Phillip R. Spence was born on May 7^th, 1979 in Washington DC.  Interested in art at an early age he took pride in his drawing ability as a young boy, producing pictures of Transformers and laser cars.  By his sophomore year of High School he began to take steps towards a serious career in art.  At one point the young artist would attend art classes seven days a week.  Aided by his teachers and peers at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and a group mentors and fellow art students at the Corcoran Art Mentorship Program, Phillip developed a portfolio of drawings and paintings that earned him a place at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Despite creative tendencies seen in his small scale abstract paintings of the time Phillip dedicated much of his energy to becoming a better illustrator.  Upon graduating college with a BFA in illustration, Phillip decided that the business of freelance illustration was too precarious and felt that his abstract paintings were a more fruitful direction.