From little on I was aware how happy my drawings and paintings made my family and friends, teachers and classmates. I got hooked on the JOY OF GIVING when I started doing portraits and experienced tears of happiness when I gifted my paintings. In my younger years I attended the Dayton Art Institute and as an adult I had the privilege to study under the great portrait artist Thomas Leighton in San Francisco. The single most important area in my portraits are the eyes. If I can capture the feeling behind those eyes, the rest of the painting is just there for support.