“During my youth, the constant presence of my great-grandfather’s art hanging above me throughout my home inspired me to love beauty and to pursue that beauty through my own painting.” Mr. Skidd received his BA in Philosophy at the Thomas More college of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, and an MFA in Painting in 2002 from The New York Academy of Art in Manhattan. Mr. Skidd also studied privately in Rome and Oxford. He now lives in Scottsdale with his wife and two children. In April 2007 the designers of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reviewed my portfolio and requested a donation of my metal and canvas art for use in decorating their “makeover” home in Pinon, AZ. The episode featuring the new home and Mr. Skidd’s artwork airs in the fall of 2007. Mr. Skidd’s artwork is an exploration into new techniques while drawing on a formal education and wealth of experience. He is constantly searching for simple expressions of aesthetics. “I love the limitless avenues of possibility in metal, the three-dimensionality of the steel and simply the fun of creating art in this rigid yet flowing medium.” Mr. Skidd uses mild steel, which he then bends, welds, grinds, and seals with an acrylic interior/exterior clear coat. The piece is then painted with acrylics (always adding “interference” colors). The entire piece is then coated with a UV Stabilized exterior polyurethane gloss clear coat.