"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 gave the 3D students a battery operated motor and they designed a kinetic sculpture. Max is an aficionado of everything hip hop: turntables, NYC subways, and graffiti.

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, by David L. Swazey, was painted from a black and white photograph in the 40's. 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.