Before selecting a stick of charcoal or a paint brush, I study a model’s form by following its contours, its negative and positive shapes, the variations and contours of light and shadows. It must speak to me, let me into its solidness, let me feel its epicenter of energy and weight before I can begin. Painting also begins this way for me, but then diverges because of color. Deciphering the hues and the effects of light, whether the brilliant, moving colors of the Impressionists, or the dark, pearly atmospheric settings of the Dutch Golden Age, are my favorite ways to keep my edge, to challenge me.

Young Dutch Jewish Butcher. Copied from NY Times photo, 2007. Oil on masonite.

This cultivates a deeper understanding how a pigment works alone and with others, how one brush stroke can transform, bringing life and magic to a formerly mediocre work. It’s a lot like writing.