"Herculese, Artist, & Model"

I painted this in 1986, showing a jar of that body building-high protein powder, my shadow, and a vase with Herculese on it. Reminds me of the friend who said that in a past life I was a model who wanted to be an artist.

"Stop It Herculese"

A favorite theme is Herculese escaping from a fight with the Lion.

"Saltmarsh At Wellfleet"

Plein air is French for open air. I love to paint plein air because ones senses are focused. There is a limited time to capture the scene, so speed and economy of means are crucial. Unnecessary details are eliminated. (There is a pier and many houses in the distance which were not painted in.) I remember exactly how I felt last year in late July while painting this. At low tide the tiny fiddler crabs came up out of their sand holes to keep me company, each with their one large flailing claw. When my tendinitis flares up, I think of them. This painting and others like the Greek vase/wine ones can be seen at Kendall Gallery in Wellfleet, on Cape Cod.

How I Feel After Painting My But Off For 30 Years, When My Tendonitis Flares Up

Maybe Duchamp was right: Just quit making art and play chess. But I never thought art was a game. I certainly didn't want to play his anti- art game. (I know what Art is, and it is not an intellectual game. Puns and urinals do not give me goose bumps.) I can't paint for more than 45 min. with out the tendinitis flaring up. I am getting into teaching: BIG TIME. It is time to give back.

"Bacchanalomania"

An art dealer returned this painting to me and I reworked it. There were some obvious details that to my eye needed to be fine tuned. I added a figure in the wine glass, a laurel wreath in the walking figure's hand, and a grape on the cork.

"Peel Me A Grape"

It was fun to obscure the dart decoration near the foot of the vase with a wine bottle. The half circle arc shape, following the line of grapes and figures creates a most pleasing and peacefull composition.

"Milk And Honey"

All of the objects were painted from life except the Egyptian statue which was painted from a photo. I remember painting this at Belvoir Terrace where I sometimes did painting demonstrations during class. One student suggested I add the apple slice to symbolize the sweetness of life. Another student was intrigued by my technique of using two colors simultaneously to paint pitted stone texture. "Aha! I knew it was a trick." she said.

"Toys Of The Dark Ages"

In 1995 I bought these very realistic plastic toys for one dollar each in the inner city neighborhood where my studio was located. Before painting the guns, I easily removed the orange plastic tips with pliers. These tips were presumably added to distinguish the toys from real guns. How can we expect our children to resolve conflict in a safe and sane way when this is what they play with? Around the same time a youth was shot and killed by police who thought his toy gun was real.

" I Can't Tell A Lie"

Tax time makes us think of wanting to save money.

Our economic stimulus checks haven't arrived.

Maraschino cherries have artificial color and no pits but the fancy ones have stems.

"Bhikshu, The Monk"

Chinoiserie

Made by the Chinese

A Gold Buddha

The Monk

Waits

Patiently

Everything Is

Made in China

"From Empty To Full"

Another moon highlights on the clouds, backlights on the figures, and reflects on the vase.

"Twilight Dancers"

The moon is full
Her hand obscures his face

"Music Festival"

This limited edition lithograph was made for the Hudson summer concert series. Notice the bandstand. That is Anita Exline's flute. She was the music director in 1994.

"Music Lover / Groupie"

I always thought this painting would make a great rock concert poster. I used the images of the leather jacketed rocker and the classical lyre player on a 10 foot tall guitar sculpture. I am currently repainting the whole composition for the second time.

"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.

"Step To The Music"

"Ladder"

The focus of my art is the human figure in geometry. Sounds"Classical" doesn't it? That is what my Yale school mate, Barbara Kassel told me.
This was painted in NYC, 7 years after Yale. It is a self portrait shadow, grasping for the truth.

"Deborah"

Deborah was my shadow model in this portrait of her which was commissioned by her mother in New Jersey. Her shadows were projected directly on the canvas. The smaller silhouettes became little girls. This idea was further developed in "Infinite Vibration" and "Growing Up".

"Infinite Vibration"

This painting is one of my favorites and I reluctantly left it with an art dealer in the East Village. After moving out of NY, I called to have it returned. He said it had been punctured and wanted to buy it for a fraction of it's worth. I demanded it back and it is one that I refuse to sell. I made some offset reproductions.

The title "Infinite Vibration" is related to Eastern mystical ideas about sound and levels of existence.

"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.