I was born in 1980 to a family of artists and craftsmen.  My early years were characterized by my family constantly moving among various locations throughout North Carolina and Texas.  Without any steady playmates, drawing became my chief activity.  My parents would bring home reams of discarded paper, which I would set about covering with monsters.  My father began working as an art director in the movie industry when I was very young; some of my earliest memories are of accompanying him to the sets of various films.  The earliest painting I remember appreciating, apart from my fathers work, was a reproduction on canvas of ‘Saturn Devouring His Children’ by Francisco Goya.

In 1991 we ended up in Charleston, South Carolina.  During adolescence, I continued drawing and gained an appreciation for the human form by copying superheroes from comic books.  In 1997, I was selected to attend the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts summer program.  The following year, I began undergraduate studies at the College of Charleston.

My initial focus at college was sculpture, from which I branched into printmaking and photography.  One evening during my third year, I found a paintbrush and a half-empty tube of burnt umber in a trashcan in the school’s painting studio.  After using these to rework a drawing, I discovered an intent desire to devote myself to painting.  In 2001, I traveled to Spain and visited the Museo del Prado, where I finally saw the painting of ‘Saturn Devouring His Children’ in person.  I was also exposed for the first time to the work of Jose Ribera, whose paintings continue to inspire me.  The next year, I was awarded the Visual Art Scholarship from the College of Charleston and graduated with a double B.A. in Studio Art and Art History.  I now reside and work in Charlotte, North Carolina.