While growing up in the east Texas town of Crockett, I gained an appreciation and love for western themes as I helped my father work cattle on the family’s ranch.  In grade school, I loved to draw, but it was not until I was in college that I took art classes, primarily in painting.  Although art was my passion, life intervened and pushed me into a more traditional course.  After earning a business degree, I enlisted in the Marine Corps where the scope of experience broadened beyond Texas and I gained an understanding of the discipline and rigor of military life and what it means to be a Marine.  Upon re-entering civilian life four years later, I became a banker in Dallas, but never lost sight of the passion for art.

 

Thanks to helping my son with a project, which required the purchase of clay, the passion for sculpture was ignited.  As I worked with the clay and discovered the three dimensional aspect of sculpting, it became quite clear that this was the true medium to explore.  Although I continued in a professional banking career, my newly found creative outlet of sculpting took flight as I studied with several sculptors, primarily George Davis, to learn anatomy and how to replicate the human body in clay.  At about this time, I was also introduced to another new art form at a ballet performance and was intrigued by its beauty and movement.  My love for expression of emotion was further solidified by attending a workshop led by Fritz White, CA, who emphasized the aspects of motion and emotion in bronze.  Additional workshops conducted by admired professionals John Coleman and Mehl Lawson have served to enhance my horizons.

 

Life has a way of coming full circle and mine is no exception.  I have hung up the banker’s hat so that I can devote more time to this passion for sculpting back in East Texas.  Many of the pieces created over time contain metaphors that relate to the corporate world.