Growing up in Maryland, my older brother Rob first introduced me to birds when he showed me a Cedar Waxwing in the leafy woods near our home in Maryland. It was 1970 and my father had just retired as a Navy pilot. Our family moved home to Fresno, the town of my parent’s upbringing, where my father opened a hobby shop.
Coming from a long line of artists, my mother Janice, a deeply talented woman who bestowed upon her six children, Doug, Rob, Brad, Craig, Jennifer and me, an appreciation of art. Through her fine work, teaching skills and the abundance of art books that filled our home, it was a sanctuary of creativity. My passion for birds and the combination of artistic energy that flowed through our home naturally formed my path in life. I took up illustrating birds in 1976, my senior year of high school.
I explored much of California as a young man, focusing on the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada and the coast of central and northern California. It wasn’t long before I began to expand my horizons toward the tropics. Mexico and Central America found me exploring the varied habitats that grace that vibrant part of the Americas. Explorations throughout the tropical Pacific aboard a NOAA research vessel and then a foray to the Andes, the Galapagos and the Amazon of Ecuador pushed my sphere of experience further. Visiting and then volunteering for, the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, both at the Bolinas Palomarin Field Station and the Farallon Islands, introduced me to the breathtakingly beautiful region of Marin County’s Point Reyes Peninsula.
Over the years, I have enjoyed creating bird illustrations for various organizations to adorn or enhance publications that have included books, scientific journals, magazines, newsletters and logos. In addition, I have worked on murals, taught drawing classes, had art shows, displayed at numerous Bird Symposiums and produced private commissions.
My most resent endeavor, has been a 14 year project illustrating a book entitled, “Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status and Distribution”, authored by Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino.
My workspace, The Wildlife Gallery” is located in Bolinas California where people are welcome to visit the studio and view my originals, prints and the various works that I have on display.
My wife Patricia and I live in Bolinas.