My mission is for the art that I create to show the beauty, happiness and all the other wonderful things in life. I also have another goal for my art and can best describe it with this analogy: I love music and when I hear a powerful song; I feel alive. I can feel the music through out my entire being. I want my art to make other people feel that way. One of the most wonderful parts about being an artist is seeing people's eyes light up when they see my work. I am a self taught artist. I have been painting since I was 12 and the only art class I have ever took was in junior high, however I do read lots of technical art manuals and find them very useful. Some of the best ones I have found include How to Paint Realistic Skin Tones, Painting the Effects of Weather, and my favorite The Best of the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. Many people ask me how long it takes to do a painting...the truth is that is just depends on the painting. I have finished a landscape within 3 hours of starting it and it has also taken me three months to finish another. It all depends on how many layers of paint are on the painting and how much detail work is involved. I try to make each painting unique. I don't make any type of prints as I do not want to devalue my paintings. When one of my paintings sell, there will never be another like it.