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My first teacher and mentor, Florence Quater, a noted artist who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, taught me that painting is not about making pretty pictures. I began studying with Mrs. Quater at the age of 14. I went to her school daily throughout high school. She instructed me to observe and interpret changing daylight and nighttime shadows to create a strong emotional message. I learned that without the knowledge and practice of drawing, it is difficult to structure a solid painting framework.

Beginning in 2007 I studied with master artist David P. Curtis, graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston whose teacher was Ives Gammell, one of the last American Realists. I painted at the Cox Reservation Greenspace, Essex, Massachusetts all day every Saturday for almost five years.