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no money and had a family to support. I
drew all day long and made a few dollars.
I’ll make this simple. I was rejected by
literally every gallery in my hometown
back in the 1970s. Population 400,000.
One night, by accident, I staggered into
a janitor’s office. I said I was an artist; he
said he had wall space where I could hang
my art. The next day he became an art
dealer, with me his one artist. He sawed
out the store’s “title” from plywood:
SALON D’ART. That was my first art
gallery. Each picture sold for $35. We
split it 50-50.
I was as happy as a human could be.
No, I was actually happier.
Complex Pursuits
Art is one of the most complex and yet
slowly understandable pursuits of life.
I’ll put it another way: If I were to live
a thousand years, I would continue to
ponder endless wonders that nature
hands me. I’ve painted and drawn
the human head thousands of times.
Each of those was different, actually
quite different. And each time, that
difference was an inspiring challenge.
Now, that’s just the human face.
Nature is endless in its intrigues and,
in fact, the more we know about it,
the more we need to understand. That
alone, makes art a pure and grand
obsession.
The Positive Side
In the art world, one of many ways of
surviving is being on the positive side.
I learned this quite early in my career.
I was in an art workshop and nothing
was happening. The instructor was very
hesitant about everything and didn’t
really get into the core of what we were
doing. He came by my works and gave
me a few vague suggestions.
Then one day, he started talking
about light and shade and how details
and colors were affected. It was five
minutes and it absolutely dazzled me,
answering questions I never thought of
asking. I look back at that workshop as
being a very good moment in learning.
I saw the artist/teacher several times
since and thanked him every time
for the class. Often a part can make
a whole worthwhile. Would we have
known da Vinci quite as well had he
not painted Mona Lisa?
Art is the Artist
Movies can be predictable. That’s why
I watch them depending only on who
is appearing in them. This is the same
with art: a bowl of fruit is just that. The
difference is when painted by Cézanne
or Caravaggio or Fantin-Latour. Art is
the creator more than the subject.
Gustav and the Arts
I remember when I was at the Art
Students League of New York,
watching Gustav Rehberger. He was a
phenomenal artist and art instructor.
When he drew the model in front of
the class, each line was inspiring as he
developed the figure. This was much
more than an anatomy lesson. He
put spirit, talent, deep understanding
and individuality into it. All with
the movement of his arm and fingers
holding a Conté stick; total confidence
with the knowledge that if a line was
off a bit, no problem. He’d bring it
back with a flourish.
Veering off “accuracy” works only if
you are totally familiar with drawing
your subjects. Like pushing a value or
shape or color. Egon Schiele could push
Stage 3
This is an important level in a portrait,
and one that artists should aim for. My
suggestion is to find photos with relatively
strong lights and darks and draw them
one after the other. I’ve drawn thousands
from photos and life over the years. As I’ve
mentioned many times, I’m not someone
who knows anatomic details but I certainly
know and am always energized by shapes.
That’s a strength and driving force in my art.
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