She hopes that through her work she is able to evoke hope, happiness, and understanding and sometimes even sadness, despair or anger. She continues to garner praise and place highly at juried shows and exhibitions in her adult career. A talent and appreciation passed down from her grandmother and mother, Tuggle excelled early in her career winning awards as a student..
. He studied painting and figure drawing at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois, where he first worked in realism, but found the style too time-consuming.