Belleville, WI I was born in 1948 and grew up in Evansville, WI. My father (a professional artist) was an avid hunter, fisherman and birder. I spent a great deal of time outdoors as a young man. That has left an indelible mark on my psyche. Although drawing and painting had been a strong force in my life, in 1966 1 entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a biology major. However, I continued to paint what I loved — birds and the land, by 1970 I made the decision to paint nature rather than study it, and left school to paint fulltime. Since then, I have made a career of painting. In the late l960’s, I met Fred and Fran Hamerstron, two biologists working with grouse and hawks who lived near Plainfield, WI. They have had a great influence on my life, strongly supporting my art and providing excellent critical feedback. More importantly, they shared their home with me providing the opportunity to meet many internationally renowned nature artists. In addition, I was strongly influenced by their philosophy of living in harmony with the natural world. This philosophy has since been pervasive in both my choice of life style and in my art. Through the Hamerstrom’s I met my first raptor biologists and falconers. I have always been fascinated with hawks, and meeting the falconers there provided me with an avenue into that world. Under the tutelage of these generous people, I started practicing falconry in 1973. 1 have been helping with research projects and hunting with falcons and hawks ever since. My painting has consistently reflected my passion for the landscape and birds, especially raptors. For the first 15 years or so, I painted in the studio, using photos and field studies, to create watercolors and oils. During this period, I was juried into numerous bird art shows around the country. Through those experiences, I befriended a number of bird landscape painters. Together, we formed working critique groups, some of which continue to meet. A number of these nationally recognized painters were then beginning to paint “on location” and in the mid-1980’s I began to paint “en plein air”. Today I would consider myself a regionalist, with the majority of my subject matter being southwestern WI. I paint more pure landscapes, though birds are often featured in the paintings. I paint between 50-75 p1cm air studies annually; some are used in preparation for larger works, but most of them simply because I love the landscape and its many moods. The landscapes in my larger paintings are also done plein air, although the birds in these paintings are often done in the studio. I also paint wash drawings of hawks and falcons, usually on gessoed paper drawing with silver point. These works are collected by falconers from around the world. This year, I am the featured artist at the Joint North American International Falconry meet.