Fox Cities Book Festival: Connecting writers and readers across our diverse communities.

I love to paint and draw ocean surf, and am fascinated by imagined cultures and places. I grew up on the California coast and began drawing beaches, waves and imaginary places while still in grade school. I studied art at California State University at Long Beach, at California College of the Arts in Oakland, and then architecture at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo. In 1987, my wife Vicki and I moved to the Midwest to raise our three daughters, yet I still consider the Pacific coast my spiritual home. Finding myself suddenly away from the ocean compelled me to spend a lot more time painting it. I've considered myself a full-time artist since 1990. In recent years, I’ve written books about my artwork, such as, An Artist’s Journey to Nevermore (2014) and The New Island Guidebook (2015). I also teach art part-time to high school kids, and I enjoy hearing the exploits of my three highly individualistic daughters. I work in watercolor, acrylic, and graphite pencil. My primary efforts are to share my joy of ocean surf and to continue developing the place I call, The Commonwealth of New Island.