My mom tells me the first drawing I ever made was when I was 2. It's supposedly a drawing of a witch, but to me the smudgy crayon rorschach looks more like an obese mosquito doing yoga than anything else. You have to start somewhere.

I think the way I first became aware people could actually make a living doing art was though Batman and Spiderman comics of the 70s. And, on a trip to Disneyland, my parents bought a book on the making of the 'Pirates of the Carribean' ride. In it, there are wonderfully loose and expressive pen drawings by Marc Davis, one of the great Disney artists. The drawings were concept sketches for the ride. I can still see the photos of him sketching at a table, wearing a short sleeve white shirt, skinny tie and thick black gasses looking very bald and very 1960.
In high school I discovered the Tolkein art of the Brothers Hildebrandt. Their influences were N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle who turned out to be my spiritual fathers when it comes to art. That may sound overstated, but I think it hits close to the mark; they continue to resonate with me after decades of studying painting and making pictures as a professional.
I went on to study fine arts painting at the New York Academy of Art, and also studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art, and at the Art Students League.
I've ended up creating children's illustrations. My hope is to combine the gallery quality of fine arts representational painting with the magic and narrative of childhood. Hopefully, my art straddles the fence between the fine arts and the commercial.

I've illustrated many books for children, in addition to work for magazines and ad campaigns.

I've exhibited at the Society of Illustrators in New York, and at the Clymer Museum of Art. I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and am represented by WendyLynn & Co.
Contact Info
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Telephone:
206-330-7453
Address:
4114 7th St. S.W. Apt. C101, Puyallup
WA, 98373
United States
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