After studying art at various Junior colleges, I refined my artistic skills at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art and at the Animation Guild under the tutelage of such masters as Glenn Vilppu, Karl Gnass, Nathan Fowkes, Ignat Ignatov, Will Weston and Rey Bustos.  Workshops with Ovanes Berberian, Henry Yan, Steve Huston and Catherine Anderson have also been helpful, but I owe my greatest artistic debt to study with my plein air, colorist mentor Elio Camacho and my impressionist mentor Vadim Zangninian.  

I am a retired City Manager, hold two Master’s degrees, neither of which is in art, and am a former Army airborne/ranger/green beret having served with Special Forces in Viet Nam.  My wife, Debra Kurita, is also a former City Manager and is currently helping the City of Bell recover from their recent debacle. I have two sons, Wyatt and Skyler, both of whom enjoy ice hockey.