Portraits
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Portrait of Karen and Peppermint
My wife Karen shares a quiet moment with our cat, Peppermint. We were just sitting at the table when Peppermint joined us, and quickly found his way into Karen's arms. It is simply impossible to be in close proximity to Peppermint without petting him, and soon he was relaxed and purring away. The scene struck me as so tender and intimate that I knew it would make a good painting. Thanks to the ubiquitous presence of cell phones, a few pictures were taken before the pose shifted.
This is a fairly small piece, just twelve inches square. Large enough to include some interesting details, but small enough to retain that intimate feeling.
Collection of the artist.
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Worn By The Wind
This was done in a different colored pencil technique than I normally do, using lighter finishing layers over dark base tones. That's a difficult method, since colored pencils are transparent, but the results were quite satisfying. This work was done as an exercise in a workshop taught by Bonnie Auten. There's a rugged determination about the model, an intensity in the gaze, that's fascinating. And there's a sense of independent, individual style in the snake wrapped around the brim of the hat, and the feather that's starting to fray, as she seems to be. I spent many hours wondering what this woman's life must have been like while I worked on this piece.
Collection of the artist.
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Teresa
My first colored pencil drawing, done in '95. I had just finished reading the books by Bet Borgeson, and couldn't wait to try them out. I have to admit this image was taken from an advertisement, and is not an original composition. The bright red hair reminded me of my mother, after whom this painting is named (even though it's done with pencils, the works are called paintings). I was quite pleased with the success of this first effort. A few other pieces followed to refine my techniques, but these were given away to coworkers as Grumman was disbanding. Regreatably, I did not get pictures of those. Because colored pencils are a convenient medium that doesn't require much studio space, I continued working in them following my relocation to Illinois.
Unfortunately, the original of this piece was lost.
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Gina
Gina was the daughter of a friend I used to work with at Grumman. She was quite the little imp, and wouldn't sit still while being photographed for this portrait. This work was based on a combination of photographs taken one day, but the main photograph used was taken during a break, when Gina didn't know she was being photographed. This resulted in an informal gesture where Gina looked more natural and happier than when she was posing.
Private Collection
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The Thrill of Being Three
This is a portrait of my youngest child. At the time I was building a large play set in the yard for her older siblings. The sounds of the power tools scared her, and so the site was avoided. But one day, while I was taking a break inside the house, she conquered her fears, approached cautiously, and began to climb. I was watching from the kitchen window, and ran to get my camera. Though only a few inches off the ground at this point, the expression of thrill was captivating. I can only hope I caught a glimpse of it on the paper.
Collection of the artist.
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Ben
This is a portrait of a studio model, done in three sessions of two hours each for a painting class I was taking. I was 17 at the time this was painting was done. Though structurally it's well formed, due to my inexperience the portrait came out looking rather harsh. However, it contained a sufficient likeness and was an excellent learning experience.
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Bill
This is a portrait of a friend, done when we were both juniors in high school, back in 1971. This is from the same portrait class as the paintings of Ben and Judy. Bill was a bit of an eccentric fellow, and often wore a rat's skull he found as a lapel pin. In order to express this individuality, I painted a somewhat surrealistic fantasy landscape for the background instead of the hanging drapery used in the studio.
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Judy
This was done in one session of the portrait workshop I attended when I was seventeen. Judy never came back for the other two scheduled sittings, so I couldn't continue with the portrait beyond this preliminary painting. Note that the blouse, hair, and hat are just barely sketched in. I also never got the chance to refine the features that needed more work, such as the right eye. However, I kind of like the spontaneous, sketchy look this picture ended up with, so I decided to sign it and consider it complete where it was.