He received his BFA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Printmaking and Drawing, and his MFA in Printmaking at The Ohio State University in Columbus. He is interested in imagery that evokes methodical observation motivated by curiosity and recollection, and fostered by a rich southern tradition of written and oral histories. As a native Southerner, he has a first-hand understanding and rich background in such belief systems, ranging from superstitions regarding weather, planting seasons, suspicious tall tales of derring-do, premonitions and symbols of good or ill fate, to curious religious convictions and rituals.