Gordon was born in Vancouver, B.C and raised in Surrey. As a child, he was always drawing and as a teenager began designing posters. Inspired by album cover art of the 1960's, he attended the Kootenay School of Art to study graphic design. Gordon also studied applied design at Douglas College, printmaking at the Alberta College of Art, and learned to print textiles in the N.W.T. After returning to the Kootenays, Gordon co-founded a design and screen printing shop and his line drawings began to be published in literary magazines. In 1982 he relocated to the west coast and continued to work in graphic design and exhibit his works. In 1990, Gordon was offered an opportunity to create a series of illustrations pertaining to the natural and human history of Beacon Hill Park. This project had a profound influence on his career as an illustrator. Currently his work continues to focus on line drawing, which for Gordon is a basic human language.