I began painting at a very young age, eventually attending design school at Ball State University in Indiana. In my third year of school I went out to Arizona to study at Arcosanti, an experimental community based on the visionary architecture of Paolo Soleri. There I made friends with several artists from New York City, my first exposure to "serious" artists. I did not return to school, but got a job on the railroad based in Indiana, where I often took the train to Chicago or New York. This is where I got my real art education, meeting people, visiting studios, and attending sessions at the Art Students League in New York.
I travelled around the country, hitchhiking, working at carnivals and festivals, and in 1981 came back to my home town of Ft.Wayne, Indiana. Nine artists and myself started a cooperative studio in an historic, and unheated old building downtown, and we all exhibited our work there as well. At the same time I became an apprentice to Master Printmaker Craig Steketee at his shop, Stonetraces. There I learned the crafts of etching and lithography, and did my own work, as well as helping other artists produce prints. Craig closed his shop to move to California, but before he did we spent the summer building etching presses to sell and raise money for the move.
In 1983 I opened my own studio and printmaking shop, Toxic Press. I continued to make prints - editions as well as monotypes - and paint there as well. My main committment was to work every day, and was never much for exhibitions because they took time and energy away from work. Besides, people were interested in what I was doing and would come to the studio. I was more interested in that because it was a more personalized approach. Because of this I was receptive to a friend's suggestion in 1992. He had purchased a building downtown and invited me to take one of the first floor spaces to create a studio/ gallery. It would be a place where I could work and be accessible to the public. I took him up on the offer and had monthly open houses. I named the studio ATDE, for Art That Doesn't Exist, a loose reference to the printmaking process, Plato's cave, and the growing use of computer technology in artistic applications.
Since opening the printmaking shop I had become a regular customer at Twinrocker, a hand made paper mill in Brookston, Indiana. I loved the beautiful paper, and Catherine and Howard had become good friends as well. In 1993 Catherine invited me to the paper mill to learn about the process and create unique works of paper. This was the first of three visits in which I created several hundred unique and individual works. In 1996 the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester commissioned me to create an edition of prints for their Patron Print program. I created 150 sheets of paper, each one unique, and printed a silk screen print on each one.
In 1995 I moved to Rochester, New York. Since moving here I do what I have always done; create a studio where I can work every day, meet people and host open houses. I have taught with varying degrees of brevity at several universities here including Rochester Institute of Technology, Roberts Wesleyan, and the Creative Workshop of the University of Rochester. I also give workshops and have been a guest artist at many high schools. I am proud to have been a part of many artistic ventures. I had studios at Artisan Works from 2001 to 2007. I was a member and President of the Print Club of Rochester for many years. I have also had the good fortune to travel to do work on site. Most recently I went to France to do some work for Marc and Brigitte's beautiful private residence.
Our current adventure is Galvin Davis Studio at 339 East Avenue in Rochester. Since late 2001 Tom Galvin and I have been producing and developing new work there. I continue to work every day painting and making prints, some of which are posted on the web site.