William "Dock" Lindley was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1954. His family moved to South Carolina when he was young and as he progressed through school it became evident that he possessed artistic abilities. Upon graduating from high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, he attended East Carolina University as a business major. After years of having a sales career, he decided to pursue his talents in art full time. Dock began by taking a correspondence class and received a diploma for studies in Master Art. He also obtained lessons from various local artists including Ester Donally of Wilmington. In his spare time he started painting -using mostly oil. For many years his hobbies have been diving and fishing. He also enjoyed taking underwater photographs on his frequent diving excursions. Hence, his appreciation of aquatic life began and proved to be very helpful in his future art endeavor.

Dock is a self-taught wood carver known for his realistic representations of over forty species of fish. All carvings are his original design with attention to detail in full and half mounts. He opened his own business in 2000 - Papa Doc's Art. His carvings have been shipped throughout the United States, as well as Mexico, Canada, France, Denmark, and England