When I was about five years old, my Aunt Marguerite bought me a Weber oil painting set with perhaps 8 tubes of oils, a small bottle of turpentine and one of linseed oil, two or three brushes and a tiny palette. She and I learned to paint together and I am forever indebted to her for this. I drew and painted all through childhood, took extra art classses in high school and eventually earned a Fine Arts degree in painting from Virginia Commonwealth University. I have had a number of art-related jobs over the years, including designing greeting cards and a stint as a comic book colorist. Over the years I found myself painting less and less, but about 2007 I decided to dive back into painting as a serious endeavor. Since then I have had my work accepted in a number of juried shows, won a prize or two, and have had several one-man shows. I plan to keep on painting as long as I can hold a brush. It's who I am and what I do.