I was born in 1965 in Temple, Texas and grew up on my parent's farm. On the left is a photo of me at age 5. I'm the one sitting in the saddle.
I have loved drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. In 1972 my life took a tragic turn that I feared would end my ability to draw. I was standing in front of a space heater with some friends in my second grade classroom before school and my coat caught fire. Neither my friends nor I had ever been taught what to do if your clothes catch on fire. My mother was a teacher at my school and my only thought was "MOMMY!" I went running out of the room across a courtyard in the direction of her classroom, which only fanned the flames. I tripped and fell, and some teachers who knew first aid rolled me around and put out the fire. I received third degree burns on 45% of my body. Large parts of the fingers on my right hand and small parts of my left hand had to be amputated.

As part of my physical therapy, I began taking drawing and painting lessons, which I continued through high school. On the left is my very first oil painting-- painted in 1973. The hardest part was the signature, my initials in the lower left . I had my first solo show when I was twelve in a local library. I even made a few sales.
After high school and a year of junior college I went to Texas A&M University where I studied engineering thinking that it would be a more profitable profession than art. But eventually I realized that I needed to study my true passion, painting. I transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where I received my BFA in studio art with high honors in 1991.
I wanted to be near New York to do my grad school work, so I went to the State University of New York at Albany for my MFA, which I finished in 1994.

The photo on the left shows me working on Double Solitaire. You can also see The Parlor Stove about half finished on the table easel.
Currently I live in Los Angeles where I divide my time between painting and web design.