My Blog

Just finished my Pastel class at the Sussex Arts & Heritage Council Newton NJ. It was exciting to see the participants develop the medium and produce some exciting paintings. Wow, such talent! Anyone interested contact me for the next class probably in a few months

Being at the right time at the right location was very magical. Late afternoon when the sun was low and the light was very warm coupled with an incredible cloud formation was magical. It only lasted for a few minutes.  What a gift and I was able to paint it for people to marvel at and enjoy! This is the beauty of Sussex County NJ with open vistas certainly a wonderful location to be inspired by nature.

I have been in total awe of the landscape and open countryside of Sussex County NJ. Growing up in Brooklyn NY and working in NYC for most of my adult life I was surrounded by Buildings, heavy traffic and a multitude of colorful people, not to mention the Subway and NYC Blackouts. When we moved to NJ years ago when my kids were young we were introduced to open space and clean air. In the last 2-3 years we moved to Sussex County and first saw great open countryside vistas and incredible sunsets, a feast for the eyes quickly disappearing in a matter a minutes. This Pastel captures a sunset by a lake with magical clouds and wonderful reflections. A masterpiece of nature that I was honored to be a part of.

This Pastel has been entered in the Pastel Society of New Jersey Signature Biennial Juried show at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown NJ Gallery on the second floor. Reception 4/28/19 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. It is a Still Life and study of a Painter’s Brushes and painting containers. The intriguing feature was the paint brush pot and the wonderful drippings and texture on that can and the wonderful colors of paint on the foreground. It was wonderful to bring to life

Ever since I was growing up in Brooklyn NY Times Square was a magical place. It has undergone a rebirth and people are drawn to it’s drama, light and visual impact now so more than ever.  It is a great place to capture at night with it’s glamour and glitz especially in a Pastel painting

On Saturday 10/20/18 I took a Portrait Class with Pastel Artist Judith Leeds. It was very interesting to see and experience another artistic perspective from a talented Portrait Artist. The group of artists painted from a photo and then from a live model all freehand, first sketching in the basic shape of  the head and then laying in the shadow areas. Then applying the light areas and detail layered in and slowly building up the painting. It was a departure from the technique that I have developed but non the less it was very exciting to see and experience another approach to using pastels as a way to express one’s artistic viewpoint. Call it evolving or whatever you want it is the essence of the artist world we live in.

“Tools of the Trade” was especially exciting to paint since the subject matter is what every artist uses all the time when painting with oils or acrylics on large canvas. The funky can loaded with paint drippings, the large brushes and remnants of the paints used on the side of the brushes and canvas. The lighting was also very dramatic as was the general composition. It was very enjoyable to create!

I love painting ordinary people and situations. This Painting was inspired by an image I photographed 45 years ago down a lonely alley in Lisbon Portugal. It is the companion painting to another Pastel “Boy At Play” I always start with the face and work out the values against the brighter tonal values in the background. Once that’s established the rest of the pastel can be blocked in. The final detail and facial high lights are the finishing touches.

As a medium I find Pastel to very creative since the colors are amazing and can be applied quickly and either defined softly or as sharp as you like. Blending with a sponge, brush, your finger or any material that will produce the desired effect.

I use sand paper made especially for Pastel which grips the pigment and minimizes any pastel to fall off the painting. I’ve been using colored paper as it gives me an under painting to start with. Experiment and have fun. Once you get the hang of working with Pastels it’s fast, no cleaning brushes and it doesn’t dry out. I don;t spray the work. It is delicate so just be careful !

“Boy At Play” was inspired by a trip to Lisbon Portugal nearly 45 years ago. Even to this day I love to walk down small streets, explore interesting locations and feel the pulse of the society in which we live in. Nothing posed or planned as seen in my paintings, well maybe in a few portraits!  The lighting was very important to me and the angles in the alleyway all focused the eye on a little boy playing with simple things like paper and sticks. The texture on the painted walls and the cobble stone steps made a simple statement of less complicated times. It brought back some childhood memories growing up in Brooklyn NY back in the 1940’s

Pastel was the perfect medium in which to express the mood of the painting, Building up the layers of pigment and using the white sand paper as the brightest part of the image and keeping the alley way and boy in shadow.  The colors were clean and bright. This painting took me about 12 hours to complete.