2016 was the year of pure, radiant color in my work

In 2016 my work shifted dramatically in its basic characteristics - the forms and designs became more "cosmic" and fluid, my colors were chosen to suggest the radiant light of more spiritual realms and so the art was covered in only pastels, luminous gold, silvers, and pinks. Generally speaking, my art has always been a consciously composed play of opposite elements but this was the year it became only about lightness and goodness. This was the result of some strong personal spiritual experiences that were cultivated in 2016. However, this glowing "light, life and love" period abruptly ended when the darker mood created by the elections in the United States came to the fore and so now I am back to incorporating the play of dark and light, good and evil, etc., that is ever present in our world. But 2016 was a wonderful year in which I got to experience "the light" in its purest form and so now, as we witness the epic changes going on in the world, it is at least nice to know that part of that light is ever shining within each of us.

Some of my surreal playing cards done in the 1980's

Here are three playing cards done on masonite done in the 1980's. These small oil paintings are the actual size of a real playing card. I began studying art on a much more serious level in the late 1970's with Harry Carmean at Art Center, focusing on specifically aesthetics, the human figure and surrealism. This little group of surrealistic cards evolved out of these studies. While they are just a few inches tall, they are intended to suggest a monumentality much grander than the actual size of the cards. This series was inspired by the California Surrealist and Hard Edge painter Lorser Feitelson, particularly his "Magical Space Form" paintings done in the 1940's. The top card features an assortment of spades, the middle one is "Four of Hearts" and the bottom one is titled "Spades and Clubs".