From the Artist:

 

"My interest in art began, like many artists, in grade school. Third grade, if memory serves. I
remember staring out of a classroom window and trying to draw a tree, My drawing looked like a
tree, and I was hooked. My early age heroes included Norman Rockwell and I was especially
drawn to his portraiture. When his portrait of JFK hit the magazines, I decided that I was going
to be a portrait artist. When I was in highschool, I had really great art teachers who encouraged
me and I found that I could capture likenesses more frequently. After I graduated from Kearney
High, I was asked to do portrait sketches for the grand opening of Platte Valley State Bank’s
new building in downtown Kearney. That summer and fall I must have sketched more than a
hundred kids and adults. I started my art and music majors at Kearney State College that fall.
The following June, I went to Steamboat Springs Colorado and spent three months sketching
portraits and doing commission work at the Rusty Knight Gallery. I returned to Kearney that fall
in time to continue my art and music studies. It was about that time that I learned about Daniel
Greene who became my new portrait hero and I began doing portraits in pastel. In 1974, I
began working at a professional sound company headquartered in Kearney. Stanal Sound Ltd.
was my place of employment for the next ten years. During that time, I became Stanal’s
computer department manager. I think my only qualification for the job was that I could say
some words related to computers. In 1976, I changed my majors at KSC from art and music to
computer science and business. For the next thirty five years, I managed computer
departments and wrote computer software. Whenever I could find time, I would still do portraits.
Usually, it was of people who had died and their business associates would have the portrait
done. I retired from IT administration in 2014. Now, my passion for art has reached new
heights. I paint nearly everyday, usually for up to five or six hours. I also spend a lot of time
learning new things to help me grow as an artist. Professionally, I have never been happier."