II am an 82-year-old artist living in Liberty. I have been making art since I was a little boy living in Ogden with my family. My father was always creative. He loved building wooden crafts and whittling small sculptures. He owned a neon sign business in Ogden, and my first job was helping him paint signs and blackout the neon tubing between the letters in his workshop.

 

When I was young, I was interested in drawing and painting. I went to Ben Lomand High School the first year it opened in 1952. I took art from Mr. Harvey, and I was on the yearbook art staff. I can remember drawing characters of my teachers and winning a scholarship for creating a poster for a Forest Service art contest.

 

I went to Weber College and majored in Commercial Art. After college, I worked as a technical illustrator for various Aerospace companies. In 1965 I started working for a production painting company with my cousin Morrell Weaver. Shortly after that experience, I decided to try something new in life. I moved to Aspen, Colorado, to immerse myself in landscape painting and my other passion, skiing.

 

In 1973 I moved back to Ogden, Utah, to raise my family, and I returned to work as a technical illustrator. I decided to design and build a cabin for my family in Ogden Valley. I was inspired by ski lodges from all of the resorts I had visited. I have since become passionate about building and design work. I have designed and built three homes in Ogden Valley and helped numerous friends design their homes. I draw the house plans by hand with pencil on vellum, giving them an artistic touch that computers dont. I enjoy creating detailed 3d models so that a novice can look past the blueprints and see what their home will look like.

 

My favorite medium is acrylic on masonite board. My illustration artwork was mostly pen and ink with an airbrush. I am inspired by my surroundings and focus mostly on landscapes and portraiture of loved ones.