- Act 1 -
My inauguration into the arts began at an early age in individual art and music classes. I spent my adolescent years growing up and working in the family’s stained glass business. In college, I focused on art and architecture at Oklahoma State University, where I graduated with a bachelor of arts in education degree in 1965. This pathway led me into teaching art in the public school system for the first phase of my career.

The challenge to expand both my technical skills and aesthetic appreciation led to additional studies at Wichita State University, Tulsa University, Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum, Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum, Wichita Center for the Arts, and various workshops and ateliers. The training I received from J. Jay McVicker, Dale McKinney, Ron deBois, Elizabeth Linder, Margaret Carter Baumgaertner, and Richard St.John is reflected in both the technical and philosophic style of my work today.

My years as an art instructor were both humbling and exhilarating. I have been privileged to work with many talented students whose perseverance to achieve has changed the art horizon. Some have become art instructors themselves, and others have become accomplished artists. A few have become both.

- Act 2 -
During the 1970s and 1980s, I returned to the family business and managed Phillippe Studio in Mannford, Oklahoma. We completed hundreds of stained glass commissions from across the Midwest. For me, this was an exercise in learning the business side of art, and I often refer to it as Survival 101.

- Act 3 -
The final act, I'm currently employed as a graphic animator. After receiving additional training from Drexel and Washburn Universities, and too many workshops to count, I now spend my days creating “eye candy” for video and television productions.

I believe that my art should tell a story. In some of my works, I entertain; in others, I hope inspire emotions; and in some, I attempt to inform. If I think the “story” is interesting only to me, I paint for pleasure. However, when I need to speak to others through my art, I paint in forms that my audience will understand and appreciate. I enjoy sharing my experiences with others through familiar subjects, such as portraits and landscapes.