I live in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
I mostly do my artwork these days. I draw portraits. I teach watercolor painting at the nearby Pennsylvania State University. I also show my work in pencil, watercolor and oil paint at Galleries. That is if I am not making dinner or a hamster cage. While my wife works as middle-school counselor, I'm also the stay-at-home dad for my three boys!
I'm not art trained. I have a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in Psychology. And before portraits, I was mainly a business owner. As for my ability in art, I got great training from a great teacher in High School. There I learned to use different media and aim my knack for details at capturing nature, drawing my first portrait from a photo. Nowadays full time since 2007 I've been learning to use pencil to capture faces. It's not always easy. Each portrait turns out to be an education . . . and a pleasure.
I try to make a striking resemblance in my portraits. But I try not to make them look smooth and blended like a photo. I feel if I wanted a photo, then I should use a camera! Instead I strive to make them rougher especially toward the edges of the paper. I do this on one hand because I like the pencil marks. And I do it on the other hand for a challenge. Since my style comes from putting the pencil marks on the paper quickly with few revisions. This makes being accurate difficult―and fun! 
The eyes are the only exception. I smooth and blend them to look photographic hoping the contrast will draw your attention. Because to me the eyes are where the resemblance is.
