1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
There’s something noble and yet simple about James as his humble beginnings linger beneath the surface and a suppressed anger resonates in his famous voice. It is not easy to feel close to him, yet he is open and forthright when interacting with him. I still have not touched the real dark side of James.
We were in the ROTC program at the University of Michigan and were casual friends. We went our different ways and years later we reconnected when he was on Broadway. It took a year to arrange our schedules so that I could visit him to make my sketches and reference photographs for his portrait. I met him in his condo on the west side of Manhattan and when I entered, I was surprised to see he had a white beard. He apologized and said he had plastic surgery and his doctor suggested growing a beard. He asked if I would like to come another time, but I said no, as I had already waited a year.
James is a large man and has great, expressive hands that became part of his portrait. Famous for his voice, the hot and emotional colors highlighted his throat. The lighting was theatrical and his beard was almost washed away by the spotlight. His dark side prevailed with his personal mysteries. Later, I gave him a Giclée color print on canvas of his portrait.
2009
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
I admired Colin Powell for his reluctant use of power over diplomacy. When he was an army general, he expressed concern for the lives of soldiers under his command. He was haunted by the nightmare of war that produced casualties of both soldiers and civilians and was nicknamed “the reluctant warrior”. I took reference photos of him during his 2009 speaking engagement in the Hartford XL Center. The life and death aspect of his command translated into hot, vibrant colors and his portrait flowed like molten lava.
We corresponded briefly and I sent him a Giclée color print of his portrait.
2002
32-inches high by 48-inches wide
Oil Sticks on wood panel.
I became friends with Willie Nelson and his daughter, Lana, when my advertising agency had him as a client for two years promoting the “Willie and Family Tequila Nights Concert Tour”. Jose Cuervo Tequila was our account with Heublein Liquors and we recommended using Willie Nelson as a spokesman as he was noted for his tequila drinking. I had to get his approval of all advertising we created for his tour. As a result, I saw him at dozens of his concerts. I admired how he generated life-long, faithful fans who loved him and his music. In 2009 he performed in the historic Palace Theater in Waterbury, Connecticut. I brought my portrait of him backstage for him to see. He liked it and offered to sign the back, which he did. The original painting is in the “Willie Nelson and Family and Friends Museum” in Nashville, Tennessee.
2001
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil sticks on wood panel.
During my salad days in Amsterdam, Holland, Eartha performed for my theater production company, “Playhouse International,” in the Royale Concertgebouw. The stage was filled with flowers and her vibrating voice filled the rafters. The Dutch loved her and kept asking for an encore. The day before, when she stepped off the KLM airliner from London, she bristled with that electrical energy for which she was famous. I presented her with a gift for her newborn daughter, and her cold demure melted as she became open and friendly. Years later, we reconnected after we returned to the states and the results were a series of portraits of her. When I read her biography, I realized that some of her famous “electricity” originated from her abused childhood and the anger when she was called “yella” because of her light skin.
2002
48-inches high by 32-inches wide
Oil sticks on wood panel.
The intense focus of professional baseball pitchers fascinated me. The symmetrical shadow cast by Andy’s cap on his angular features and sensual mouth reflects the personality of the sport that is highlighted by the bright sun and green, green grass. While at an award’s dinner with my son, Nick, at the Fairfield College Preparatory School, I sat next to Andy and discovered his unyielding dedication and determination to excel. That instant of preparation at the beginning of a pitch was what I sought to capture in oil sticks.
1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
My older brother, Nick, was a major influence in my life and filled in for my absent father with unconditional love one hopes for from a parent. In a way, he saved my life and put me on the road of art. He was my teacher of the arts -- classical music, poetry and literature, and the visual world. He was a great subject with his chiseled features, intense look, and enigmatic smile. I know him so well, and yet there is a deep dark mysterious side of him that I can only guess or feel. I enjoyed trying to capture his “inner sanctum” in my many paintings as I sought to uncover that dark and turbulent something beneath the surface.
1998
29-inches high by 22-inches wide
Acrylics on paper.
I was on vacation in North Carolina when I started this self-portrait. I was feeling angry and perplexed about family issues and was anxious about being interrupted before I could finish the painting. The head has a brooding three-quarter angle as I splashed Crimson Red across the forehead because my thoughts were hot and in turmoil. Edges were obliterated with cross strokes connecting space and volume. The eyes were hot and loose white strokes suggesting motion. The shadows were mixed with hot and cool colors while detail was diffused. The total impression is mixed with mystery and ambiguity.
1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
Shirley, my wonderful wife of forty-five years, inspired me to return to my fine art in 1987 after a creative director’s career in advertising. She has strong expressive hands that she sometimes uses to block unexpressed thoughts over her mouth as an indication of her personal privacy.
2001
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on wood panel.
My high school and college comrade went from gas station owner to God’s word as be became a preacher all in one life time. His features exude Buddha as he contemplates nothingness.
1999
36-inches high by 48-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
I met Barbara Sher in New York City when I was in emotional turmoil as my first marriage was ending. She operated Group Labs, an interactive, confrontational, emotional roller-coaster form of therapy that opened up my world of introspection and later helped me connect with my creative energy. Barbara was a dynamo in the self-help arena and became famous for her books about Women’s Success Teams and as a television speaker, lecturer, and career/lifestyle coach. She taught me how to get in touch with my buried feelings and my dark side that was a common thread in most adults. Many of my portraits reflect the hidden dark side of my subjects.
2001
36-inches high by 48-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
Years ago, a mutual friend in London commented to me, “ Richard Gere is doomed to be a star.” it was an accurate prophecy. By chance I discovered Gere went to a silent weekend retreat in Connecticut. I was intrigued with him and the inherent contradiction of his glitzy Hollywood life with his spiritual quest. As a humanitarian, he has supported global tribes and their right to decide their future. He has a deep interest in Tibetan culture and the Dalai Lama is a personal spiritual guide. When I started his portrait, I was in search of his spiritual essence, however, the painting evolved into an almost Italian-like fresco.
As it happened, during his silent retreat at the Wisdom House, I also had an exhibition of my portraits that included him. Later, the nun in charge told me that when he saw his fresco-like portrait, he said he was not of Italian extraction. He missed the point.
2008
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on wood panel.
As Nick was one of my favorite subjects, I selected him as the subject for painting with both left and right hands painting simultaneously. Soon into the painting, I realized that my hands were vying for control and often overpainted the other hand’s strokes. The result was a highly-charged surface of colors and features.
1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
George had Multiple Sclerosis during his later life, but he never surrendered or allowed self-pity to dilute the pleasures he distilled from the simplest transactions or conversations. He had an insatiable will to live and lived his days with wit, wisdom, and understanding. He was a giant human being who left a sizable vacuum in the world. Because of his tenacious cling to life, greens became his dominate colors as they expressed the new beginnings of Spring and hope for his transition to the other side.
1999
24-inches high by 48-inches wide
Oil Sticks on wood panel.
Three Manhattan persona -- one a musician, one a mathematician, and one a teacher – create a strange camaraderie. Whenever three people are involved in relationships, the complexity of the dynamics are immense as they are intertwined in endless scenarios. Color is absent as the neutrality of black, white and gray seem to be an important key to the alliances.
2005
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on wood panel.
This is one of many portraits and studies of Nick. In 2006, I illustrated “Ikaria Remembered”, his book of short stories and poems about his youth during the Great Depression on our ancestral Greek Island of Ikaria in the Aegean Sea. The book’s artworks were from my creations of Ikaros after I had a powerful dream that I was actually the island of my ancestors. It put me on a twenty-year journey of creating images in various media about the doomed youth who flew too close to the sun, Helios, causing the wax in his wings to melt hurtling him down into the sea where the island of his namesake arose.
1987
29-inches high by 22-inches wide
Oil Sticks on mounted rag paper.
In this self-portrait, I could not put the oil sticks onto the rag paper fast enough. There was a sense of urgency as I painted. A great sweeping motion started in the upper right, carried across the left side and ended in the lower right. Yellows dominated my statement and at the very end, I took a wide brush, dipped it in turpentine and scrubbed the nose, chin, and mouth, giving the portrait a sense that it was “about to speak.” it is one of my favorites because of the visual spontaneity and directness. Most importantly, I stopped just in time to retain the freshness of the expression. I entered the painting in a regional art show and won “Best of Show”. It encouraged my pursuit of painting people.
1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil stick on Masonite.
Based on the earlier self-portrait, “SP-415”, I wanted to express another aspect of myself in a larger scale. I discovered something smoother and cooler about myself, but more passionate than in the first version. Perhaps the larger size encouraged broader strokes, darker shadows, and more spontaneity. My state of mind and passion were expressed with conflicting colors as the face blended with space.
1998
48-inches high by 36-inches wide
Oil Sticks on Masonite.
Scott, a high-powered executive in the assurance industry, seethed with intensity and pending danger. He openly admitted to his dark side that runs deep and appears to be rooted in his history. There is no room for softness in his demeanor, but deep down he admires it in others, especially the ability to feel and express joy openly.
30-inches high by 40-inches wide by 4-inches deep
Mixed Media – Barn wood, metal wire and hinges, and Acrylics.
White and black faces seek paths to understanding by overcoming their differences. The maze simulates false starts and incomplete paths, much like the condition of our country.
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