Around the age of 11, I began helping my father with his professional painting projects. He began to teach me things such as mixing paints from scratch, stenciling, stripping, design rollers and other techniques that were popular at that time. Throughout those years, my father handed down his knowledge, skill, and authenticity in a way that only a father could do. This set me on the path that I have since been traveling. 

In 1995, I came to Los Angeles, California only to discover the common popularity of all white walls being the norm, and this was a stark  difference from the elaborate interiors of Eastern Europe. Thus, I moved forward and spent my time working on exteriors in the New England area, where I would come to discover many of the techniques that have brought me here today. During the slow and harsh winters in Rhode Island, I began to visit historical mansions of the Gilded Age where I was first introduced to the beautiful gilded surfaces and the intricate painted imitations of marble, wood, and stones. This began a curiosity that would take me through different classes and painting schools throughout the US for the next few winters to come. 

While the many schools in the US taught me the basics of faux painting, wood-graining, and marbling; there was still much to be learned, thus I set my sights on the world renowned painting school, Van Der Kelen Painting Institute in Brussels, Belgium. 

In the summer of 2014, I placed my life on hold, and my belongings in storage, and took a leap of faith back "across the pond" and went to Brussels to finally hone the art that I have had such a passion for from a young age. For six months, it was nothing but sleeping, eating, and painting as I embarked upon a rigorous academic journey where I learned art forms and techniques  such as; wood-graining, marbling, beer glazes, linseed oil painting, turpentine painting, and the sciences of pigments, and so much more. In April 2015, I graduated the Van Der Kelen Institute with a Silver Medal. 

I travelled around the world gaining experiences, such as a beautiful house project in Dubai with 24K Gilded walls and large decorative panels, until finally, I would make my way back to Montana where I had been sneaking away to fly fish since 1997.