I was fooling around in my studio. I like to do self portraits because they are a chance to work from a free live model, and the challenge is great for mainttianing my skills. This song came up on my youtube playlist and so I got the karaoke version backing track of it. I recorded the track on my android phone. Then I recorded the vocals and added reverb. I used a little android app called N-Track Studio 8. It's really cool, allows you recorded and mix tracks. This song has special meaning because I always feel like I'm losing myself in day to day life! Yes! It is me singing!

What Dreams May Come, oil

Worn out from the rigors of motherhood. Still exhausted from giving birth and the baby exhausted from being born. The car seat is still on the floor, unmoved from the moment they got home. Mommy is wearing daddy’s shirt because it’s easier access to the life sustaining milk.

They are asleep in front of the TV in a small cluttered NY apartment. That is the reality of life in New York.

“To sleep, perchance to dream...” What lies ahead? This is the beginning of three journeys. One is the beginning of a life and the other is the beginning of motherhood. The third is the beginning of fatherhood. I am a father and my presence is felt and symbolized by the rumpled over-sized shirt the mother is wearing.

New life is a symbol for hope and great expectations. I am fascinated by birth and by the fragility of that age. A parent must protect the baby, even when they are worn out and sleeping. Even in sleep, the mother clutches the baby to protect her, to keep her from falling. Mother will do a lot more holding on as the years pass.

I did this painting for a group show for Poets and Artists Magazine at prestigious Arcadia Gallery in California. It was curated by John Seed and Didi Menendez and included some very big names in the world of Representational Painting such as Bo Bartlett and David Kassan.

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Channeling the Monet hat at the Botanical Gardens

Recently got invited to the Botanical Gardens Plein Air painting event.

Note to self: I need to spend more painting outdoors.

Roots, 14"x11", oil

One of the two paintings I did that day.

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Loss, a self portrait

Originally done as a study for my much larger painting titled "Father", this was done in response to the news of assissination of Neda, a young student who was a victim of a sniper attack while protesting the loss of the vote in her country. I always try to remember that though many in this country take their vote for granted, people are dying for the right to vote in others. They died for the right to vote in this country too and sadly, we seem to have forgotten those lessons. This painting painting is emotionally seen through the father who mourns the loss of his daughter while I mourn the loss of the vote. The pain of losing a child is too much for a parent to bear, while the pain of losing the vote is too much for a country to bear. I cry. Loss has won several awards since I painted it. Most significantly, it was a merit winner at the Portrait Society of America International Competition and was an honorable mention at Figurativas competition in Barcelona where it is printed in their catalog.

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