I was born in Colorado Springs a little over 25 years ago and have always had an overwhelming fascination with art. Other than the art courses taught to most people through public school and a few months at Bemis Art School during the 6th grade, I’m primarily self taught. The way I learned art was through study, observation, and practice. I would spend countless hours carefully studying the works and styles of the old masters through books, prints, museums, or any other way I could and incorporate what I learned into my own work. I would study each stroke of their paintings and every line of their sketches and drawings to find out how they were able to create such magnificent pieces. To this day, I seem to always learn something new by examining my favorite artists’ work, some of whom are William Bouguereau, Leonardo Da Vinci, John Singer Sargent, Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.      Studying the old masters, I acquired a love for portraiture. Even with the extensive availability of cameras, there’s just something about portraiture that captivates me. There are few mistakes you can get away with when it comes to portraiture and I think that the challenge of it is something that has always attracted me. It can be greatly rewarding and terribly frustrating, both of which are good for growth.      As far as most subjects and mediums go, I try to stay as well rounded as possible. I love painting the figure as well as still lives and landscapes. The world around me always seems to provide inspiration and tends to find its way into my work. The way light reflects on an object, the shadow it casts, the way it curves, the way the lines intersect, the way things exist in space tend to bring me into a parallel world where nothing else seems to matter. I also love the different mediums available to artists. The versatility of oils, the simplicity of various drawing materials, and the presence of mind it takes to use watercolors all excite me. I hope you enjoy the fruit of my artistic journeys.