I would like to think I come from humble beginnings.  The first thirteen years of my life were with two siblings and a single mother.  We didn’t always have much, but I had imagination, art, and encouragement.  In 1989 I was accepted into a summer art program at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  That same year, we moved to Morganton, North Carolina, where I enrolled in several art classes at Freedom high school.  It was there that I was exposed to several artistic challenges and felt myself develop with the guidance of some amazing instructors.  An art degree was a real academic possibility, but financially out of my reach.  Feeling defeated, I decided to enlist into the US Navy, where I spent several years as a machinist.  After my service, I bounced around from career to career, trying to find the right fit.  It wasn’t until I met my wife, Jenna, that I found my way back to becoming a professional artist.  With her endless and selfless support, I delved back into exploring the possibilities of what art had to offer.  I experimented and grew more than I ever thought could be possible.  That was about the same time I purchased my first camera.  It was the most basic entry level DSLR I could afford at the time.  I was slow at first in learning the range of options in photography.  For almost ten years I travelled with it and photographed an uncountable number of landscapes.  Hopefully most of them will never see the light of day.  I was more of a hobbyist in those earlier days.  In 2018, I decided to throw my hat into an industry that was already over-saturated, full time portrait photography.  I could not have wished for a more perfect career.  The challenges of capturing special moments is almost magical.  Each day offers endless possibilities.