My work is a collection of realistic oil portraits and roses drawn from pictures and real life. Although I originally started drawing portraits with pen and ink, I am now mainly working in oils. I record the idea with a sketch and then put the Transparent Red Oxide layer down and let it dry for days. I paint primarily in my studio at home with Tony Bennet, or Lisa Fisher playing in my earphones. The portrait should capture the individual at a moment in their lives, but make them seem eternal. My first class in art wasn’t until my Senior year in high school and my second was 28 years later. I hope to paint commissions for homes, schools, and banks. My goal is to capture the personality and soul of the client so the viewer thinks the portrait is breathing. I love to convey a person’s life story through oils.