I grew up in Portland Oregon, the youngest of three in a family geared towards classical music all the time. My mother is still a very active music teacher and my father was an accountant who later in life became very active as head of the city planning commission in Vancouver, WA.
I escaped the classical music scene through sports but retained the discipline that one must work at mastering the art form. Score; One photographer in LA, A violinist in Boston and a sculptor in the NYC area.
I did my undergraduate studies at University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon and graduate studies (MFA, painting) from Colorado University, Boulder, CO. Part of my thesis was an animated film that was a finalist in the student division of AMPAS. That recognition sent me off to LA in pursuit of a movie business career. While I was attending U of O, I served in the Marine Corps Reserves…attending all the required meetings.
My day job in LA was in the movie business, first as a scenic artist IATSE Hollywood local 816 working in theater, television and on some motion pictures.
Later I became a sculptor/model-maker in motion picture special effects. Lots of fun and a great education.
My first art world success was my koa rhino desk in 1979 shown at the American Craft Museum in New York. That show traveled to 10 other museums. That was followed by lots of group showings in various galleries, a few solo shows and several commissions, mostly private collectors. I also received a Westaff NEA followship (remember NEA individual artists grants?) and my work was recognized in Japan in the 1993 Hakone Open Air Museum.
Currently, I maintain a studio in Wappingers Falls located an hour north of New York in the Hudson River Valley. I live with my wife Flavia. We are the parents of five adults who are flourishing in Sycamore Illinois, Minnetonka, MN, Maple Grove, MN, Baltimore, MD, and Cincinnatti, OH.