitford at the Fashion Zoo, about a fashion-forward giraffe made popular on his Instagram.

CBC Toronto's Nil Köksal spoke with Robertson about Instagram stardom.

People may have preconceived notions of who an Instagram star may be. They may not see you when they think of "Instagram star." Was it ever something you thought of? Or did it happen by accident?

It just was sort of the platform and the timing and everything just synched up. You can't really plan these things. If I was starting now on Snapchat, it would be a disaster. You'd be like: Donald who? I just managed to be at the right time, at the right place, with the right platform.

Who put you on to it?

I was full-on Blackberry guy. My kids were like "dad, get rid of the Blackberry, it's sad. You have to get an iPhone. You'll like it because you'll be able to upload all your art, mostly as an archive." I just hit that share button and that was that. My kids get full credit but my assistant at the time actually showed me how it worked.

You were well-known in the industry as being a behind-the-scenes guy, helping big name brands establish themselves. Now you're a brand on your own — was that part of the plan?

My MO [modus operandi] had always been to sort of help other people magnify their own story. I was myself 100 per cent on Instagram and without really thinking about it or "focus grouping" it or really plotting it out, it just kind of happened naturally.

What led you to write a children's book?

It was something that I had been messing around with on Instagram. My wife was like, "OK, enough 'likes.' Let's see if we can turn this into something that can actually pay for colleges."

People bring up Andy Warhol's name but you said that you feel more of an affinity to a current pop culture phenom.

I like that comparison but the person I really admire is Pharrell and just how upbeat and positive and fashiony he is but he's also popular. I just like his vibe and I love his wide-eyedness about him.

You have an eternal youth vibe about you, too.

I think the secret to weathering this world we're in is to try to stay as childlike as possible for as long as possible.

What is your advice to strike a balance between the go get-em attitude and thinking you know everything?

Try to bring out your Canadian. Don't go into alpha. Keep your head down. This is the most important thing: don't be a cat at work, be a dog.

Explain.

Bosses like dogs that are like 'hey hows it goin', how you doin'....' Cats are more like 'see you later. 'Just be a dog. It's the secret to success. Copy dogs, don't be cats.