I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing or painting. I always received some sort of drawing set or kit under the Christmas tree every year with plenty of encouragement from my parents to draw. My early subject matter was usually animals and the outdoors, trying always to draw them exactly as I saw them. After graduating High School in 1966, my formal art education began with a scholarship to the New York Phoenix School of Design. Upon graduation, I was asked to join the faculty.
Military obligations interrupted my career and my service years were spent as photographer and illustrator for the Army newspaper based in Okinawa. When I completed my military service art jobs were scarce. However, I was able to achieve the position of Art Director of Children’s Books at Prentice-Hall publishers.
I decided to pursue a freelance career in illustration which led me to produce works for several books and outdoor publications such as Field & Stream, The Conservationist, Audubon and other magazines.
Acrylics and oils are my favorite mediums. Before I begin a painting, I gather all my research, photograph and observe my subject matter. Producing a painting is not just copying your photographs, it’s knowing and understanding what your about to paint.
Looking back to my younger years in art, my thinking has not changed, my goal today is still to “paint and draw them” exactly as I see them.
