ISHMAEL Print

I'm a figural artist of "Romantic" persuasion.  I'm also a painter/printmaker who's aware that drawing is the genesis of all of my work.  My primary "vehicle" of expression over the years has been an on-going Series of paintings and prints titled "GNOMEGAME". It's guiding CONCEPT relates to the revelation and personification of universal human attitudes ranging from foibles to the darker edges of human nature. My awareness of the particular "attitude" being manifested on the picture plane usually crystallizes as the work unfolds. That is, I don't preconceive.  Perhaps this approach is the result of my early years as an Abstract-Expressionist. I have the greatest faith in intuition and the truth it generates. As a teacher, I consider drawing to be an indispensable discipline for visual artists of all persuasions, be they academic, classical, abstractionist and even the non-objective artist. The best and limitless source of ideas and inspiration is nature itself. The danger for visual artists is that they begin to echo themselves with each work becoming more shallow and boring than the previous effort. Nature, in whatever form, the figure, still-life or landscape, are sources which replenish, refresh and motivate one's work.