Anthony Pessler was born in Pittsburgh but grew up on the plains of eastern North Dakota. The expansive sky and landscape, the dramatic seasonal changes, and proximity to abundant wildlife, instilled a profound connection and love of the outdoors that abides to this day. In 1994, Pessler moved to Arizona to take a faculty position at Arizona State University, where he still serves as an Associate Professor of Art with the Drawing/Painting Program at ASU's School of Art. An avid outdoors-person, bow hunter, and fly fisher, his experiences in the mountains and deserts are the drivers of his singular brand of contemporary Romanticism. “At the end of the day, all one really needs to know about a painting is there to see – hanging on the wall. With that said, I like to think of my paintings as short stories whose plots rearrange themselves according to the desires of the viewer. They come from my love of nature and my will to understand the nature of love. They come from personal experiences and captivating places that stand out in my memory and imagination.”