South Carolina native Dale Cochran is an artist with a gift for revealing the uniqueness and beauty in things seemingly plain, illuminating the stories and spirits behind the ordinary — an old barn, a basket of pecans, a child caught in a moment of imagination, a crayon on pavement.

Dale was a child when he began his journey as an artist, lying on the floor beside his dad’s drawing board. While his dad worked at his moonlight job as a sign painter, Dale studied art instruction books, following the step-by-step guidelines.

	Dale courtroom sketching as a high school senior.

As a high school student, Dale experienced his first formal training. “I had no idea what perspective or contour drawing meant,” Dale says. As a junior, he broke his drawing arm just before the school year started. When he approached his teacher about dropping the class, her response was, “That’s okay.  You can draw with your left hand.” So that’s what he did.

Dale continued his studies at Anderson University, receiving an associate degree in art, and then Winthrop University, earning a bachelor’s degree in visual arts.

Dale has been professionally involved in the arts for more than 30 years as an award-winning artist, illustrator, instructor and graphic designer.