Drawing the human figure is central to the training of an artist. I did the painting "Il Pugilista" this past summer along with the drawing for it. There also are a few life drawings I've done over the years as well as a biblical painting. As you can see, I'm interested in the classical aesthetic in particular. In fact, one of these is a drawing of a sculpture in did in Italy.

Portraiture

I spent many years only drawing and doing sculpture in preparation for painting portraits. Here I have included five drawings and five paintings. All portraits were done from life in my studio, and all of the paintings were done with natural light. Portraiture is perhaps my favorite subject. There's nothing like watching a person's personality unfold on his or her face as you paint them. I've been teaching portraiture for years, and I always tell my students to watch for the small movements that lend expression to the sitter. If a snapshot captures a moment in time, the artist working from life has the opportunity to observe and document the inner person as it manifests itself over time.

Still Life Paintings

Working in the classical tradition as it was revived in the Renaissance, I take a flat surface and make it look three dimensional. That might be the most basic definition of classical painting. But a beautiful work of art is the sum of its parts, and there are several aspects of painting which interest me in particular. First, a carefully considered composition is the initial step in creating what I call "visual music". According to Pythagoras, the concept of numbers was the key to the universe. I have been carefully analyzing old master paintings for many years, and I have discovered a geometric system that I apply in my work. I have also studied organic form, both through drawing antique sculpture and through studying sculpture, and I always search for the true form of any organic object that I render. Finally, I find that the aforementioned form is best revealed in natural light. I am constantly struck by the beauty of light on form and the subtlety of value and color that it creates.

This group includes a variety of subjects: still lifes, biblical paintings, a bar mitzvah portrait and a drawing. Subject matter is important, but the true concerns of a painter are light, form, composition, value and color. The subject must be conveyed through this visual vocabulary.

More still lifes....

A picture is worth a thousand words.

still lif paintings

Painting portraits is absolutely my favorite thing to do. There's nothing quite like the experience of capturing a person's personality as it reveals itself over time before my eyes in the studio.

I always work from life. For paintings, I usually meet with the model for a series of about five or six sessions. Drawings are much quicker.

Landscape and interiors

Ever since I attended the Schuler School almost 20 years ago, I've dreamt of having a north facing artist's skylight in my studio. This past year that dream came to fruition! All of the still lifes in this series have been done since April 2014 when I was finally able to paint under my new skylight.