People
Early Self Portraits
My last year in undergraduate school, I did a series of portraits loosely modeled on myself. These were actually collages. Each geometric plane and the silhouettes of the figures are applied cutouts that gave each individual shape their crispness.
At the time, I was anxious on several levels. I would graduate in the spring and I wanted to go to graduate school to continue developing my art. I also had been given a scholarship by the Air Force and had a commitment to serve waiting me upon graduation. I had been looking at Hopper's paintings and I think the abstract, geometric environments expressed my anxiety. Many people think that these are the high point of my art work.
Self Portrait
Pastel on paper. 11” x 17”. 2020. This is a recent sketch. I was trying to reacquaint myself with the forms of the face, but I did not capture the effects of my age at sixty-nine years old.
Sybil and Debbie
Oil on canvas. 48” x 60”. 1984. Sybil was the mother of Sinclair Black. She had emphazima and was bedridden. Debbie worked for Sinclair. Sybil was a very vibrant and interesting person and we would visit her in the evenings after work.
Self Portrait with Cats
Oil on canvas. 60” x 60”. 1984. This painting was made with only one of our real cats, the one sitting in my lap. The other cats are imaginary. This painting strangely foretold what the future would eventually hold.
Portrait of Fray Paravicino after El Greco
Nupastel on paper. 22" x 30". 1974. I was interested in El Greco, especially, his fluttering and animated hands in many of his portraits.
A Lesson from M. Ingres
Pastel on Arches paper. 22" x 30". 2019.
Picasso as a Bull
Pastel on paper. 18" x 24". 2019. I have never been much interested in Picasso, but having recently read the biography by Patrick O’Brian, I made this drawing based on the photo on the cover.
Self Portrait with Winifred
Pastel on tracing paper. 22" x 30". 2019. I frequently start a drawing or painting and then do variations and developments on tracing paper overlays. I learned this process in architecture school. When I graduated from art school, I had no intellectual or technical process. Without my architectural training and experience, I could never have continued to do art.
Studio
Oil on canvas. 30" x 40". 1984. This was done in a life painting studio.
Cleo
Oil on canvas. 28" x 36". 1984. This was also done in a life painting studio. I know nothing about the model except that her name was Cleo. Unlike the other poses in this studio, she remained clothed. I am not a sensitive observer of people; however, this relaxed, casual composition is one of my favorite paintings.