> oil on linen, approx. 10" x 10", circa 2000.


> oil on canvas, 2000.
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The Past II Here's another painting done in two sections that I found in the closet, or rather the dregs of my harddrive. I had painted this while living in Williamsburg, right across the hall from Tomer Hanuka. Someone had posted a question about painting flesh, and this portrait might indicate that you can hide all sorts of color in skin. The trumpeter was painted from life under incandescent light. There are many approaches to observational painting -- one approach is to try and describe atmosphere and capture light, and the other is more like alchemy, when you believe that you are creating flesh on canvas, trasforming the paint into layers of blood, fat, and skin. In any case, five years later, I'm still pleased with how the ear in the portrait turned out . . . it just feels like rubbery cartilage.