Biography

I was born in Yokosuka, Japan, in 1950 and travelled, with my family, between the USA, Australia and Japan, until they finally settled in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1960. I graduated from De Anza high school in 1967 and received an Associate in Arts Degree from Contra Costa College in 1969. While studying at college, I worked as a political cartoonist for the Lafayette Sun and the college newspaper, The Advocate. I also had some success as the lead singer in a rock ‘n’ roll cover band, called The Basement Floor.

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In 1969 I went to live in Perth, Western Australia. After attaining an Associateship in Design from the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University), I worked as a graphic designer and semi-professional actor for three years and was granted membership into the Western Australian Theatre Company.
   
In 1975, I joined the Art Gallery of Western Australia as an Education Officer/Graphic Designer. I was in charge of initiating, administrating, promoting and touring art exhibitions throughout the State. It was during this time, that I became involved in drawing, watercolour and printmaking.

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I also freelanced as a photographer, and in 1982, discovered that I could use my photographs as a reference for creating prints. I was fortunate enough to meet Ann Joel who owned a Public Relations company, and with her help and promotion, I was exhibiting my art within a year. 

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I completed both a Diploma of Printmaking from the Western Australian School of Art, Design & Media and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Curtin University in 1990. In 1992, I accepted an offer to further my career as an artist, so travelled to Tokyo, Japan where I taught English while regularly exhibiting my artwork.

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While in Japan, I met the late Prof. Keith Howard (1950-2015) who introduced me to non-toxic printmaking. After returning to Perth, Western Australia, in 1996, I taught digital imaging at the Western Australian School of Art, Design & Media. In 2000, I decided to go back to the USA to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York State.

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During my two years in the MFA program, I invented a 4-colour Intaglio-Type photographic printmaking technique that was published in Prof. Howard's third non-toxic printmaking book, entitled The Contemporary Printmaker : Intaglio-Type and Acrylic Resist Etching (2003). After graduation, I taught digital imaging, web design and printmaking at RIT and Monroe Community College (SUNY).

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In 2005, I returned to Perth, Western Australia and taught English at several TAFE centres and also enrolled in the Cert IV in Training and Assessment course at SwanTAFE, completing it in 2008.

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Later that year, I was approached to spearhead the art department for the International Baccalaureate (IBO) Visual Arts programme, at Beijing Huijia Private School, in China. I worked as the HOD until July of 2020. I now reside back in Perth, Western Australia and teach drawing at the Galleria Art Studio in Morley.