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Many people have been influential
to me throughout my career, and I would like express my heartfelt
thanks to each and every one.
Where do I begin? My teachers throughout my educational years
in Elementary and High School must have seen a spark some place,
and they were very encouraging to me in my formative years. The
instructors that I worked under at Layton School of Art in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, gave me the formal and classical art education that
is very hard to come by in today’s art world. I have had
many friends, artists and others that have influenced me and
continue to do so throughout my life.
So many people have given me
so much, but the two people that gave me the most were my two
parents, Harold and Mildred Backhaus. Bless their hearts, they
have both since passed on. They were two people that loved life
and shared their love of life with their four children. Farmers
by trade they raised their family in a small community in Wisconsin.
My first introduction to anything
having to do with art came from observing my Father sketching
on a piece of scrap paper at the dinner table. He had no formal
art training but had a natural eye for observing and mimicking
what he saw with pencil on paper. As a youngster hardly big enough
to see over the edge of the table, I grasped tight with my hands
and stood on my tip toes to see as close as I could. At that
moment I was as captivated and hooked for life.
I believe at that point I knew
what I wanted to do with any spare time I had, and at that age,
a little kid has a lot of spare time. I drew, drew and drew some
more, and when I had ran out of pencils and paper, my parents
found more. Holidays and Birthdays were celebrated with many
gifts in the art category. If I wasn’t drawing, I was off
exploring the great outdoors, one of my other great passions.
Those early years of exploration
gave me the wanderlust spirit that I have today. I have a nomadic
force that fits the perfect style of the outdoor painter. Today
I love both my time at home in the studio and the time I have
to explore the wonderful world. My days of education have not
ended; today experience is the best teacher for me. I continue
to learn every day. The day that the learning stops will be the
day I stop.
My gratitude goes out to many;
I have been blessed so many times over.
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