Blessed with a gifted mother, I grew up with art being a big part of our lives. My mother was a natural-born illustrator and self-taught. She was imaginative and prolific, and her work is loved by not only us, but treasured by many who own her paintings.

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When I was in kindergarten, the large paper pads, easels, and pots of paint were nirvana to me. I remember teachers looking at my pictures in the hallway and remarking about them.

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Not wanting to teach, just draw, I decided on The Institute of Pittsburgh and commercial art. That led to fashion layout and illustration for newspapers for a few years. Then, my mother suggested I try portraits, remarking  that I was good at them.  So, I went to the art store and bought five pastels, a charcoal pencil, and a sketchpad. That was the beginning of a wonderful career; doing hundreds of different types of commissions (and getting a lot more art materials)!