Blog

This blog traces my influences, studio practice, learning, and teaching of art.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"Family" oil on shaped linen

This little one is like a shrine and dated 1954.
I would have been 2 years old then.
A Cleveland critic said the arches remind him of a tacky Italian restaurant. A Cape Cod dealer said he couldn't frame them and, "Nothing sells a painting like a gold frame." A true friend said," You paint niches because you think of all of life as being sacred."

"Dancing In The Mirror"


This painting was formerly titled "Dancing In The Light".
I explored the idea of the cartoon reflections streaming across
the mirror and becoming some thing more. I like the idea of using cartoon graphics as symbols. I had been heavily into yoga and meditation. Spending time at Swami Satchidananda's ashram in Yogaville, Virginia was a joy and a healing respite from my difficult NYC life. The light streaks become the rays become the chakras.