Portraits can be challenging for some artists, because they need to capture emotions, moods, or single moments. But not this self taught artist whose portraits hang on the living room walls in the Marion home he shares with his wife. His best work is "Faces," a montage of an American tap dancer, an actor a scientist, the composite between three famous comedians, the traditional cast members of a long running science fiction TV series, a former TV reporter, various rock stars, athletes and entertainers, and his friends. He makes still photographs from videos to achieve his goal, which often nets him a face with emotions he didn't anticipate. The montage, which took him a year and a half to finish, is somewhat autobiographical because it includes figures that influenced him during the time he was drawing it.
Then he has other portraits, individual ones, of the lead singer of Babes in Toyland, a Russian gymnast, and a songwriter. He always needs pencil, graphite, and charcoal at hand to do his work. He decided to add to his abilities by learning to use conte crayon and colored pencils. His wedding photo with his Japanese wife, originally from Kobe, was the basis for his first colored pencil drawing. He felt he did a good job of coupling traditional American drawing and Japanese wood block print in the drawing. He uses personal and Japanese symbols to further decorate his version of their wedding photograph, taken at City Hall in December 1996.
One such enhancement was the addition of their three cats, who were not there at the real wedding. The face of one cat was turned into a Japanese opera mask, said to fend off evil spirits. In a position of good luck he decided to draw the second cat.
Kimonos are what the couple in the drawing is wearing. With her matriarchal symbol, a flower called the kikyo, he decorated his wife. The third cat is strategically placed to draw the eye to the gingko tree, behind the vertical blinds and outside the room. Longevity is symbolized by the gingko, which the artist thought of drawing after he saw a tree at the University of Iowa.
Their first venture as a couple was this 1997 drawing. His wife worked on brainstorming and testing ideas. A special spot is reserved in their hearts for this work. As long as he can incorporate people and faces, he would like to try landscapes next.
A traditional exhibit is not needed for his art, as his pieces have made their way into and on the cover of books. A staff member brought his work to the attention of the book editor. The editor, in an email, extolled his artistic techniques, combination of portraiture and architecture, and expression of intelligence and humor. His childhood drawings of action heroes and rock stars are a far cry from his present day work. His ability has grown so that he can draw anything he puts his mind to. He decides what to draw by taking a clean photo in his head and adding or changing things as he sees fit.
Then he has other portraits, individual ones, of the lead singer of Babes in Toyland, a Russian gymnast, and a songwriter. He always needs pencil, graphite, and charcoal at hand to do his work. He decided to add to his abilities by learning to use conte crayon and colored pencils. His wedding photo with his Japanese wife, originally from Kobe, was the basis for his first colored pencil drawing. He felt he did a good job of coupling traditional American drawing and Japanese wood block print in the drawing. He uses personal and Japanese symbols to further decorate his version of their wedding photograph, taken at City Hall in December 1996.
One such enhancement was the addition of their three cats, who were not there at the real wedding. The face of one cat was turned into a Japanese opera mask, said to fend off evil spirits. In a position of good luck he decided to draw the second cat.
Kimonos are what the couple in the drawing is wearing. With her matriarchal symbol, a flower called the kikyo, he decorated his wife. The third cat is strategically placed to draw the eye to the gingko tree, behind the vertical blinds and outside the room. Longevity is symbolized by the gingko, which the artist thought of drawing after he saw a tree at the University of Iowa.
Their first venture as a couple was this 1997 drawing. His wife worked on brainstorming and testing ideas. A special spot is reserved in their hearts for this work. As long as he can incorporate people and faces, he would like to try landscapes next.
A traditional exhibit is not needed for his art, as his pieces have made their way into and on the cover of books. A staff member brought his work to the attention of the book editor. The editor, in an email, extolled his artistic techniques, combination of portraiture and architecture, and expression of intelligence and humor. His childhood drawings of action heroes and rock stars are a far cry from his present day work. His ability has grown so that he can draw anything he puts his mind to. He decides what to draw by taking a clean photo in his head and adding or changing things as he sees fit.
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