Stephen and Cynthia have been painting together for 30 years, in addition to their individual work. Stephen grew up on the San Francisco peninsula during its rural period. He attended the College of San Mateo and studied under Alanson Appleton and Robert Bowman, then California College of Arts and Crafts where he studied under Ralph Borge, Robert Bechtel, Roy De Forest, Arthur Okamura and Jimmy Suzuki. Cynthia majored in Art at Skidmore College, and attended The School of Visual Arts in New York.