Art has always been in my blood, but I took a circuitous route in becoming a full-time professional artist. In my junior year of college I signed up for a portrait painting class hoping to improve my GPA. Up until then my life had been all about sports. I had always been a doodler though, drawing in pencil and seeing the world in black and white. The thought of being an artist never crossed my mind until I discovered the world of oil painting. My portrait-painting teacher that semester greatly encouraged me and the seed was planted!