Growing up in San Francisco, I was drawing portraits by the age of 13. At 14, I won a city-wide contest for a portrait of a friend. In college, I majored in design and illustration. At 21, I moved to New York City to begin a career as an illustrator, and soon focused on the study of fine art.

My New York training included figure drawing with Jack Potter at the School of Visual Arts and a two-year masters program in painting at Hunter College. During the years that followed, I studied and worked in a variety of visual art disciplines while maintaining a career in another field.

After moving back to the San Francisco bay area, I began drawing pen and ink portraits for people of themselves, their homes or their pets. I soon discovered that a pet dog or cat was as endearing a subject for me to paint as it was for their humans to have. There is clearly an important need for these beloved household members to be celebrated or remembered in a special way.

Today I continue to enjoy creating delightful portraits by capturing the spirit of these beloved companions from photographs by the people who love them.