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 Biography and Personal Beliefs
My parents had been married for nine years and were living in a triplex in a small community on the outskirts of Los Angeles called Inglewood, California. They had two Young children named Joyce, and Scott. On June 29 their family was to increase in size to three children. It was a Friday morning at 8:38 when I decided that it was time to enter in to the world. A year and a half after my birth, my parents moved to their first house which was located in Rolling Hills Estates on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Dad was working for Hughes Aircraft when he moved to Orange County after only a year and a half in Rolling Hills. They had a custom four bedroom house built in the middle of an orange grove. My earliest memory is of one of the visits we made to the house under construction when it was almost finished. A worker was putting, what I thought was toothpaste, around the tub. Actually it was caulking. Eventually our family grew to six children.  Orange County, California was mostly orange groves, ranches, dairies, and farms when the decade of the 1960s began. But it was also the beginning of a huge building boom for the area. As a young child, I remember that our house was set in the middle of a grove of orange trees (which I loved to climb). Sometimes we would pick a Valencia orange from a tree and Dad would take his pocket knife out of his pocket and punch a hole in the orange through the skin and we would then suck the orange juice out through the hole. I only remember small fragments of my pre-school years. We used to meet for church in an old school house literally on the wrong side of the tracks in Santa Ana. One time, a rock came through the window during primary. (a meeting for youth between the ages of three and 11 that met once a week.) Red Hill Elementary School was built in 1962 and I went there from first Grade until sixth. In 2001 the school was torn down as obsolete and rebuilt. I was a shy child. I liked to do my art, but had no interest in sports, so I was often picked on because I did not excel in any sport. Children can be very cruel to each other. I think I learned empathy from the experience. I excelled in High School in my art, but did not really participate too much in High School activities because of my shy nature. I was a member of the art club though. I received several awards for my art in High School. When I was 19, I volunteered to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for two years in Colorado. It did wonders for me. I became much more outgoing as I taught people about Gods plan of happiness for us, and Christs atonement for our sins.  Following my mission, I went to California State Long Beach and gained a BFA (Fine Art) in 1983 with a specialization in Illustration.I worked for several years as an illustrator doing architectual rendering, then started to buy houses, fix them up, then sell them again. In 1988 I married my wife Jan in the Los Angeles Temple. I began painting full time at Tenaya Lodge in 1991 as the resident artist. At that same time we moved up to Oakhurst, CA. A couple of years later, I opened my Oakhurst Gallery, National Parks Art Center.  In 1997 we adopted our son Daniel who has been a joy and a challenge to us. In 1999 I was asked to do a painting for the Fresno Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which was a great honor. My work has been featured in several publications including American Artist, U.S. Art, and the Encyclopedia of Living Artists.  When I am not painting, I enjoy backpacking, hiking, tennis, skiing, photography, horsemanship, and gardening. On some occasions I have done some technical rock climbing with my brother Scott. In recent years, I have found a need to spend a lot of time with my son Daniel helping him with his homework, and being involved as a parent.  When I paint the wonders of nature, I remember that God created what I am painting. I depend on his inspiration to help me depict his creations and hope that the art will inspire others as they view it. I try to give my paintings a luminescence, a symbolic depiction of the light and goodness of the creator. I hope that the paintings and prints of them that I do can bring pleasure to those who view them. I don't want to push religion on anyone, but if you are interested in finding out my views of where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going after this life, the site below will give you free information.    | Return Home | What's New | Original Paintings | Canvas Prints | Paper Prints | Archives | Biography | Links | Contact Us | |
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