About the Artist

I always wanted to be an artist, but I lacked one key element — any ability to draw or paint. Even my stick people came out looking disfigured and deformed. I couldn’t understand it because my siblings and parents all had a certain level of artistic talent. Even now my nieces and nephews have a certain level of talent. They may not have enough to be great artists but at least their stick people come out beautiful.

There had to be away to express myself the way I wanted. I was never a talker and had always been extremely shy both caused by a severe speech problem as a child. I tried writing but I have a terrible and mean self editor that gets in the way, and even now he is sitting back there screaming at me as I write this piece about myself. The answer finally came to me one day when my older sister got a camera. Don’t get me wrong I had been around cameras, my Uncle Dan always had one but I could not touch it much less use it when we were together. He and my father instilled in me a love of nature and being outdoors but not photography. My sister with her knock off brand 35mm SLR started that, but still it was hers, and even though she let me join her on her trips taking pictures for her high school photography class and take an occasional picture, I was not allowed to play with it. She however gave me my first lessons and put the desire into me, and I started to lay the ground work with my parents to get my own.

It took a few years but for my high school graduation my dream came true. I received a good old Pentax K1000 with a couple lenses for it. The K1000 was the best camera for beginners. You had to learn everything because it was totally manual. No autofocus, no automated settings, no special computer, no screen on the back to view to see if you had gotten the shot. Manual! Had to wait a couple of days or weeks to get the film sent off and developed. A year or more later, after my father passed away, I got a little fancier Minolta 3000i that had autofocus and some automation of the exposure, but you had to still buy film and get it developed. For a poor college student the cost was a little high and the picture taking was diminished, and I finally traded my camera to my brother for his stereo. The stereo along with his record collection, yes I said record and not CD because I am that old, made me popular with my fraternity brothers but I missed my camera.

It would be many years, thousands of miles, a severe heartbreak and a very dark period before an incredibly special and wonderful friend came into my life and inspired me again and awoke the artist in me again. I picked up Sony point and shot and started taking pictures again, many of which I have looked back on and I will be the only one to see them. As I saved money I moved up to a Canon xti and a few simple lenses, and started to hone my skill. I loved being outside taking pictures and creating images. I have always tried to share them because I wanted to inspire people to see the things I see and to love them as much I do. Their is so much beauty in the world that I want to capture it all and share it with you.

I am now centered in Wisconsin and enjoying rediscovering all the wonderful things I had experienced as a child with my father and family. I hope to some day travel the world taking pictures and making a living selling my art. Until that time I will keep making my art, getting better and sharing it with you. I hope you all enjoy it and give me feedback, and share it with others. Enjoy.