Light and dark retain a silent, archaic eloquence. Paper and charcoal seem completely sufficient at times for me. For lack of paper as a child I drew, hour after hour, in smoothed dirt with a stick at the back of the house.
To spend time working from masterworks is to spend time in the presence of profoundly enigmatic objects. It is a way of choosing carefully the company one keeps. It is a practice in humility as well as a manner of resistance. This is also true of working with the figure, from the model.
From masterworks I draw until I’ve exhausted what seems present in the work, making alterations that feel intuitively accurate, or that help sustain my interest. The intricacy and subtleties of a great Titian or Poussin are astonishing. Otherwise, drawing is a largely free associative process for me, and somewhat confessional.
Taught at Stonybrook University, Suffolk County Community College, St. Joseph’s College, New York Academy of Art, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Delaware College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, Princeton University.
Lives on Long Island, NY.