My name is LeRoy Jepson. I was born in 1954 and by the time I started elementary school, ​I discovered that I was blessed when I had a pencil in my hand. In 1973, I enrolled at Mount Hood Community College. While there, I had two professors tell me that I would probably be on my own in the classes because my drawings were so much better than other students. The professors needed to focus their time on the more emergent students, which still to this day doesn’t make any sense to me.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the funds to continue with school at the time. I chose to put my education on hold and focus on work to save money to hopefully return to school one day.

   I married an amazing woman in 1980, had sons in 84′ and 88′, and went on to hold a 34-year career in the print industry.  After I left the print industry, I began a job at a solar tech company, making specialized industrial wire. During this time the government was having issues with trades between other countries. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Due to the circumstances of the Trade Act, I was given the opportunity to return to school.  44 years later, I enrolled at Flathead Valley Community College.  While my creative nature usually comes from a pencil…now I am learning through a computer.  I’m advancing my creative possibilities with technology, but still enjoy returning to my roots, a pencil in hand.

   Through all of life’s twists and turns, one thing that never changed was my love for drawing.  I’ve always sketched on paper to pass the time. Whether on a piece of mail while on the phone, or on the Sunday bulletin while at church. I specialize in looking at a photograph and being able to transfer it to paper via graphite pencil.  I’ve come up with logos for sports teams and thanks to my sons, I’ve had my fair share of last minute projects when they were younger.

   Draw, sketch, create…. however it’s said, for over 60 years, this has been a passion of mine and always will be.