John Michael Carter was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his first studies in drawing at the age 16 with his father E.L.Carter, a commercial artist . In 1968 he attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. In 1970 Mr.Carter moved to Los Angeles where he attended the Art Center College of Design. There he received a background in the major classical schools of painting and graduated with a B. F. A. Degree in 1972. For ten years Mr. Carter taught drawing and painting for the University of Kentucky at Jefferson Community College in Louisville, Ky. . He also has been a frequent guest instructor at art workshops across the country including the Scottsdale Artist School, the Dallas Arts League and the Arts Club of Cincinnati.