"From Sea To Shining Sea", Happy New Year

It's a new year. This painting of a neighborhood stray cat, intends to make a positive statement. I used a stable composition with the tip of the mouse's nose, the gold finial of the flag pole and the foot of the pitcher forming an equilateral triangle. Stripes and sinewy curves are repeated. The path winds down to the Atlantic. It is sunset or sunrise.

"Nine To Five Warrior"

Have Blessed Christmas

I painted this in 1993 from a photograph of a German sculpture. The red yellow & blue make a positive almost happy feeling. The rose was painted from life.

"Out Of Egypt"

Case Western Reserve University, Art Studio Student Exhibition

Dustin Fisher drew a very graphic portrait of his brother. Dustin is a Physics Major and was one of the best students in the class. I'm writing a letter of recommendation for an Engineering Major who is applying to IIT, RISD, & SCAD for a Masters degree in Industrial Design. These science people are the best and most responsive students I've ever had.

I teach Design and Color I & II: 2D & 3D
Joanne Giordano teaches Fibers. Jinmeng Zhang took all 3 classes and is applying to Medical Schools. That's her wire sculpture, silk scarf, and stitched photo collage in the middle. I hope it helped her eye to hand motor skills. Jinmeng offered me a free operation when she becomes a surgeon, if I need one.
Lauren Kory and Mridu Kapil were very helpful in hanging the show. They really surprised me with an extra burst of energy at the end of the semester. Those are two of the projects above us: "Figure/Ground" and "Shapes In Space"

Maxwell Stern's Kinetic Sculpture, Arts 201

I give the 3D students a battery opperated motor and they design a kinetic sculpture. Max is an afficianado of everything hip hop: turntables, NYC subways, and graffitti.

Jinmeng Zhang's Kinetic Sculpture

Jinmeng used 4 cd's with spider & web images. The colors are inspired by the prismatic reflections.

Lauren Kwasniewski's Kinetic Sculpture

Lauren was deeply affected by a yellow jacket attack as a child. I hope she worked out some of the bad memories.

Portrait of Brian Walker

A friend commissioned this portrait in 1980. We had a photo session on the roof of his apartment in Hell's Kitchen. That is the world trade center in the background. Brian was at first freaked out that his eyes were closed. I was making a contrast of inner & outer worlds. New York is so crazy that looking inward is one way to find peace. What freaks me out, now, is that lone white cloud at the top of the towers.

preliminary sketch for Portrait of Brian Walker

I begin commissions with a small sketch. The basic composition, color harmony and size are planned. I like to hear feedback from the client. I can't ever remember having to change my initial ideas, but I am willing to accommodate suggestions.

"Self Portrait"

This image was drawn and carved into a piece of cardboard while I was looking into a mirror. My left hand was actually holding the drawing board. Layers of cardboard were peeled back to create the highlights. It was gessoed, rolled with black ink, and printed on an etching press. A surprising success, my teacher, Mr. Cassill called it the "sad poet from Ireland".

Portrait of James Bigwood

This portrait was painted from a black and white photograph. The technique of using broken color gives lots of realism to the flesh hues. There is actually lots of blue, grey and green in the skin color. Red highlights at the ears, corner of eye lids, and the knuckles give the figure life. I used this style and technique for the St. Charles saint portraits.

"Candlelight"

My homage to Georges de La Tour was a challenge and a lot of fun to paint. Every object was painted from life. The moth was a casualty of the screen door, not the candle. My art dealer told me that a young boy told his parents he wanted to be an artist after seeing it. Bon Chance you little one.

"Zeus And Nike"

The earliest angel images evolved from Egyptian female figures created with bird heads and wings about 4000 BC. These developed into the Goddess Isis image circa 1800 BC. The Greek Goddess Nike, 500 BC, was derived from these Egyptian precedents. The early Byzantine Christian Church, 400-600 AD, transformed the Greek & Roman prototypes into their own.

"Vessel of Honor"

Transparent planes of primary colors overlap creating a triangle. The female form is like a vase. This old painting, 1988, inspires me to paint a new still life with a Mrs. Buttersworth syrup bottle.

"A Secret Place"

Painted in 1988, I gave this one to dear Aunt Rosie who is now departed. That's my shadow.

"Truth And Healing"

I decided to paint three angel paintings with three different color harmonies based on each of the primaries. This is the yellow one. The pose is based on an ancient Byzantine icon. I think the blue painting needs some more work. The head is too small and I want to change the pose. The great thing about a painting is that you can easily change it.

"Love And Gratitude"

This is the red angle vase painting. The attribute of this angel is love and gratitude. The inspiration is a red figure Greek vase angel. I think this is the best of the three and it was sold to a collector in California, who has a very good eye. He also has another of my favorites: "Nocturne".

"Niche One"

It is one of the first niche paintings I did. There is a relationship between these and the cube paintings. It is the relationship between the curvelinear and the rectilinear. The dichotomy of organic and mechanical is there. Architectural drawing systems and building measurements are fascinating. I love to calculate the placement of bricks and the challenge of creating a convincing illusion.

"Angel"

I painted this in Paris, 1987. I found this slide and decided to post it after receiving an email from an old friend who said he is opening a new gallery in Marseilles. Ooh La La. Where's that passport?