Bantock attended schools in the northeast suburbs of London, and later an art college in Maidstone, Kent.
He began a career as a freelance artist at the age of 23, producing 300 book covers in the ensuing 16 years.
In 1988 he moved to Vancouver, and soon after to the nearby Bowen Island, where he had the idea that became the Griffin and Sabine series.
In 2007, he resumed painting full-time, and opened a studio-gallery, 'The Forgetting Room', on Saltspring Island.
Between 2007 and 2010, Bantock was one of the twelve committee members responsible for selecting Canada's postage stamps.