"The Gilded Cage" Painting

I want art to inspire, uplift and to create a moment of joy or calm. It's not about a political or social statement. It's about a social movement toward human happiness. I create in paint the colour of Life. Born in San Antonio Texas and lived throughout the States with my family until our dad retired from the Airforce and we settled in Georgia. I created my first art at age 9. My dad took it to a lady that "knew" about art and asked if it was good enough and if they should encourage me to pursue the Fine Arts. Reportedly the answer he got was " Can you paint a rose like this? " He then framed it for me and became my first ever piece to hang on the wall. From then on it was kids art supplies and boxes of crayons for Christmas and Birthdays for the next couple of years. Occasionally, a kids art lesson too. Just like most people I joined the workforce right out of highschool while attending College. The "starving artist" label was too scary and too risky to try. Painting for me had become the "one-day" dream. Years had past and during a difficult time in my life I picked up the brush and palette. At the time I lived in St. George UT and I was inspired by the beauty and richness in color of the Southern Utah Canyons kissed by the dark blue sky. It felt so good to paint again and creating art was liberating.  Today I continue to paint and have been a professional artist for years. I love to bring Life to the canvas with colors that I mix myself. I use my own palette and I only work with 11 different colors. With them I create thousands of different ones. ​ ​