i knew in kindergarten that i wanted to be an artist. i grew up in an artistic family... my parents met at art school in the 1950's.
i graduated from art center college of design, with an illustration major, in the early 1980's. i have over 30 years experience illustrating for advertising, children's publishing and giftware design.
after a job layoff from the giftware company i worked for, i decided a big change was in order so i moved from my native southern california to a small coastal town in oregon. trading an urban environment for a rural one took a bit of adjustment but i now love being surrounded by untamed nature.
i also have changed my focus from illustration to fine art and painting images for my licensing agents. if i can amuse a viewer or make them smile at my imagery i feel i have been successful. while i admire artists who can paint realistically, this has never been my focus. i love to stylize and design with my images. my inspiration comes from many sources.... primarily old/antique things. i am at my happiest when i am touring museums, cathedrals or regal homes in europe.
my father was a graphic designer and my mother studied costume design... those are big influences on my work as well.
my work process is very slow and laborious. it takes many hours to complete a painting from the inception to the non glamorous "grunt work" in enlarging the small sketch, determining color schemes, and transferring the drawing to the gessoed surface to the actual painting time. it is a labor i love and i hope you enjoy your tour through my store. thank you for dropping by!