Art is a means of escape and a new challenge each time I begin a new piece. A self-taught artist, which started as a hobby way back in high school, I experienced my own "renaissance" to art after I abandoned art to focus on my family and a long career in EMS, trauma care, and public safety. These careers tend to leave lasting scars, but for the next 28 years I continued doodling and pencil drawing, mostly in meetings or business trips.

Being very left brained, I lost enjoyment in academic instruction that taught far too much feeling and emotion rather than techniques of the masters.  I also didn’t take art seriously until my daughter took an interest during her high school years.

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​My first commissioned piece was after a coworker saw me "doodling" a graphite landscape and asked if he would create a larger piece for her wall. It was after delivering this commission and ongoing encouragement from many coworkers that I truly rediscovered the therapeutic aspect of making art.

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Now, I work for constant improvement studying classical artists, and the materials or techniques used by master painters of old. Some of my favorite artists include the Renaissance artists like Verrocchio, Da Vinci, and Titian, the vibrant colors seen in the Dutch Golden Age Veritas still life, artist like Rembrandt, Pieter Claesz, and Vermeer, the plush landscapes of the Hudson River School like Frederic Church and Albert Bierstadt, many impressionist artists, and current artists such as Stefan Baumann and Andrew Tischler all provide inspiration.