I knew I was an artist in elementary school. My recurrent request for my birthday was that, “I wanted an art kit.” I actually began to sketch and draw entering first grade. During childhood, anytime I had money I would purchase my own art supplies. As an African American kid growing up in a small town in Kentucky, my aspiration to become an artist was all encompassing challenge.
After two years at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, PA, I was drafted and spent three years in the U.S. Army. However, my art training eventually got me transferred out of the infantry, with a reassignment as an Army Illustrator. A subsequent assignment to an Arts & Crafts Center on my post, allowed me to learn wheel-thrown pottery, lapidary, and teach drawing classes. In my free time, l also designed newspaper ads for a local government entity. After deciding on dental school, I eventually joined the Army National Guard, and deployed to Iraq with a Forward Support Medical Team. I worked as a Triage Officer and field dentist, before retiring as a Full Colonel. Life is indeed an exciting journey.
My work explores graphical representations of diverse human cultures – with art serving to connect time and place for the viewer. My combined love of travel and art has taken me to more than 25 countries and counting. I hope the art here reflects an appreciation of several cultures and their art expressions. It should also evoke our connective-ness visually, as does music, dance or poetry.