Samuel Beckett

This portrait of Irish playwright, Samuel Beckett, is one of many literary figures in my exhibit at the Starr Library, Rhinebeck NY, up all of February. I'm having a reception today, 5-7 PM. If you live locally, please stop in and say hello!

Samuel Beckett

Here’s a portrait of renowned playwright, poet and writer, Samuel Beckett, born in Dublin, Ireland.   This piece was drawn directly on a 1966 road map which my parents used to navigate this beautiful country. This is piece is inspired by a series called World Tour - in which I used pages from an old atlas as canvases - painting images relating to the place on each map.

Signed prints of this piece are available here!

Please visit my website to view more fun portraits.

Sinead O'Connor

Here's a portrait of Irish singer, Sinead O’Connor. While drawing this piece, I kept contemplating the tragic losses of public figures, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Like many, I kept thinking, how can these people who seemingly have it all, choose to take their lives. There’s a saying, “You don’t know if the roof is leaking unless you’re inside the house”. It’s too bad we can’t see inside the internal landscape of anyone’s psyche. They might be stuck in a dark emotional valley, and don’t have a map for climbing out of it. It’s a good reminder to be kind to others, and stay tapped into our empathy. It might make a difference in their lives.

Prints of this portrait are available here.

India ink on a map of Ireland, 20" by 30"

Dreaming of Harvard

This drawing accompanied a Harvard Magazine story written by undergraduate, Berta Greenwald Ledecky.  While attending high school in her native Ireland, she was disillusioned with it's rigid education system. Berta dreamed of an education that would brighten her horizons. Searching the web, she discovered an intriguing summer program at Harvard. Berta worked diligently to save money for this opportunity. Upon attending, she had a truly enlightened experience, much more about asking questions than taking dreary multiple-choice exams. It opened up her world, and she's never looked back.

Eying Harvard from across the pond.

A Mary Poppins umbrella transports Berta across the pond.

An enthusiastic leap across the pond.

Weighing education experiences in Massachusetts and Ireland.

A special thanks to Art Director Jennifer Carling for a fun assignment!