About the Artist

I have always had to have some sort of creative outlet. I used to spend hours as a child looking at artwork that my father had done, and trying my hand at recreating some of his best pieces for practice. I started drawing at around 5 years old, and can remember being excited about just being able to color inside the lines. I started out as a child tracing everything I did, which taught me how to draw and shape my lines, and improved my free hand over time. I painted and drew only landscapes for years and steered away from portraits or people. I always made the mistake of trying to draw the person using hard lines, when in reality there are no hard lines. It is all in the shading. I would rather call what I do “pencil sculpting” as opposed to “pencil sketching”. The word sketch seems to imply something quick and free of detail to me. I have never had any type of formal training or classes, and am one hundred percent self taught. Once I learned the basics the rest just kind of came naturally, though I still learn a new technique or improve on one with every drawing. The patience to do this seems to be the most important aspect of all. On average, I will work on one drawing for 15 to 20 hours. Sometimes I am faster and sometimes slower. It all depends on the piece and my excitement over it. I have tried everything from woodcarving to painting over the years, but pencil drawings are by far my first love. Thank you to every one for their kind words and support, it is appreciated more then you know!!