There is elegance in simplicity and the meaning of the words may be the same. 
I’ve always wanted to and have struggled as an artist to keep it simple. Sculptor Alberto Giacometti is an artist that I admire because he never made it complicated. His work speaks powerfully and quietly. I aspire to speak with such certainty in my own work.
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(Original post 12/23/09)
Working quickly capturing two models in short poses is a great drill. You have to make a decision about what is important in what you are seeing and want to capture on paper. You have to think fast and draw slow. Recently I’ve gotten to work with two drawing models, this was a five minute pose.
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(Original post 8/28/09)
Runway Layout
My first working experience was in the New York Fashion Industry, 7th Ave as it was called. I don’t think we thought of it as an industry.
I got to meet people like Richard Blauner, (who gave me two ties from A. Sulka) Jerry Silverman, Herbert Sondheim and others. I was one of the first to see the original dresses and coats as they came back from the Paris Fashion Shows. In other words – I was in shipping. But none the less, I still admired the beauty of what I was seeing.
This painting is a layout of a series of paintings having to do with fashion for a show this winter.
Originally posted August 22, 2008
Originally posted June 3, 2008:
Being uncomfortable is most often thought of as a way to have a breakthrough on what ever kind of creativity process you are working on.
After struggling for the last month or so, I am not so sure that being uncomfortable is everyone’s salvation.
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Originally posted March 21, 2008:
I wondered why someone would want to be a President. The toll that it takes. At first Obama did not look to be old enough to be President but that has changed. Now, though committed to going forward, he looks as if he has discovered the truth about heaven with the knowledge that there is no turning back. I’ve painted Senator Obama with his eyes looking down vs. the upward hopeful gaze he once maintained. I wish him good health.
After spending weeks following sports, you come away feeling that there is a top ten to every subject. Who are the top ten “Point Guards” to ever play the game. Who are the best Golfers, who is or was the best putter, who the best sports announcer. It seems fitting and at the same time unrealistic to declare “best” ever in sports. This concept I believe does not lend itself to the creative arts. I don’t see art as being at all competitive, it’s more about what you like or appreciate.
Because I’ve spent so much time following basketball, I’ve not worked on many paintings of my own. So I will share with you a few artists who’s work I feel have been important to me. (Key words “to me”).
These 3 artists were introduced to me by Harvey Dinnerstein. I feel that they have influenced how I see my own paintings.
I believe “The Tate” has the largest collection of Gwen John’s painting. On my only trip to London, I was disappointed to see that they only had one painting on exhibit, having just pulled a complete showing of her work a week or two before.
When Isabel Bishop passed away, there was a small and brief exhibit of her work in New York. I did not know much about her but loved her paintings. There are a few examples of her work here at the Phoenix Art Museum, and I always look for them when I visit the museum.
Mary Beth McKenzie, teaches at the Art Students League of New York. When I was living in New York, she had a one person show. She also has a good book (if you can find it) “A Painterly Approach”.
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Well I just completed something. This is an unauthorized painting of Cybel that I did from memory. This is a lot easier to do then you might think. I recognize my family in my paintings all the time and spend days trying to lose the resemblance.
Here is another wonderful painting of a bathroom sink by Cybel.
Playing with lines and shapes, discovering the uniqueness of the human face with the tip of a pencil. Really everything is unique and the only thing we spend hours looking at every day is someones face. There is so much we take for granted and miss. Our brains like to take short cuts.
This drawing is in preparation a larger painting that I am working on.
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