Billy Manthy was born in Pensacola, Florida with a severe hearing impairment. When he was 4 years old, he wore his first hearing aid which resembled a pocket radio with an earpiece. At the early age of three, he impressed his mother with a drawing of a bird. She knew he would become a great artist. Billy graduated in 1982 from The Pensacola School of Arts. He was a popular art student and was voted the most talented. During college years, he studied computer science, which was a waste of time because he was more interested in art. With his natural artistic abilities, he taught himself painting and faux finishing techniques. His father's relocation brought him to South Florida. Due to the boom of the real estate in the 1990's, he found that there was a demand in murals and faux finishing. He set up a studio in West Palm Beach, FL and ran a special events design business creating props and back drops for theater and private parties. Several years later, he became more involved in murals, faux finishing, and hand painting of children's furniture and toy boxes. Today, many of the homes from Newport, R.I. to Miami, Fl. have wonderful murals created by Billy Manthy.