"Music Makes The Dance"

The kithara was an ancient Greek stringed instrument. My first real solo show was at Mario Mainetti Gallery in Basel, Switzerland. I left this painting in Basel, as a gift to the Klein's who gave me the key to their downstairs apartment for two weeks. The wife was a dancer.

"With The Trust Of A Child"

This was painted some time in 1988. The title is a verse from long forgotten pop song, I think.

"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.

"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".

"Gladiolus"

A friend who knew he was dying, bought this painting. Maybe he liked it because there wasn't much to think about when looking at it. One can appreciate the movement of the lines and the gradation of the blossoms from small to large.

"Hera"

She was the goddess of women, childbirth, and marriage. Zeus cheated on her constantly. A nymph named Echo had the job of distracting Hera from knowledge of Zeus's escapades. She cursed Echo to only be able to repeat the words of others. Neoclassicissm can be a curse if the repeating of motifs leads only to the past. A painter, R. Ryan said, "Neoclassicism is cheating."

"Wake Upon Another Shore"

Someone called these types of paintings my "see through vase paintings". We can see the world, the ancient life in a vase.

"Sugar"

A Yogi once asked me "What tastes better? Lemon and Lemon or Sugar and Lemon? He was teaching me a fundamental truth about life and love. No, those aren't ants jumping on the grapefruit.

"Sally Ride"

The first woman astronaut went to outer space in our life time. Things certainly are moving right along. This mobile was made in 1984 for a show about domesticity. I had thoughts about mobility, changing sex roles, and the convergence of cultures.

"On Guard"

Aw Chaarmin', cunnin' have ya evah. The influence of 1950's cartoons is evident. The way half a cat disappears into another dimension behind a skinny table leg is a classic move. This piece was constructed of wood and plexiglass with screws. It was easy to dismantle and ship. My first gallery solo show was in Basel, Switzerland at the Mario Mainetti Gallery, 1988.

"Bird Food Chain Table"

This is a functional table. The cut outs are steel coated with porcelain enamel. That means the metal was coated with frit which is ground glass pigment. Each piece is heated in a kiln so that the the frit melts and is fused to the glass. Kent State University has a large scale enameling kiln. It is one of two in the world. The other is in France. The kiln has a huge conveyor belt which will accept pieces of metal up to about 48" square. This is a wonderful medium for polychrome outdoor sculpture or graffiti proof 2d painting.

"Cork It"

My friend Pat once said to me, "Ya know how people can stop drinking too much? They should just put the cork in the bottle." I put colored water in the bottle to paint this. Even though wine is not purple, most people would say that it is wine.

"A Friend Of Mine"

For the first niche painting, I mostly got the idea from a dream: I was painting a niche. I found my niche in a dream. The painter George Kozman had been doing architectural perspectives in landscape often with water reflections, so there was his influence. There is also a great painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art. It is not exactly a new idea. However, few artists have strictly followed the trompe l'oeil rules. This is a statue of Mary Magdeline, painted from a photograph. I made a cardboard niche model to study the light sources and shadows. The overlaping transparent shadows are invented.

"A Value Much Greater Than Pearls"

As a boy, I once bought plastic pearls for my Grandma on the walk home from Holy Cross School. After she passed away I painted this as a rememberence of the Mother who raised me. Every object was painted from life except the sculpture which is from a photo.

"The Fourth Of July"

Why lemons? Mostly for the color. Red, white, and yellow create the most extreme contrast in a triad color harmony. The three primaries in full saturation espress a giddy happiness. What's not to like about the fourth of July?

Dance Painting I, 1980

Who is she? One of Elio Pomare's dancers. I took photos of the troupe rehearsing in their Manhattan studio. I used many different incongruous painting techniques: Pointillist skull cap, heavy impasto tights, op art floor in isometric projection, painterly right hand, photo realistic soft focus face, and gold leaf frame on a cartoon mirror. The legs are placed in an ambiguous position. This is post modernism !

Brooke Alexander visited my studio on spring street and stared at the painting for a long time. He should have given me a show. I should have never sold the painting to Brian Jafee.

Point Of Reflection 1986

She touches the mirror