Portraits: Traditional and Contemporary
(This page is under construction, please return again soon)

Having trained as a young boy in the representational tradition under the tuteladge of my mentor, the 20th century realist master, Alton S. Tobey, I still take to heart Tobey's teaching - that every element of the canvas, the colors, the brushstrokes, the background, props, etc., should all "tell the story of the subject - reveal something about her or it".

In my portraiture, wether I am painting a traditional oil or working in the more contemporary vein of my mixed media
digital collage paintings, I always try to go beyond the mere representation of a likeness, I try to reveal something of the
life, story, soul and character of my subject


Portrait of Rich Michelson, Poet, Author, Art Dealer "Portrait of the artist Jane Lund"
oil and alkyd on linen, 40"x30" Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, oil, alkyd, acrylic gel media
"acrylic skin", pigmented ink, watercolor, gouache, cut
watercolor canvas.

Continue to scroll down to see more portraits, the traditional approach are shown first, followed by the more
"contemporary" mixed media pieces. If you wish to be brought directley to the mixed media pieces, click on the portrait of
Jane Lund above



John 1, acrylic and oil on panel, 10"x8" John 2, acrylic and oil on panel, 10"x8"




Maggie, acrylic and oil on panel, 8"x10




Aiyana In Mexico, oil and alkyd on canvas, 8"x10"




Aiyana age 3, oil and alkyd on canvas, 10"x8""





Sharing Her World
oil and alkyd on linen mounted on board





Dante Family Portrait
oil and alkyd on linen, 18"x24"




At our Wedding, (Shlomo Carlbach), sumi-e ink on paper




Cathartic Self-Portrait, (Just after my father died]
oil and acrylic on linen, 12"x15"




Self Portrait - Turning 50, sumi-e ink, acrylic, oil, alkyd, acrylic modeling paste on linen mounted on wood panel



Contemporary Mixed Media Collage Paintings

The following 6 portraits where done for my 2009 exhibition "Mixing It Up",
at the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, in Springfield, Ma. I had wanted to pay tribute
to artists with whom I have had personal interaction and with whom I deeply respect.




"Celebrating a World of Music - Portrait of the Artist Paul Winter "

A couple of years ago I had the good fortune of attending (with my son, Brahm)
a wonderful "Sound Music" workshop conducted by Paul Winter at the Rowe Conference
Center near our home in MA. Pauls' music has inspired me since my early teens when I
first saw him perform the "Icarus" album with his Winter Consort in Central Park. His deeply
spiritual music and that connection through the earth has always resonated with me and
throughout the years I often listen to his music when I paint, particularly my
"Grand Landscapes". The idea for this series was born when Paul humbly and
generously agreed to pose for my camera at the workshop.





"Portrait of the artist Jane Lund"
Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, oil, alkyd, acrylic gel media
"acrylic skin", pigmented ink, cut watercolor canvas, watercolor, gouache, on canvas.




Portrait of the Artist - Jane Lund detail, oil and alkyd on "acrylic skin"
Jane kindly allowed me to photograph her studio and pastels, etc.
used as reference for these small trompe studies and the photos
in this collage.




Portrait - Jane Lund detail, oil and alkyd on "acrylic skin"




Portrait - Jane Lund detail, gouache, oil and alkyd on cut watercolor canvas.
Jane posed for the photo, ("Banana Hands"), used as reference for this small cut out
painting, one of the weeks she taught pastel painting at the Casa. It pays homage to
the gorgeous little cut out gouache collage series she has done.




"Portrait of the artist James Steinberg"
Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, oil, alkyd, acrylic gel media, pigmented ink, on canvas.





Portrait - James Steinberg detail, oil and alkyd acrylic and acrylic gels




Portrait - James Steinberg detail, oil and alkyd acrylic and acrylic gels




Portrait - James Steinberg detail, oil and alkyd acrylic and acrylic gels





"Portrait of the artist Peter Kitchell"
Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, oil, alkyd, acrylic gel media
"acrylic skin", pigmented ink, on canvas.




Portrait of the Artist- Peter Kitchell detail, oil and alkyd on "acrylic skin"




Portrait of the Artist - Robert Markey
Mixed media on canvas: Sumi-e ink and acrylic, handmade paper, oil, alkyd, acrylic gel media,
pigmented ink on canvas.



Portrait - Robert Markey - detail, Sumi-e ink and acrylic on handmade paper




Portrait - Robert Markey - detail, oil, alkyd, acrylic and sumi-e ink on handmade paper





"Self - Portrait - Out of the Blue"