One of the first paintings that influenced me was John Singleton Copley’s “Watson and the Shark” when my mother took me to the MFA at eight years old. I was taken in by Copley’s rendering of the translucent ocean and decided right then that I wanted to learn how to paint like him. Growing up in Needham, I was lucky to have encouraging high school art teachers, but unfortunately was discouraged from art college by my parents who feared I would end up a “starving painter.”

To get me through the agony of studying business at University of Lowell, I painted self-taught surrealism, then landed a job as a typesetter for a small graphic arts shop. Within a few months, I took studio night classes at art colleges and museums to learn graphic design and commercial illustration — a gateway that opened a lucrative 40-year career in Environmental/Graphic Design; Corporate Art Consulting, and Commissioned Installation Artist for Children’s Hospital.