I was born in Hollywood in 1949 to two theatrical parents.  My father made his living as a photographer, and I went on shoots with him from a very young age.  I’ve always loved photography.

My feelings about making art by hand were different altogether.  My earliest memory of working with paint is from kindergarten, when I wasn’t let out for recess with the other kids since I was too slow at finishing my finger painting!  At home I remember coloring books and carefully coloring within the lines.  By fourth grade, I decided that I “couldn’t draw”, when my contributions to the school mural looked “amateurish”.

Cathleen, Age 4
Copyright @ 1953 Bill Cogan

So I was more than a little surprised and happy to discover one day in my early 50’s that I could draw a perfect likeness of something.  Realizing that now I could study art, I took my first art class with a great group of 18 to 20 year olds at a junior college.

Since I’m obviously a slow learner (kindergarten again!), it took me over four years to “get” this idea of painting.  I paint to my own aesthetic taste.  I’ve found that for me, it’s about creating an inspired, transported state of mind, and then letting the paint, the water and the brush express that state of mind on paper or canvas.