About Me

I was raised in Oklahoma in a small community east of Oklahoma City called Spencer. I grew up watching my mother and older brother draw, and I soon learned I could draw, too. In school, I frequently drew bulletin boards and other visual materials for teachers.

Following high school I attended Langston University and graduated with a baccalaureate degree in art education. I then joined the Air Force where I served for four years with stations in France, Philippins. Southeast Asia, and Alaska and New Mexico in the U.S. My first job after the Air Force was teaching art secondary education. I taught art eighteen years in Gary, Indiana, and in Oklahoma City.

I transitioned from teaching art to working as an administrator in the United Stated Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, at Langston University from which I retired after 22 years of service.

Although my career path diverged from art, I always wanted to paint and create and dreamed of doing so. After retirement I began water color painting and drawing. After studying oil painting with several instructors I turned to oil painting and graphic art.

My identity as an artist is landscape oil painter. My best work results when I paint in open air where I can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste the landscape. Sometimes I take photographs and paint from them, but nothing can replace painting in the actual setting.

My work has been shown in a variety art galleries in the Oklahoma area including the historic Gallery One in the Paseo District of Oklahoma City.