Ideas from an Unstarving Artist I like to be different and recognizable. I found my voice early as a child with dyslexia—though no one knew what that was back then. Drawing came naturally. Letters and numbers were hard, so I taught myself to read, but drawing was always there. Drawing all the time led me to a different approach—lines, shades, composition, design, and color. I like to find the balance between the large and the small, the bold and the detailed. What I choose to leave out is just as important as what I put in—and that’s true in art, and in life. Becoming an artist runs in my family. Being born with talent in my head and being dyslexic made me not quite “normal”—but who is? Over the years, I’ve found that people who enjoy my work often connect with the colors, the laughter, and the life in it. My family moved to Phoenix in 1956. I was born in Evansville, Indiana. I have wonderful memories of my “Tom Sawyer” days—riding my bike, living with the freedom of only one rule: be home by sundown for dinner. Living in the West, I fell under the spell of the mountains and the vast freedom of the landscapes. I always identified with the cowboy. Though I wasn’t one, I watched almost every cowboy movie ever made. In the early days of TV—the 1950s—those movies were from the 1930s, with cowboys like Tim McCoy, Buck Jones, Wallace Beery (one of my favorites), Johnny Mack Brown, and Gabby Hayes. I could go on and on. They all wore 10-gallon hats, and they were larger than life—always saving the underdog. That’s why I can’t fit my cowboys into a standard canvas. Their arms, hats, and bodies go right over the edge. So instead of 10-gallon hats, I give them 20-gallon hats. Big bandanas. Everything is bigger than life. Early television was black and white—but I believe these legends deserve bold color, strong features, and fine detail. I continue to paint from my heart, inspired by the Southwest and its wide-open, wild vistas. Before becoming a full-time fine artist, I took every art class Northern Arizona University had to offer—from art history and pottery to commercial art. Commercial art fascinated me the most. After college, I had a short five-year career in commercial art and a steady paycheck. But eventually, I chose the uncertainty of a fine art future—and I’ve never looked back. It’s been fun ever since. My work has sold to collectors all over the world: Switzerland, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, China, and, of course, across the USA. One of my proudest moments was being the featured artist for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in May 2009—with a print of my sheriff displayed on the front of the convention center, measuring 35 feet wide and 50 feet tall. Thank you for taking the time to read about me. My work is proudly represented by Anticus Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona.