I distinctly recall a day in the first grade when my teacher allowed me to assist my classmates during art period. That innocent, yet watershed, event led me to believe I would be an artist when I grow up. Then there was the very first day I walked into Kenneth Quinn’s seventh-grade, elective art class at Whitten Junior High School. It was my first genuine rite of passage — a thundering stamp of clarification. The chalk line demonstration drawing of a lily that appeared to be alive on the blackboard and his random graphite pencil portraits of students grabbed me by the hand and heart. They were practically calling out to me, 
“From this point forward, this is definitely your path. You must never, never turn back.”
I never wanted to leave that room. 

Although those were defining moments, it has taken a lifetime of being the schoolboy “art guy”, a Bachelor of Science degree in Art with emphasis in Advertising Design from Mississippi College, and a 40-year, award-winning career as a Production Artist / Art Director and Advertising Designer to ultimately find that drawing with graphite is the goal of this course.

I do not know exactly why I am so drawn to the medium of graphite, or why I strive to pursue such a realist direction. I can’t consciously say that I am influenced by any formal academic philosophies or traditions. I am mainly intrigued by great realist artists, whose work I observe and find myself saying, “Wow, I wish I had done that,” all the while knowing that striving to achieve their degree of perfection can be intensely torturous. The reward is seldom financial, but comes when the work is finally finished and a viewer finds an intimate enough reason to stop and not move forward. Their transfixed delight is also mine. What artist doesn’t live for those moments?

I do know this. Erma Bombeck once said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything You gave me.” I wish I could be the one getting credit for that quote, because I could never have said it better or agree more. I am of a strong belief that God bestows gifts, abilities and talents upon everyone for the purpose of being used for His glory. When you use those gifts accordingly, His grace and provision is more than sufficient. Like Erma, I do not want to have to fumble for an explanation when I’m standing before Him and he asks, “I handed this to you, why didn’t you use it?” I truly believe that I have sensed this calling since that day in the first grade. So, before I get any older, this joy and privilege of glorifying Him by drawing with graphite pencils is what I’m going to pursue.

I am available for commissioned work. Please contact me with any questions or comments.
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