I was born in North Carolina, but I've lived in many places, and was fortunate to spend a part of my childhood in Japan. There, I discovered and became enamored with manga - my first pencil and crayon drawings were manga-style people. I retained my fascination with drawing the human figure throughout young adulthood, but I focused more on realism, and used graphite, charcoal and pastels. As an adult, I took up oil-painting and its been my main outlet of expression.

Primarily a self-trained figurative oil painter, the people in my life became my subjects. However, I frequent life painting classes for practice and honing my technique.

I currently live and work in Southern California.