As a third grader, I remember winning a Christmas coloring contest - the subject matter was a mimeographed printout of Santa Claus. At age 12, I watched a tv artist,Jon Gnagy, demonstrate how by using shading and casting shadows, you could make the four basic shapes: ball, cube, cone, and cylinder. By following his examples, I could transform mere outline shapes into 3-D forms! I was hooked! Through junior and senior high, I practiced with the Jon Gnagy “Learn to Draw” set. Art classes were not available at the high school I attended, so the first formal instruction I received was a painting class taught by Larry Shook at Victoria College. I received my associate’s degree from Victoria College and went on to earn my BFA from Sam Houston State. After graduation, I worked for two years as an advertising artist with two firms in Houston: Baxter and Korge, and Gulf State Advertising. I soon learned that advertising art wasn’t for me, so I enrolled at Houston Baptist University to get my all level teaching certification in art. I taught for four years at Klein High School in Spring, Tx, where I met and married my wonderful wife, Andrea. We moved to Victoria in 1980 where I taught at St. Joseph High School, for 31 years. Andrea and I are now both retired and spend our time relaxing at home, traveling, and being with our kids and grandkids as often as possible. I still transform simple shapes to create beauty through art, “and (am) loving it.”
