At the sake of sounding cliche, I have always loved drawing. I consider myself a "hereditary artist", in that I was born with the gift rather than developed it solely through training and schooling. My father was a junior high school art teacher and is a very gifted artist, so I have him to thank for passing on those genes to me.

As a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, I attended the usual art classes required by the county board of education, but never really discovered my talent for portraiture until the 8th grade. I enrolled in an individual studies art class twice a week and there I drew my first portrait of former President John Adams. A brave feat as it was, it turned out well for a first attempt. From here I was smitten and enrolled in every art class I could throughout high school. For practice (and high school "fame" as it were) I would draw portraits of rock stars and other celebrities for my friends for a mere $20 each. I kept a few such as "Don Johnson" pictured in my graphite gallery. I gained some local notoriety and a few extra dollars to line my pocket. I also entered in various local and regional art competitions and won a fistful of awards for my efforts.

After graduation in 1987, I attended Glenville State College where I majored in art education. One of my art professors there had the opportunity to teach for a year in England and requested that he take one of my "masterpieces" with him to spotlight as an "ideal example". He chose "Andy Warhol", a piece I created, driven by a fast approaching deadline and a box of No-Doze, using nothing but magazine pieces and a glue stick. I have to say that it is one of my favorite pieces. Five years later I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education K-12.

Since then, I have married (1992), taught in the county school system as a substitute teacher for 5 years, taught a variety of general art classes at our local Art Center to children who desired to expand their artistic interests and talents during the summer months and participated in regional art shows and a few galas throughout the city. I donate my talent whenever possible to various organizations and church projects. I currently work full time in advertising, so my calendar in almost always full.

I continue to draw for myself whenever time allows, but mostly I enjoy drawing commissioned pieces for others. This is mainly the reason why my own drawing library is so small. I especially love seeing the faces of clients when I have created something they approve of and can be proud of. That's the most rewarding part of being an artist...giving to others a piece of yourself in each and every drawing.