I began drawing at the age of four. My primary artistic influences during my formative years were Mad Magazine and The New Yorker. In grammar school I was always the class artist (with a specialty of drawing nude women; my work was much in demand!). At the University of Connecticut, after taking a great design/art class (taught by the current dean of Cooper Union, Robert Rindler) I rediscovered drawing and switched my major from oceanography to graphic design. Initially I had to keep this switch from my folks because I knew that I would not be able to answer their inevitable question, 'How are you going to make a living as an Artist?' I had to 'fes up when I brought my portfolio home and they saw nudes but no nudibranchs. By this time though, I discovered illustration and finally knew how I was going to make a living. For the past 24 years, I haven't looked back. Well, once I looked back, but I'll never do that again.