My earliest memory of an official portrait was the famous, unfinished, George Washington oil study by Gilbert Stuart.  These ubiquitous lithographs adorned most grade school classrooms where I was captive for my fidgety years in Nutley, New Jersey.  That strange, potato-like, hermaphroditic face held a fascination, and the fact that he was an important president had nothing to do with my desire to reconstruct human flesh with paint, just as did Mr. Stuart.  I wondered if George was happy with the unflattering results.

 

       I was lucky to come from an artistic family who made regular jaunts to local museums in and around NYC.  Through childhood, I had constant exposure to great art masterworks ranging from Braque to Boucher, but it was always portraiture that made the biggest impression.  In high school, as I attempted my own naïve visualizations of the latest female crush, there was a gradual refinement of technique and evolution.  Photography paralleled my interest in painting, and both combined to create a source of spending money that was payment for commissioned images.  I was learning on the job, and the idea of a future from this hobby became a real possibility.

 

       I graduated from UCLA with a BA in art and photography.  While still uncertain how to apply my questionable skills, I found employment at the age of twenty two making new branch recommendations in the properties department of United California Bank.  One year of this tedium convinced me that art was the only way to have a fulfilled life; my hasty exit from banking was justified.   

 

       Kismet finally knocked when a wealthy acquaintance suggested that I try doing his portrait.  After setting a price, I sealed the deal with a guarantee of complete satisfaction.  He loved the painting, and at the lavish unveiling party I instantly landed three additional commissions.  Opportunities began to unfold rapidly, and I soon found myself commuting regularly to Chicago and New York with more painting assignments than I could handle.  I will always be grateful for the kind socialites and celebrities who believed in my work and extended their generous hospitality.  Ann Landers, in particular, was instrumental for numerous commissions on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive – her portrait is now installed in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

 

       Other notable commissions like Sir Georg Solti (Chicago Symphony), Ann Miller (MGM actress), Jerry Herman (Broadway composer), Father Ted Hesburgh (Pres. Notre Dame U.), Eunice Johnson (Johnson publishing) and John Swearingen (CEO Standard Oil) have been especially supportive patrons of my work.  These people had a major influence in promoting new clients.

 

       My interest in French and American impressionism certainly dominates every painting I have attempted.  Art is a constantly evolving experience, and when I examine a canvas created years earlier I find it revealing of my thought patterns at that time.  The brushwork, color choices and compositions are a chronicle of my own emotion, level of knowledge and technical decisions.  It could be thought of as a vintage diagram of my own brain.  It’s been said that an artist never completes a painting, he merely abandons it. There is always something needing reinterpretation – but I am also often pleased to find very competent passages that hit the right notes.  Painting is like being a guest at a great party – one has to know when to leave.

 

       Art is a wonderful way to make a living.  To be paid for creating an image that will bring pleasure to another person is the ultimate career satisfaction.  I’ve been happy to build an enduring clientele whose appreciation and support has invigorated me to new challenges.  There is always another mountain to climb.