When I was in Kindergarten, I was often found at the painting easel, shooing other kids away so I could use it longer. The more I expressed my creativity, I became increasingly interested in making sure that all of my drawings, paintings or projects were done meticulously and with lots of detail. I am amazed at artists who can draw or paint loosely....or abstractly. I never felt I could do that. It just wasn't in me. As my art developed, I painted less and less and kept most of my focus on drawing. I think the importance of drawing detail came from something inside of me that wanted to seek out every area of my subject...to not lose any of it's importance by not drawing it.

At the start of my junior year in high school, I took my first serious art class. I entered my first drawing in a Scholastic Art competition. Each year, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards conduct a search for the best works of visual arts and writing produced in our nation's schools. Selection of the national award winners is made by 45 noted artists, educators and art administrators. My junior year, my drawing received an Honorable Mention. My senior year, my entry won a Gold Key award and got sent to New York for the national competition. I received a $10,000 scholarship to the Savannah School of Art & Design. That was my first real confirmation that art would be my life's calling.

I passed up the scholarship and went to a Christian University in Anderson, Indiana to pursue a double major of Fine Arts and Graphic Design. My focus was broad - from drawing and graphics, to sculpture, ceramics and glass blowing. I graduated in 1992 and took a job in graphic design. I have been employed in several different places since then - all of them in the graphic design field - but drawing still remains my first love.

Currently employed by Gaither Music Company, I design their product catalog which comes out 5 times a year. I also frequently work on DVD, VHS, CD and cassette covers, magazine advertisements, concert promotion materials, postcards, etc. In my free time, I work on my own drawings and occasionally freelance.

Unlike so many artists, there isn't any deep or hidden meaning behind my art. I focus on showing an expression of myself and my love of life. This is why so many of my drawings are of animals or things in nature. I marvel at creation...amazed at what God has made for us to enjoy. My hope is that my art brings to the viewer a realization of how blessed we are to have such beauty around us.

We all have God-given talents, so I will continue to use what God has given me as I simply try to mimic the great and ultimate Creator of life.