Painting professionally for many years have led Phil Starke to a place of artistic prominence on an international level. His paintings are not only sought after by individual and corporate collectors, but have gained the attention of museums, galleries and invitational exhibitions worldwide. Phil has been painting professionally for 28 years. His interest in art began when he was a young boy living in Europe where he had the opportunity to enjoy the works of great masters in the many museums he visited in Italy and Germany. He studied formally at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he received his fine arts degree in 1981. He is an artist member of: the California Art Club (CAC) and the Oil Painters of America (OPA), and a Signature Member of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP). Phil's paintings have been written about and appeared in numerous national magazines. SouthwestArt Magazine featured one of his paintings on its cover in its November 2001 issue, and in February 2003, ran a feature article titled “Our National Parks”, which included a segment on Phil’s painting, “Tall Grass Prairie”. His work also has been published in other national magazines including Art of the West, Western Art Collector and Legacy of the American West. His work is among those published in the book, Land of Sunlight, Contemporary Paintings of San Diego County by James Lightner. From landscapes to figures, and plein-air to studio painting, Phil continues to find inspiration in his work in the Midwest, West and Southwest, where each region has its own unique landscape and color palette. Choosing to share this passion and inspire others, Phil also teaches workshops, helping other artists develop their own individual talent. Formerly based in Kansas City, artist Phil Starke now lives and works in Tucson, Arizona.