Born and raised in Southern California, I started drawing at a young age. In my teens, I sometimes sold celebrity portraits to fans and even occasionally friends and associates of the celebrities. I attended Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles, where I studied drawing, anatomy, and painting. I've also studied ceramics at Glendale Community College in Glendale, California.


I paint mostly in oils, though I occasionally use acrylics and graphite. My primary subjects are portraits, as well as figures and nudes. I also love to paint animals, particularly cats.


I'm an art materials junkie and am always experimenting with new brands and products. I almost always use rigid painting surfaces (like canvas panels) because I find them to be more durable than stretched canvas. I use good quality paints and always confirm that the colors are lightfast, which means they won't fade prematurely.


Artistic influences include: Norman Rockwell; Burne Hogarth, one of my figure drawing teachers at Otis; Andrew Loomis; Richard Schmid; illustrator H. Tom Hall; and Adam Clague, who I have been fortunate enough to study under.