Born and raised in the USA in Michigan, over 60 years ago, I began painting by numbers at 8 yrs old progressed to freehand work in oils by the age of ten. I've been painting for most of my life and the only formal training in the arts was an Intro course in Art Methods and Media at University of Michigan- Flint. I work in both acrylic and oil color; usually on canvas but have been known to use other things as well. I have dabbled in watercolor and mixed media, also. It may seem odd in this technologically fortified age to prefer to paint by hand on canvas that which I see...more