I have always wanted to be an artist. When I was growing up, my inspiration was my cousin Bill (Billy, to me), who was the most talented artist I could imagine. I would sprawl next to him on my bedroom floor and ask him to draw me this and that. Some images were characters from the Walt Disney animated features, and the images were as good -- or better, I thought --than the ones on the screen. Or, we'd sit at my grandparents' dining room table in New Jersey and thumb through comic books together, and sometimes he'd choose one of those "Draw Me!" contests in the back, and render an exact replica of the illustration. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would win the contest, although I can't remember if he ever sent one in.
Now that we're all grown up, I realize that one of the reasons I never pursued art was this very adulation of my cousin's genius. How could I ever hope to measure up to his incredible talent? So, while he went on to study at Cooper Union and Pratt Institute, drawing and painting up a storm, developing his distinctive style, branching off into scriptwriting, film directing, commercial art, and so on, I chose to study Art History.
I was too young to realize the significance of what he was studying and producing until much later. Although I didn't always understand his art, I was fascinated by his explanations of his artistic process. Today he continues to be the most creative and interesting artist I know.
Recently, he's been working in pastels. The works measure 22"x 30" and are executed in two types of pastel. While his earlier work tends to incorporate more mechanical elements, these are quite different. They are intended to explore the tension between the micro and macro views of reality, and have an ethereal dreaminess. To me, they move beyond his previous work in their elemental quality, including a magical use of the medium and its color possibilities.
Here are some photos of the series.
Number One
Number Two