Mark Rothko

Here's a portrait of abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko, drawn on a reproduction of his painting, Orange and Yellow. Growing up in Buffalo, NY, I visited the Albright Knox Art Gallery regularly, and even had an internship there in high school. The main draw of this museum is their world-class collection of abstract expressionist paintings.  I drew this portrait of Mr Rothko on a reproduction of a painting that hangs in their main gallery, one of which I've sat in front of many times. His work has a meditative quality which is capable of sending viewers to far off places. It felt fitting to create this portrait on a painting which has meant so much to me. I wonder if you similarly about any painting in your life?

Prints of this piece are available here!

Clyfford Still

Here's a portrait of abstract expressionist, Clyfford Still, drawn on a print reproduction of his painting, Yellow.

Margaret Atwood

Spawned in the creative wellspring of Ontario waters, a literary current flowed down to southern daughters. Spreading into bible-belt tributaries, this handmaid’s tale bled into harsh realities. When fiction dilutes into fact, Margaret Atwood foresaw these repressive acts.

Signed prints of my Margaret Atwood portrait are available here!

Tiger Confessions

Here's a new piece for Princeton Alumni Weekly. It accompanies a story about a private Facebook group for Princeton students,  Tiger Confessions. In this group, students can anonymously express thoughts they're uncomfortable  expressing in person to others. These confessions can run the spectrum from happy, sad, embarrassing, to just plain humorous. In a recent post, a student discussed committing suicide, which caught the attention of the school administration. They reinforced the idea that, while it is worthy to have forum such as this, there are mental health professionals available, who can help address difficult issues and emotions which students confront.  

Here're some of the sketches I submitted for this project.

A special thanks to art director, Marianne Nelson, for this fascinating assignment.    

Thanks for visiting. You can view my illustration portfolio here.

John F Kennedy

This portrait of President John F Kennedy was sparked by a line from a famous speech he gave to 450,000 West Germans, "Ich bin ein Berliner" ( I am a Berliner). This 1963 speech was delivered during the cold war, bringing comfort to West Berliners who feared an East German occupation.

Thanks for visiting. You can view my collection of map drawings here!

NY Fed Museum Map

I had the pleasure of collaborating with an amazing designer, Megan Mardiney, in creating a this ambitious 8 ft by 10 ft map installation. It’s located in the museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, on Liberty St. in Manhattan. The NY Fed helps implement US monetary policy (regarding interest rates, inflation, treasury bonds, etc). This map represents the region they encompass,: NY State, Puerto Rico. the Virgin Islands, as well as parts of CT and NJ. 

The NY Fed maintains a healthy dialogue with the people, businesses and local governments throughout this territory. They promote sound economic decision-making.

This museum educates people about the role of the Federal Reserve, as well as how our economy works. The vignettes on this map represent various industries, landmarks and animals of the region. Enormous thanks to Megan and Kerwin Adduru, for including me in this amazing project. You can the Mardiney Group website here.

My town, Red Hook, NY is on the upper right, just above 

example of a map vignette -  City Hall of Buffalo, NY

example of one map vignette - a gorge in Watkins Glen, NY

Upstate NY Holstein Cow

A montage of dry-brush drawings before color was added

One of three sketch layouts for the map

Thank you for visiting. You can view my website here!

A Tin Full of Tunes

Years ago, at a yard sale, I found a mysterious tin full of index cards (which I bought for $1.00). All that was typed on each card was a song title, and the name of a singer or band. The reason why these cards were made is unknown, but their sparse canvases provided a spark .  Here are a few drawings of which will hopefully be a fun series. More to come soon!

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Ezra Koenig

I attempted a portrait of Ezra Koenig, the frontman of one of my favorite bands, Vampire weekend. He’s written some beautiful tunes about Capre Cod, which sparked this idea.

Prints of this piece are available here!

Julius Caesar

It was fun to bust out some spray paint for this drawing, sparked by some ancient Roman themes.  

Please visit my website to view more cool portraits!