I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Originally, what sparked my interest in art was comic strips, comic books, and cartooning in general. Just prior to college I "discovered" the field of illustration, and ended up majoring in illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Several years later, I received a Master's Degree in Illustration from
Syracuse University.

After getting my Bachelors Degree, I moved back to the Bay Area, and started freelancing as an illustrator, working for every conceivable type of client. Eventually, I began to find most of my work in the publishing world; first doing book jackets, and eventually, writing and illustrating children's books, which is what I still do to this day.

Four months after graduating from Art Center, I was hired to teach Figure Drawing and Perspective at The Academy of Art in San Francisco. A year later, I was hired at San Jose State University to teach in their illustration department (now the Animation/Illustration Department) and I've been teaching there ever since.