My life stated off in the arts, born into a pedigree of fantastic visual and musical artists. My great Uncle was an illustrator during WWII for the Boston Herald. My Grand mother was a very successful pianist and was most famous for her work with the USO during WWII. Both my mother's sisters are well known musicians one in which played on multiple movie tracks, and the other playing for well known symphonies in New England. My cousin is a well known percussionist and graduate of the New School. My brother and I both went VCU Art School in Richmond. He studied illustration and received the National Academy of Illustrators award straight out of college.

I, however, took an unconventional approach to my art career. My love of photography truly started the summer of 1995. My Mom's family has an assortment of eclectic friends due to their activities and success living outside of Boston through the 20th century. One of these friends was the late great photojournalist Lucien Aigner. I was extremely fortunate to not only be introduced, but spend a couple of weeks with Lucien at a Christian camp on Lake Winnipesauke, NH. My camera of choice at that time was an old Minolta XD-ll with a 50mm prime lens. My grand mother's travel camera. The stories that camera could tell would be phenomenal. Not to mention it is probably one of the last cameras that Lucien captured a photo.

For a week or so I would get a little time to walk around with Lucien. He was I think 94 or 95 at the time, so their wasn't a lot of walking. But his mind was sharp and he told great stories and provided fantastic insight into the world of photography. He even bestowed a great portrait secret of how he out smarted Albert Einstein to take his photograph. In short, the conversations with Lucien inspired me more than any other artist to this date.

I went on to Art school at the great VCU school of the arts. Photography was not a degree at the time, so I studied painting. From then on I considered myself a Fine Artist of painting and photography. While in Art school I received a full scholarship to ROTC. Joining the army was very calculated. My analysis of the majority of the work produced in school was critical of it's soul and depth. It was all technically good, but it lacked the breath of life. I wanted my work to have the soul of a life lived, much like a blues singer. I decided that I needed to experience life. My father and three generations before him were all Military men. These were all guys who have seen the peaks and valleys of the human existence. My thinking at the time was this experience is exactly what I needed to bring life, depth, and soul to my craft. I got more than I bargained for after that decision.

For the better part of 13 years I have worked with all levels of governments and agencies fighting multiple conflicts out front and in the shadows. All the while I always had my camera. Well, when it was appropriate. During that period I stopped painting and drawing, and focused on photography. This was more or less a logistical decision. I moved on average every two years around the US and Europe. It was difficult to throw away hundreds of dollars in chemicals and paints before a transatlantic move. However, I knew that I would always start painting again and that my skills gained as a photographer would support my conditioning as a fine artist.

During my time in service I photographed while in Special Forces, living in Sadr City Iraq, trips to Afghanistan while supporting small villages, and I walked most of the great cities of Eastern and Western Europe while taking part in more traditional operations.

This summer, for many reasons, I have decided that it was time to resign myself from service. The original goal was to do a 4-8 year tour to gain life experience. This goal changed a couple of times. Upon moving to Colorado it became clear that it was time to embark on a new journey. A journey that takes my skills as an intelligence professional, artist and leader and apply them to become a very successful Fine Artist. I understand that this path is difficult, but after surviving the last 13 years I am sure I have the drive, willpower, and skill to leave a lasting legacy for my family.

That is what's going on now. Over the next year and change I will be transitioning from the US Army. I have started to set the conditions to establish TewTam as a business. Simultaneously I am applying to go back to school and receive my credentials to teach. I love training young minds, it keeps one young and sharp, and improves ones craft as well.