Figurative Drawings

I was never classically trained. My US college education in fine art was political, postmodern stuff, and installation. But I was dying to do figurative work, so I moved to Holland as a 19-year-old and found a very special art school that had no instruction, but they had models nine hours a day, six days a week. I religiously went there for two years, learning on my own. In hindsight, it was the best move I could have made. Many classical students are hampered by rules rather than developing their own style through their perception of reality. Even though I'm an atheist, I like to say that all my art-making is between me and God. So all of these drawings are done from my very sensitive visual perception.

And that's it. These are most of my figure drawings, in pencil, charcoal, and ink. Some of the earliest pieces are from 1972 when I was 16 years old, including a self-portrait and a portrait of my sister Janet. There are several studies for major paintings, such as Venus, Icarus Landing, and Denouement. There are five-minute gesture drawings and some finished pieces that took 20 or so hours. All the drawings are done from a live model.