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During the month of September (Sept. 5 – 28), I will be featuring my figural works as guest artist at the Hamilton Gallery in Baltimore.  This will be the first time that I have shown these works as a group in a gallery setting.  I invite everyone in the area to stop by and enjoy the show.  For information, refer to my Exhibitions Page.

Attempting to capture the attitude of the figure, meaning not only the gesture, but the inner feelings as well, is a challenge and an inspiration.

My first forays into drawing from life when I was young were hasty pencil sketches trying to depict my family at home or on vacation.  Then there were the college figure drawing classes, learning to accurately render the musculature of a well-defined back and the fullness of a Rubenesque derrière.  Imagine trying to meet the standards of a professor who had just come back from a sabbatical that entailed dissecting and making intricate drawings of cadavers?

Many years later, I remember how freeing it felt when my instructor for a continuing education class in figure drawing at MICA, Maryland Institute College of Art, would give critiques like, “The head is way too small, but that’s okay!”  I had already been experimenting in my own style.  This teacher and other wonderful teachers I have worked with and still work with help me to keep myself open to new possibilities.

When I render the figure, whether I am drawing, painting or using mixed media, I feel the model in the pose or feel the model in action and represent those feelings.  I abstract and exaggerate the shapes and overall form and play with the color and its application.  Linear elements are integral to my work; I’m an outliner by nature.  Whether I paint them or draw them, they highlight and refine shapes and lead the eye around the piece.  The end result is a segment of time encapsulated, a narrative of humanity written with energy, mood and texture.

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There was something in her attitude, in the way she was positioned and the way her hair was flowing.  She was transformed.  I knew that I was looking at the mythical mermaid and that I needed to capture the moment on paper.  I tried to get it all down:  the beautiful fish tail, the upper body that is strong enough to swim the seas and sensual enough to lead many a sailor to his doom, the hair that mimics the play of the seaweed and the undaunted chin of a legend.

Look through my website for other new works!

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