Born in Yonkers, New York in 1948, Bruce spent most of his life in professional golf, construction management and real estate development before discovering art. Bruce taught drawing at the University of New Brunswick for three years and currently gives private lessons in his studio and conducts occasional workshops. He has also acted as a juror at plein air festivals and tries to accommodate requests as his schedule allows.
Since 2003, much of Bruce's work has been done en plein air or, literally, outside in the open air, and usually in one session. While still preferring to paint from life, he plans on balancing his schedule with more studio work in the future. From his belief in the value of direct painting, Bruce founded Plein Air Painters of New Brunswick in 2011 as a way of furthering the practice of outdoor painting in his region.