In my artistic education I consider myself as self-taught through my readings of writings by renowned pen & ink artists including Claudia Nice, Robert W. Gill, and Gary Simmons. I have also studied the styles and techniques of well-known maritime pen and ink artists including Paul Hitchens, Jim Campbell, and Dennis Burrow. Also, many of the skills I have learned during my naval service as an Illustrator Draftsman have been carried over into my art work since my retirement in 2007.

The beginning of my “formal” training in pen & ink art began in 2001 when I joined Whidbey Allied Artists Association (WAA) in Oak Harbor, WA. Here I met Jim Kringler, (b. 1943 d.2005), a well-known and revered pen & ink artist, and Joan Brosnahan, (b.1924 d.2011), a well-respected and renowned mixed-media and pen & ink artist of the Pacific Northwest. During my four year tenure with WAA, Jim worked with me teaching me about technical pens, pen nib sizes, and using a combination of different pen strokes to develop tones and values, shadows, and depth; and through Joan’s teachings I learned to develop technique and style. Through Jim and Joan’s teachings and influence I developed my artistic style as a combination of seascape and realism.

Although I did not attend a formal school or university, I did attend the Multimedia Illustrator Course at Defense Information School in Fort George G. Meade, MD to study military art composition, standards, and theories and graduated in February 2004 with a professional diploma.

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