I grew up near New York City. I discovered a passion for Nature during my university years in upstate New York, hiking in the Adirondack Mountains. As a young student it was difficult for me to choose between studies in Science or Art, and I tried to combine them by using scientific imagery in my paintings and drawings. After receiving a B.A. degree in Fine Arts I moved west, first to the mountains of Colorado, and then to the wilderness of Montana where I did my graduate work at the University of Montana. After receiving an MFA Degree I moved to Portland, Oregon and the lush forests of the Cascade Mountains.

As a child I spent a lot of time with my grandfather, an European immigrant. He was different from all the Americans I knew, speaking French and putting prints of Modern European Painting on his walls. He never made it back to Europe before he died But I finally got to France for the first time in 2000 at the age of 43, and that changed my life. I made friends and connections in the countryside of SW France, and now that enables me to spend much of my time there.

My early development as an artist was very influenced by Abstract Expressionism and the New York School of painting. In graduate school, with the influence of Photorealism, I developed traditional illusionistic techniques but with non-traditional imagery. In France I discovered a love for Post-Impressionism and Fauvism, the paint surface, brushwork and color.

I am a devoted animal lover and advocate. In 2006 I went back to school in a Veterinary Assistant training program. I hoped to gain skills that would enable me to help animals in some way. In rural SW France I found a way to make a difference by giving care to "field horses" as I call them. Horses of the countryside are sometimes semi-wild and used to maintain the beautifully manicured green fields. Some horses get liitle care other than food and drink, so I have "adopted" several. I visit them as often as I can giving physical and emotional care, as well as training.