Portrait Commissions

Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were living in a condo while their dream house was being built. Char called me to paint their portraits after seeing "Look Inside Yourself" at the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art (now MOCA). CCCA actually promoted local artists way back then. I took photos for reference. Charles enjoyed dressing up.

"Ancient Music"

My landlady and lord, Sue Berry and Michael Crouch posed for the shadows in this painting.

Listening to music is an important part of my creative process. Classical works best. My father was a great singer and jazz aficionado.

"Growing Up"

This was painted in 1994 at Belvoir Terrace, where I was teaching painting. Some of the students were asked to pose for their shadows.

I recently saw the movie "How To Draw A Bunny" documenting the life of the late collage artist, Ray Johnson. He often made collage portraits of artists by tracing their shadows.

Portrait of George Stiros

This portrait is done in the "See Through Greek Vase" style, circa 1986.

I wonder how many people believe in reincarnation. I would like to. As a kid I would draw pictures in front of the fireplace mantle which had two Ionic fluted columns. I somehow came up with the idea to make cardboard sandals, which didn't last very long on the concrete pavement of E. 214th Street. As an adult, a psychic friend told me I was a Greek model who wanted to be an artist.

"Pagoda With Seven Buddhas"

Here is an elevation of a pagoda painted in an ambiguous cube shape. The shadow is a self portrait. The seven levels of the pagoda correspond to the seven chakras. 1990, oil on shaped canvas