I was born in the Bayview District of San Francisco, California, USA in 1959. Lived there until our family moved to Martinez, California (Birthplace of Joe Dimaggio) in 1968.
I started painting when I was 11 with the wonderful painter, Mingon Kimes, who taught painting in her home. As a youngster, I had a lot of creative projects going on. Once I took a Saturday class in puppet making and I produced a puppet show, "Rabbit Stew", for my sister and her friend's birthday parties. I tried my hand at making movies. I got involved with theatre class at school.
I went to the California College of the Arts and Crafts (now the College of the Arts) and earned a BFA and then a MFA.
I live and work in Martinez, a small town, with my wife, Artist and Graphic Designer, Susan Sharman, and our cat Pepper, who is very indifferent to the arts, except the culinary type.