About The Artist

I was born and raised in the rural western part of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Along with my four brothers, we spent many hours exploring the wooded hills and fields that surrounded our home out in the country. These early experiences developed in me a love of the country, farms and barns, and the communities and people living around me.

In 1979, I moved to Lancaster County, eventually getting married and settling in Salisbury Township. It wasn’t until 2006 that I first picked up a paint brush. It was a desire to produce a folk art-styled image of my boyhood home that opened a door to a talent that had lain dormant and undiscovered for 48 years (Who knew... perhaps an old dog can learn a new trick or two!). This first ‘brush’ with painting opened a new world that has beckoned me to the canvas ever since.

From that time on, I've focused on combining my love for history with painting, rendering images of local towns and historical buildings. The process typically includes spending time in local historical societies researching old photographs, reading books and articles, and occasionally, finding that ‘old timer’ who likes to chat about the old times and how it was when the "old school house was just one room". Those true stories and old photos go into the mix. The result is nostalgic, historically-based images that focus on the communities, families, and history of Lancaster and Chester counties.

While my first images were in the Americana or ‘Primitive’ style, I also depict subjects in a more realistic style. That’s one of the great things about painting – it’s your world – you decide how it should be. The possibilities are limitless!   

  Photo Credit: Keith Baum