I was born in 1962, and raised in the Pacific Northwest, in the city of Everett, Washington. My first interest in art was in high school, where I discovered I had talent. I also discovered I had talent playing the drums. Being the more popular of the two, most of my energy went into the possibility of making a career in the music business. I gave it a shot. I continue to play today for sanity's sake.
   During my 17 years in the beer business, towards the end of my career, I had an epiphany while loading beer trucks to begin painting the abstract. My idea was to paint a series of six 30x40 canvases at the same time, layer by layer. That beginning project was all it took to engage my continuing obsession to create contemporary art.
   After leaving the beer business I decided to go to school to better my chances at a career in art and received associates degrees in Studio Arts, and Graphic Arts with honors. Thanks to the encouragement and teaching of Sandra Lepper, my art teacher and advisor at EvCC, I probably wouldn't have gotten this far.                   Unfortunately, after graduation the graphics industry was a little depressed, which made finding entry level employment nearly impossible. I finally landed a warehouse job with Frito Lay where I injured my knee, which resulted in a total knee replacement. Since then I've been promoting my work by sending my resume, brochures, and slides to various galleries, most of which are located in the Northwest. Fortunately, my education gives me the ability to design and print all promotional materials, which lowers my overhead considerably. I also shoot the slides myself, and make the frames for all my paintings.
   Unfortunately, the only positive responses to show my work wanted money, which I lacked. I was fortunate enough to get a response from most of the galleries and they were all very encouraging.
   Then in early December of 2008, an unfortunate twist of fate gave me a confirmed diagnosis of MS, which was the deciding factor to quit procrastinating on getting my work out there, and to create a web site. Artspan made it possible, because otherwise it was something I couldn’t afford. Thank you Artspan. I'm hoping the increased exposure will help me find my audience. Keep the faith, and love life as much as possible.