oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf on canvas, 48x36

In the course of crafting this painting, projecting  random images onto the canvas, I conjured up the idea of a rainbow factory. This absurd concept freed me up to move in a new direction and inject a bit of whimsy into my art.  I had fun with this painting.

oil on canvas, 48x48

I wanted to experiment with new compositional techniques, so for this painting, I swirled some white glue on black construction paper, let it dry, and then projected it on the canvas to get the central form, which I later painted. The rest of the painting I stenciled in order to develop the central juxtaposition I use in all of these paintings: colorful, amorphous shapes contrasted with black/grey/white geometric patterns.  A final consideration was to add the bubbles, which I thought accented the fleeting, iridescent nature of a rainbow. To my surprise, and totally unintended, when I completed the painting, I saw dancing bodies emerge.

oil and enamel spray paint on canvas, 48x48

This painting involves a novel technique, which I have never heard anyone use.  I wanted my rainbow shapes to appear spontaneously created, so hand drawing them seemed like a contradictory experience. So first I covered the entire canvas in a multi-colored, turpentine wash, After drying, I used a large jar of rubber cement and quickly poured it over the entire canvas in large, sweeping gestures. I let it dry, sprayed the entire canvas with white primer, peeled off the rubber cement when the paint dried, and revealed the rainbow form underneath. I then went back in and touched up the rainbow, added the stencil designs and bubbles, and was surprised when I saw a butterfly emerge.

oil on canvas, 24x24

As I continued with these paintings, I noticed I was veering more and more away from figurative elements, and the paintings were becoming abstract. Unlike previous paintings where I begin with a general idea, in these paintings I began with the form and let it suggest an idea.  Here the swirling forms suggested movement on a dance floor.

oil on canvas, 24x24

I experimented with different colors for the rainbows and decided a more subdued palette was in order for this one. 

 oil and enamel spray paint on canvas, 36x36

I continue to draw on my own travels to provide elements I use in my paintings. Here I use a photograph I took of a tile floor in a Vietnamese temple.

oil, enamel spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

This brightly colored amorphous form emerges from a computer circuit board.  I almost called this painting R-AI-NBOW.

 oil on canvas, 30x40

This is an actual headband that I made to look larger than life once it was placed floating in an interior space.

oil, enamel spray paint, on canvas, 36x48

This is a brooch that belonged to my mother that is in fact about 3 inches long. When placed against a large wallpapered background its becomes enormous.

two-paneled painting, oil and textured spray paint on canvas, 42x34

The title suggests a subject, yet it is moreover an airy, colorful, abstract space.  The format of the diptych breaks up the continuity of the lines and forms a wide range of textures. Bubbles range from glossy to blurred, corrugation appears below a liquid rainbow, and curved shapes resembling particle board build a realistic sense of depth.

Oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, ballpoint pen, on canvas, 48x48

5 of the paintings in this gallery feature robot hands, an indication of how technology shapes more and more our existence and how there's a lack of human control in what unfolds in our environments.

oil, gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 48x48

A visual representation of an abstract concept, the I Cloud appears as an island in the sky, whose central focus is a healthy head of lettuce

oil, gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 20x24

The robotic hand is almost nurturing as it gently caresses the purple leaves.

oil, gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 20x24

A robotic hand and an arrow indicate a way out of the morass.

oil, gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 20x24

The way out is up not down.

 oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, enamel paint, pearl pen, on canvas, 24x24

A return to leisure activities and an embrace of air and sea.

 oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 36x36

As the pendulum swings, take steps to escape through narrow openings.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 36x36

The open sky is a mask-free environment.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 48x72

Parasites, bacteria, and viruses still lurk in the background, but the vaccine offers hope.

oil and textured spray paint on canvas, 24x24

Clean and green=a remedy for toxicity.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

The year 2022 was when I began to develop the theme of contagion, while I simultaneously felt the need to unplug.

oil, marker, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

Stories and videos about tick-borne diseases and the invasion of the 17-year-old cicadas were also headlining the news.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, marker, on canvas, 36x48

The Internet  prevalent as took on heroic stature as people sheltered in place and communicated via Zoom, but  viruses became a larger than life external presence.

 oil, pearl pen, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x48

Germs, like zeppelins, invade our cities.

oil, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x48

There's something about a syringe plunging into the skin that's a universally repugnant image, and people around the world weighed in on the pros and cons of the mandated vaccine.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, archival ink printed photograph on canvas, 24x30

A fried egg rests at the center of the canvas as the virus swirls around it and the water droplets take on a sickly green hue. Clorox emerges as a cure all.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, marker, colored pencil, graphite, archival ink photographic print on paper, 17x20

The next 4 pictures in this gallery are mixed media drawings on paper. A helping hand emerges from a black hole amidst an array of patterns and geometric designs.  In the top right corner is a piece of my baby bracelet.

oil, marker, graphite, metallic leaf, pearl pen, pen, archival ink photographic print on paper, 16x20

"Zoom" and "Clorox": 2 operative words during the pandemic.  A fragment of my baby bracelet is in the bottom right corner.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, colored pencil, marker, archival ink, on paper, 16x20

The "helping hand" this time is that of a robot.  In addition to bacteria and green water, this picture displays media detritus.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, marker, archival ink photographic print, on paper, 16x20

A portal offers a breath of fresh air , an escape from the contagion.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 48x72

The idea for these paintings began when I opened up the lid to my washing machine (pictured here) and saw the word "agitator" written on the plastic center.  At the same time I noticed the harmonious swirl of the objects within. This painting contrasts mechanical elements with non-mechanical elements and aggressivity with passivity.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 48x72

As I developed this series, the contents of the washing machine expanded to include such random elements as peppers, spaghetti, and magazine clippings--all of which were tied together by the circular movement of the washing machine.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, glitter, on canvas, 36x36

Soon the remnants of the washing machine dissolved but the circular movement remained. In this painting the passing of time became an additional consideration.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36 X 36

Bubbles are a common motif I use in many of my paintings.

oil, metallic leaf, pearl pen, textured spray paint, on canvas, 24 X 24

All of these paintings contain water motifs.

oil, metallic leaf, pearl pen, textured spray paint, on canvas, 24 X 24

Spanish, French, and English words create a feeling of universality.  This painting also includes chess pieces--another universal element.

oil, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

The inspiration for this painting was the song "Don't Fence Me In," hence the many shifting perspectives and random elements.

oil, silver leaf, gold leaf, pearl pen, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

a blend of well-defined and amorphous paraphernalia

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, on canvas, 24x24

The inner and outer circles are almost dizzying, like a carousel. 

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, marker, colored pencil, on canvas, 20x20

This small painting is awash with a variety of media.

oil, silver leaf, textured spray paint, pearl pen, on canvas, 12x12

These repurposed paintings are destructions/reconstructions.  William Kentridge states that "it is the job of the artist to smash the vase and then fashion something coherent out of the shards.  My shards are remnants.  They are pieces of something else. They are incomplete. They are vehicles to larger ideas. They are quarks--small particles that combine to make a whole, but paradoxically, they also suggest destruction, a ripping apart of something.

oil, silver leaf, gold leaf, glitter, textured spray paint, on canvas, 12x12

A blend of colors, textures, and artistic genres such as realism, pattern painting, and abstraction.  The circular movement creates harmony among disparate elements.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 12x12

The stasis of the lipsticks, which loom in the background like sentinels  contrasts with the swirling elements around them.

oil, gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 12x12

I like how this painting relates to the sense of touch, sight, taste, and hearing. This was a happy accident.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 12x12

Inner and outer circles, sudsy and cloudy

oil, marker, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 24x24

The title is a nod to the tongue and cheek humor of Marcel Duchamp as is the idea of hammering a bubble.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 24x24

The central contrast in this painting is fluency vs. stagnation.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, archival ink, on canvas, 12x12

This painting makes use of a photographic print on canvas.  The photo was from a series of pictures I took of Silly Putty "sculptures." I then painted over the original print. The final product, which contrasts painting with photography, blurs the line between fiction and reality.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 12x12

This painting makes use of 3 different stenciled patterns and includes a variety of perspectives.

oil, metallic leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 12x12

This painting contrasts an inside room with outside trees, but the relative sizes of both are distorted.

oil, metallic leaf, glitter, textured spray paint, 36 X 36.

A glass of water in the desert is something to celebrate.

oil, archival ink, metallic leaf, acrylic, on canvas, 36 X 36.

This is a large photographic print on canvas that has been blocked out with gesso and has been "garnished" with oil-painted scraps, some of which came from photos I took at the Creative Alliance. The painting is a tribute to the creative process.

oil, metallic leaf, glitter, pearl pen, textured spray paint, on canvas, 48x48

This painting, with explosive rainbow colors, was originally inspired by the massacre that took place in the Pulse nightclub but could also express a celebration of diversity.

oil paint, metallic leaf, glitter, on canvas, 36 X 36

Remnants of birthday cards, ribbons, and wrapping paper unite to form a birthday greeting.

oil, metallic leaf, on canvas, 24 X 24.

Iridescent bubbles and amorphous rainbow shapes explode out of a jar unleashing pent-up emotions that will stimulate the creative process and extol diversity.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, on canvas. This is a two-panel painting with each panel measuring 24 X 36. 

I wanted to experiment with the compositional format of a diptych for the following 3 paintings that pertain to wedding celebrations because a marriage involves the bringing together of 2 different entities.  

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, on canvas. This is a two-panel painting, with each panel measuring 24 X 36.

When I use scraps of words in my painting I use many foreign words to create a feeling of universality. The meaning of the words is not particularly important but sometimes serendipitous moments occur with my random choices of newspaper and magazine clippings. In these 3 examples, there are French, German, Spanish, and English words. A wedding is a universal archetype.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, glitter, on canvas. This is a two-panel painting, with each panel measuring 24 X 36.

Bubbles, pearls, voluptuous flesh-colored forms combine to create a mood of opulence.  Knotted shapes contrast with free-flowing shapes and smooth textures contrast with rough textures--perhaps a reflection of the institution of marriage itself.

oil gold leaf, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x48

Arabic tiles, upholstery, archways, marble stairs--this is a splash of elegance from a new owner's house I once visited in Morocco.

oil, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x48

The event here was a kid's birthday party celebrated in an amusement park. A lot of ups and downs literally and figuratively. The thrills don't last for long.

oil, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

The canvas presents terrestrial and celestial elements and a portal into another world.  A ballet dancer executes a leap into the sky, but a sky studded with clouds. 

oil, textured spray paint, on canvas, 36x36

A double rainbow hovers over a barren landscape providing a moment of inspiration.

oil on canvas, 48 X 48

The ceiling of the Pantheon in Paris is the backdrop for reflection, composed of amorphous thoughts and scraps from legal pads, culminating in an epiphany.

oil, metallic leaf, pearl pen, on canvas, 36x36

The mind is aglow with incomplete thoughts, but seeds for future ideas.

oil on canvas, 36 X 36

Sometimes the mind becomes too cluttered and needs oxygen in order for thoughts to coalesce. 

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 24x24

Bubbles are fleeting, fragile bursts of tenuous film that  can easily pop before an idea takes hold.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 48x48

Fertile ground provides for the germination of creativity.

oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, on canvas, 36x36

Follow the yellow brick road. It's free of clutter.

oil on canvas, 32x32

Three is an auspicious number. Circles are symbolic of harmony. Time to break with the rigidity of black and white thinking.

oil on canvas, 36x36

Shedding protective layers can be revelatory. 

Oil on canvas, 36 X 36

Not only does this painting refer to a storm, but it is also refers to a recent volcanic eruption I witnessed in the Volcanic National Park in Hawaii.  The hardened lava in the foreground is from a picture I took while there, and the bubbles come from my imagination.

oil on canvas, 36 X 36

Depicted here is a test crash with exploding airbags, pieces of a crash dummy, and other debris.

Oil on canvas, 24 X 24

Apocalypse in the form of urban blight.  I often use clippings from foreign newspapers to create a more universal feeling.

oil on canvas, 36 X 36

Form follows function in this painting. I experimented with using a  compositional format that evokes the feeling of shifting tectonic plates.

oil and metallic leaf on canvas, 20 X 30

In this painting the writhing blend of random elements suggests the random and unpredictable nature of a twister disaster.

Oil on canvas, 24 X 24 

The idea behind this painting stems from a photo  I took of an actual wrecking ball that destroyed several buildings in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A few years later the urban scenery was revamped. The phoenix rose from her ashes.

Blitz, oil, textured spray paint, metallic leaf, spray chalkboard paint,  spray enamel paint,  pearl pen, on canvas, 30 X 36

This is a repurposed painting. I engaged in the cycle of creation and destruction myself, and in the process used a variety of media.

 oil paint on archival ink print, 36x36

I'm experimenting here with painting over a photographic print on canvas. The "fleshy" part of the painting is a silly putty sculpture that I made, photographed, enlarged, and printed on canvas. I then blocked out areas with gesso and painted over them with oils.  And yes, a clogged drain does constitute a domestic disaster.

 oil, enamel paint, metallic leaf, pearl pen, textured spray paint, on canvas, 30x40

The disaster represented here is more of a psychological one--the feeling of being overwhelmed and needing escape, but venturing into the unknown.  

My granddaughter's first word was "I Pad." True story. this painting represents the obsession with the Internet and a diminution of the human connection.  The helping hands are bots. A vacuum hose sucks the viewer into the scene as the physical device dissolves into the I Cloud.  This piece is a segue to future works which will make use of robotics.

oil on canvas, 39 X 39

These paintings are all snapshots of a given time and place but with the distinct absence of sequential or spatial organization. When executing my "projections" on canvas, I draw from my immediate environment and also from photographs I've taken from places I have lived. The closet depicted here was my own while I lived in Morocco. I often incorporated Moroccan tile designs in my paintings.  The spaghetti is what we were having for dinner that night, and I liked the disorder it created among the jumble of clothes.

oil on canvas, 36x36

Even though this painting is called Bazaar, it is actually my living room and composed of items I've bought in bazaars--obis from the "recycling shops" of Japan, tiles and jewelry from the souks of Morocco, and an ewer from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. 

oil and gold leaf on canvas, 24 X 30

Inspired by pictures of my own clothing and then rearranged within the framework of my bedroom, I decided to add a picture of the backside of a bride I had taken at a recent wedding and called this painting The Dressing Room.

Oil on canvas, 24 X 24

In my studio I have an abundance of photographs, scrapbook paper, magazine and newspaper clippings that I use regularly as fodder for my paintings. Most of what is seen here is the litter on my ping pong table/studio table. I made a deliberate effort to stretch the parameters of cohesiveness in this exemplar. 

Oil on canvas, 24 X 24

oil, metallic leaf, on canvas, 24x24

Most items here are quite literally from my jewelry box.

oil, metallic leaf, on canvas, 20x20

This is a frequent scene that unfolds (usually Sunday night)  when I  prepare my weekly lessons on my bed under a stand up lamp.

oil on canvas 24 X 24

I almost called this painting House Cleaning because that activity was the catalyst for executing this work. A vacuum hose provides the central focus and the periphery is what needs to be cleaned up.

oil on canvas, 36 X 36

This painting is the most cohesive one in the series in that every item--piano, curtains, sofa, violin, cushions, poof, Moroccan gold tray--is within a 22x12 foot space, which I call the music room. 

oil on canvas panel, 18x36

In this first picture of the interior-scape series, I painted in a format (18x36) that I used in the Remnant series. I wanted a vertical painting that I could put in the corner of the room that would reflect the items in that space: Japanese/Korean furniture, Moroccan tiles and carpets, and louvered doors. I took these pictures on moving day, and in one of the pictures was a knotted rope that quite possible reflected the entanglements I felt that day.

oil on canvas, 36x48

This painting exemplifies my early technique.  The surfaces look like collage, but they are entirely brush-painted. In this piece, the movement on the canvas parallels the movement in a musical composition, and the "band" is a motley assortment of human and animal forms.

oil on canvas, 24x36

My process involves no pre-planning. I begin with a central image, which In this case was the picture of a peacock's head. Then I project the image onto the canvas. The composition unfolds from there. I find that adhering to a drawing stifles the creative process and I like to allow for spontaneity to occur. In this painting the peacock admires her "feathers," snippets of high-end fashion, in a mirror and thus becomes a symbol of vanity.

oil on canvas, 16 X 20

a portrait is not a static thing, but should peal away layers of the subject's personality. We are composites of a multitude of thoughts and feelings. Aborigine contrasts masculine/feminine, inner/outer personas, indigenous and acquired identities, and race.

oil on canvas, 18 X 24

Broadway depicts different aspects of theatrical productions--singing, dancing, gestures, expressions, humility and spunk.

oil, metallic leaf, on canvas, 32x40

If this woman could speak, what would she say? Would she purr or roar? The Jungian archetype of the cat suggests mystery and independence. In the painting, wild cats are juxtaposed with domesticated cats, and there's a virginal bride on the outside and Victoria's secret on the inside. The clippings from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof suggest another interpretation.

oil on canvas, 32x40

This painting is like the titular idiom in that its meaning goes beyond the individual parts, and the viewer needs to connect the dots, so to speak, to arrive at  understanding.  For example, is there literally an elephant in the room? Does the bride look like an elephant, or is there something glaringly obvious in this scene that no one wants to discuss?  Is the meaning related to the phrase "white elephant" and suggestive of something expensive but without equivalent value? I like to allow for multiple interpretations in my work.

Bully, oil on canvas, 18x36

The bull is an interesting archetype. In the ancient Sumerian epic Gilgamesh, the bull is a symbol of strength. but in the context of Wall Street, it means something quite different. The figure in this painting is like a minotaur, yet he holds a cell phone and smokes a cigarette. The cell phone, glasses, and red fingernail polish do not conform to the stereotype of the bull. Meaning can be derived by making sense of the paradox.

oil on canvas, 18x36

Corpulence, money, pearls, pig legs--metaphorically or literally--all suggest greed.

oil on canvas, 36x48

The lion and tiger are two animals that vie for dominance in the animal kingdom, and in this painting they are meant to represent the ongoing warfare between Palestine and Israel. Despite the religious garments and scripture which would indicate a higher moral authority, there is not a peaceful co-existence between these two entities.

oil on canvas, 15x30

The mermaid is the vamp archetype and part of Karl Jung's collective unconscious.  Interestingly, this vamp is half submerged, straddling the conscious and unconscious realms, engaged in the seemingly pragmatic task of swimming, as suggested by the goggles on her head.