I have been painting portraits since high school, when I practiced drawing people from photos National Geographic.

My high school art teacher, Brian Dalton, always covered the clock when our class entered the art room, challenging us to think and see differently. I painted my first portrait (of James Galway, the flutist), in his class.

This site is a place where people can appraise my work and consider how a portrait of a person or an animal enhances life.

My blog, Capturing Essence, explores the paradox that capturing a likeness is more than mechanics, yet the mechanics of painting are key to capturing the ephemeral essence of a life.