I was born and raised in Alaska, studied Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle, and practiced as a free lance Architect in the San Francisco Bay area for 35 years. My wife Patricia and I worked for nearly two years in Russia as business consultants, lived in London for a year while I was recovering from a broken leg and have explored Eastern Europe, Russia and China in the last few years, on our own and usually traveling by train.

I have been drawing since the age of six when my father gave me a stack of blank telegraph paper and I produced a "collection" of very freehand pencil diagrams of forts, roadways, treehouses, and tunnels.

Architecture, of course demands precise and detailed drawing techniques but sketching from life forces you to loosen up and work quickly.

As the classic "Starving Student", I traveled with a sketchpad and pen since I could not afford a camera. I still prefer to sketch with a pen and pencil when on the road rather than take photographs. I realized that drawing in the field, whether people, places or things, forces you to stop and think about what you see. What to depict. What to leave out.

I discovered too that drawing is a great "icebreaker" and that people cannot resist looking over your shoulder to offer "advice", regardless of language.

 Dennis
 (Paphos)