My dad always encouraged my creativity. During my elementary school years, he taught me how to draw after dinner by sketching on napkins. When I turned 10, he enrolled me in art lessons. Proud of my artistic accomplishments, he hung one of my first childhood oil paintings (shown on the right) on his office wall for over twenty years until his death in 1994.

To honor my dad and to express gratitude for the opportunities he gave me to develop as an artist, I have dedicated one of my paintings to him. In June of 2009, my painting entitled, Intent, joined the public collection at Metro Health Hospital. On the wall next to the painting, a small plaque reads: “In loving memory of my dad.”