I began my art career early. I recall as a small child copying comic book characters on any piece of blank paper I could find. Eventually my mom got me a chalk board and some chalk to use for drawing. I grew up in the 60s so my drawing style took on a “psychedelic” design style throughout my high school years but my desire was to be able to paint and draw faces realistically, heavily influenced by artists like Richard Estes.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force for a few years where I drew radar predictions for B-52 crews, I got out early to go to college. At the Junior College level I began my serious studies of studio art and moved on to the University of Florida where I majored in Printmaking, getting my Bachelor of Fine Arts in late 1980. It was my last semester at Florida when I began drawing the very large graphite drawings.
Although my first love in the arts was printmaking, I never stopped having the desire to draw and paint realistically, honing that skill and talent as I moved through life during and after college, married and rearing four children along the way.
After doing a stint in the US Air Force in the mid 70s I separated early to go to college. Starting at Pensacola Jr College I finished up my BFA at the University of Florida in December 1980.
In the mid 80s I moved my family to Atlanta for employment reasons and started working in the picture framing business, continuing to draw and paint, working part time as a free lance illustrator in the mediums of pencil and prismacolor. Painting was still something I was experimenting with during those years.
During the late 80s and early 90s I managed to get several painting commissions and developed a style using oils on canvas. By this time I had honed my ability to see details and manipulate the medium to accomplish my goal of painting faces accurately.
By 1998, after working 15 years in picture framing, I decided to get a second degree in Art Education. I began working as an art teacher in Cherokee County, Georgia in the public school arena, retiring in 2013 and moving to my home town of Atmore, Alabama where I live and continue to work in my new 900 square foot studio workshop. During my years teaching I rekindled my love of printmaking by silk screening tee shirts and carving relief prints. Both artistic passions I pursue now.
My primary mediums continue to be graphite (pencil) and oil paint but much of my time is spent working on the process oriented printmaking projects; silk screen on paper and fabric, relief print carving in linoleum, wood and rubber, and photographic chemical processes like cyanotype.