Since learning to paint in oils in the late nineties back home in Virginia, I have been in group exhibits at the Art League Gallery (where I studied) in 2002 and 2003, and the Del Ray Artisan’s Group in 2002.  I completed several commissions in the D.C. area.  My work was also shown here in Los Angeles, in the Getty Underground exhibition of 2006.

 I received a BFA in Fashion Art and Advertising in 1990, but as the field of Fashion Illustration became obsolete, I started to drift away from art.  My main love was always drawing the face and figure, and I decided to try my hand at oil painting.  While living in the D.C. area, I had the opportunity to study with classical painters like Robert Liberace and Danni Dawson, both colleagues of Nelson Shanks.  Having been in Los Angeles for the last few years, I’ve had the good fortune to study with Ryan Wurmser and Jeremy Lipking.

 When I moved to Los Angeles a few years ago with my partner, I was unemployed for quite some time.  This wild and wonderful land of make believe was drastically different from quiet and constrained Virginia.  As I looked for work and assimilated into West Coast life, I spent the days painting and studying the work of the many talented figurative painters coming out of California.  As a result, I see a softness and sense of mood that is now emanating from my work.  I am now employed at the Getty, high on a hilltop, overlooking L.A., surrounded by beauty and inspiration.  Even though most of my time is spent in an office job (granted, it’s a beautiful office), I know that with clarity of vision and determination my work will continue to grow and improve, and I will someday get paid to do what I love!