Phil Winninghoff was introduced to the art of oil painting while growing up on a ranch in the Flint Creek Valley in Montana when his grandfather saw the potential and bought the materials to get him started. He attended Montana State University and the University of Montana. He taught for two years at Montana State University and six years at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Phil worked as a corporate artist for ten years prior to his retirement in 1995. He has been painting, full time ever since, mostly landscapes in oil. His passion is communion with nature through his work.