A native of Orange County, California, Bruce Sanford Day grew up on an orange ranch in Tustin. As a child, he played in the sunlit corridors or the orange grove his grandfather planted in 1908.

He developed an extensive butterfly collection, which inspired and influenced his feeling for shimmering light and color. Bruce’s devotion to his art grew to such an extent that he decided to enter Monterey Peninsula College in 1968 to major in art. He transferred to Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles where he studied under Professors Lauser Feitelson and Harry Carmean.