I was blessed with great parents, who encouraged me to develop my love of art. They are still among my most ardent supporters. My mom tells me I used to sit in front of a large aquarium we had starting when I was 3 and 4 years old and draw the fish for hours (hmm...I guess I did have some life drawing experience I forgot about!). Also, when I was very young an aunt gave me a book on how to draw animals, both realistic and cartoon. I don't know how many times I drew every picture in that book. I still have the remnants of it - no cover, pretty ragged, yellowed and some pages missing - but boy did I learn a lot from it.
Another great influence and still my friend, now 30 years after high school ended, is my high school art teacher Frank Wise (pictured). He's the one who introduced me to painting in a way which made me want to know more. I had dabbled in it a couple of times before but was mostly content with pencil drawing. So it's he I blame for all the misery I suffer when a painting isn't working!
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