Painting is something I gave up at age 15, when, in high school, I had to choose between music and art. Music led me to various adventures, some of which have continued to the present day. Art I was going to save for “when I retired”.
But life, or rather serendipity, got in the way. During a summer vacation in 2003, I walked into a life drawing class with drawing tools in hand. It was the beginning of a great adventure and involvement, and, I’m very glad I did not wait until retirement, because I’m still working at my day job now.
At first I went to a walk-in life drawing class in Cambridge on Sundays for a year and a half. Then I started drawing at the class with paints. Then I started taking courses. All that time, I was creating artworks.
Doing art has been a great pleasure and avocation for me. I’ve met wonderful people, taken great classes, and simply enjoy being in my studio or outdoors painting.
At this point I paint in oils as my primary medium, but have been engaged in creating many art works on the iPad. Drawing in color on that screen with your finger as your “paint brush” is so enjoyable, and people respond to the resulting artwork.
I do a combination of representational art, and abstract art. Much of what I do is a blend between the two. My dear departed dog, Tessa, was a great muse for the eight and a half years I had her. I did many portraits of her. I’ve done portraits of friends, animals, and many self-portraits. These latter are not out of vanity, but because I am a willing model. (I welcome any volunteers.)
Doing art makes me appreciate more intensely the physical world around me. I passed by Quincy Bay recently, and was moved by the beautiful reflection of the sky on the water. The color blue was unusual. Even driving in traffic can become an artistic experience. Art has greatly enriched my daily life just because I see things more clearly outside.
I am a risk-taker (but not with my clients in my profession), and have an entrepreneurial spirit. These qualities are manifested in my art. I tend to work quickly. Visual corrections are part of my style. I am deeply influenced by Chinese brush painting, and I tend to draw with brushes rather than with graphite or charcoal. I often paint on an old painting, the new painting being informed and much better for the history underneath it that barely shows.
Recently, I have been painting landscapes that look like bodies, a roiling sky that I saw on my weekly commute early in the morning, and some figural abstracts based on a photo of a man’s buttocks. I have also done i-Pad art for some of my work-related PowerPoint presentations.
Doing art as been great fun. I never get tired of it. Each year brings me new topics and interests. I appreciate your interest in my art.