maps

"redoubtable" acrylic, collage, pencil, on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1992 artist's collection


"redoubtable" screenprint on rives BFK paper. 76 x 57 cm. edition size: 25 with 4 proofs. 2003

here is an example of how a work on paper a decade later can inspire a print version

monet

"monet" acrylic, cement, on paper. app. 27 x 20 cm. 1989 public collection

well known boston interior designer charles spada has been a friend for over 20 years. charlie was instrumental in the creation of the AIDS hospice in boston by bringing together designers, artists, and charitable organizations for a much needed hospice for the dying. he asked me to donate a piece, preferably a landscape. since i lived in the center of the city without a car it was a bit difficult to get out into nature and work so i flipped through books and found a monet i liked. i remember kneeling on my studio floor doing version after version, hoping the process would take me somewhere. it didn't. but i liked this one. when charlie told me the patients loved it, that was all that mattered.

spike

"spike asleep on the NY times" acrylic, collage, cement on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1987 artist's collection

spike (1980 - 2000) was my friend and companion for 20 years. he had a voracious appetite, hence, his nickname: maggot.
a good day for the maggot was to roll out of bed around noon, devour a can of catfood, snack on a bag of doritos washed down with a budweiser in the afternoon (he would not drink imports), nap, woof a plate of filet mignon for dinner, then hang out with me in my studio until the wee hours, snacking on chocolate chip cookies, milk, left-over spaghetti, and anything else he could get his paws on. to him, snow was kitty litter falling from the sky. he's still in my dreams.

submarine land

"submarine land" acrylic, oil, oil stick on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 2000 private collection

i did this after another sub disaster, this time the russian nuclear cruise missile submarine kursk, which sunk with all hands in the barents sea. although horrifically tragic, it is that horror of unescapable claustrophobic life and death drama that is so compelling. submarine movies play on that very theme, 'das boot', 'u-571', 'hunt for red october' just to name a few. the words are from the vietnam-era song, 'one, two, three, what are we fighting for, don't ask me i don't give a damn'..............................

in the valley of dreams

"valley of dreams" acrylic, collage, ink, fingerpaint on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1997 artist's collection

bruce chang is a poet who lives in boston and a friend. his words inspired this piece.

kirchner

ernst ludwig kirchner ( 1880 - 1938 ) is one of my favorite painters. he was a founding member of 'die brucke' (the bridge), a group of artists in germany who pioneered expressionism. branded a 'degenerate' artist by the nazis, over 600 of his paintings were sold off or destroyed by those idiots. probably as a direct result of such a massive insult, he committed suicide in 1938.
"5 women on the street" is one of his pivotal works painted in 1913. much has been written about his work and this piece in particular so i am not going to elaborate further along those lines. it inspired me to do my own version. i didn't change the composition much, i just wanted to have fun with it so i glued feathers and fake fur.


"5 women on the street". acrylic, collage, on canvas. 157 x 127 cm. 1986 private collection

below, 2 versions on paper from 1987 and 1992. both in private collections.

red light series

"hollyweird and vine" acrylic, cement, oil stick, spray paint on canvas. 142 x 183 cm. 1984 whereabouts unknown

interesting story about this painting. in 1986 i was approached by LA interior designer hal maguire who had somehow heard about my work. hal was involved in decorating the interior of the "beverly hillbillies mansion" in bel air (shot for the TV show) as a backdrop for a fundraiser for AIDS research. he asked me if he could ship this painting out to the coast to be included in his decoration scheme. i agreed. elizabeth taylor was the chairwoman and the event was a big success. our agreement called for me to cover the cost of the paintings return and wouldn't you know it, that caught me at a bad time. so, as a stopgap measure, we agreed to hang the painting in liz taylor's attorney's office, one mr. marcus wasson III as a loan. hal writes me, "it is stunning, against a mirror wall, looking out over the lights of the entire city". it was in a good place and i did not pursue its return, however, mr wasson dies, his office is emptied out by his lover, mr. joseph steia, who i cannot track down, and the painting disappears. if anyone out there has seen this work, please let me know its whereabouts.

red light series

"ouderkerksplein" pencil, oil stick, ink, on paper. 18 x 13.5 cm. 2003 private collection


"herbersrasse" acrylic, collage, oil stick on paper. 56 x 76 cm. 1983 artist's collection



"red lola" acrylic, cement, oil stick on paper. 76 x 56 cm. 1983 private collection

three works on paper from the red light series.

mask series

masks number 2 and 22. acrylic, cement, oil, human teeth on plywood. 91 x 61 cm. 1985

sometimes ideas and fixations need to be exorcized in the creative act. i received an african mask as a birthday gift back then and its beauty and power triggered something within me. i began collecting more masks and i painted 25 'masks' on plywood as a series. my objective was to work quickly, hoping the final result was as powerful as the real thing. of course, they fall short in that regard, but response to them was positive as 16 are in private collections. i destroyed 3 and retained the rest.

the high seas

"altum mare" (the high seas) screenprint, collage, on rives BFK paper. 76 x 57 cm. edition size: 17 each one unique

in NYC in the early 90's i stumbled upon an old FBI manual on fingerprint analysis. i found it fascinating and it inspired me to paint a series works on paper. as i got more deeply involved in the process, i began painting them with my hands and fingers. due to the theme of the work, it made sense to leave that trace element. the process also made me realize the universal inter-connectedness of swirl and wave patterns throughout nature, from the swirl of galaxy formations to a butterfly's wings, to waves upon the oceans, to our own fingertips.
this wave pattern superimposed upon a nautical map is actually a detailed fingerprint that i carried over into the print process.

illustrating the history of a company

hajenius of amsterdam, a well known cigar emporium in the heart of amsterdam, has been doing business here for over 100 years. i illustrated the history of the company with a suite of prints, 6 prints comprising the whole. a custom built box in which to store the prints was presented to the firm. it began with a woodcut of mr. hajenius and ended with an image of madonna photographed off the television screen smoking a stogie, which brought the story into the 21st century.

for more information about orka fine arts go to: www.orkafinearts.com

red runners

"red runners" acrylic on canvas. 101 x 208 cm. 1988 private collection

museum and public collections

my work is in the following public collections:

rose art museum at brandeis university
worcester museum: MA
museum of fine arts: boston
navy art collection: wash, DC
decordova museum and sculpture park: MA
boston public library archive of prints and drawings
rutgers university print archive
vatican collection: IT
navy league of virginia
gemeentearchief of amsterdam (archive of the city of amsterdam)
prudential insurance company of america: NY
pricewaterhouse coopers international accountants
national oceanic and atmospheric administration: wash, DC
northrup grumman newport news, VA
general dynamic electric boat: groton, CT
goodwin proctor and hoar attorneys at law: boston
wytock and roland industries: RI
office of senator john warner of virginia
lockheed martin corporation: MD
hajanius of amsterdam
damen group: NL
vroon: NL
american heritage railways: CO

portrait of maureen fraser

"miss mo" acrylic, cement, graphite on paper. 65 x 50 cm. collection of m.f.

portrait of constance wark

"ms. wark" acrylic, oil, collage on canvas. 173 x 91 cm. collection of c.w.

portrait of katarina markovich

"portrait of katarina markovich" acrylic, cement, oil, on canvas. 173 x 86 cm. collection of k.m.

portrait of rick berlin

"portrait of rick berlin" acrylic, oil stick on paper 65 x 50 cm. collection of r.b.

rick berlin is a gifted musician, singer/songwriter, who's fronted many bands over the years including orchestra luna and berlin airlift. plays wonderful cabaret in boston and nyc.

portrait of kimlin o'keefe

"portrait of k.o'keefe" acrylic, oil stick, graphite, crayon, on paper. 65 x 50 cm. collection of k.o'k

i am available for commissioned portraits. if interested, just drop me an e-mail.

temperance

"temperance" oil on paper 101 x 70 cm. 2005 artist's collection

malapert

"malapert" acrylic, oil stick, pencil, on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1998 artist's collection

some of these military guys from the past looked absolutely insane. i thought malapert was good word to play with.

declension

"declension" collage, oil stick, ink, on paper. 101 x 70 cm. artist's collection

quagmire

"quagmire" acrylic, cement, collage on paper. 65 x 50 cm. artist's collection

sometimes i like to create a piece around a "flavor of the month" word, in this case, 'quagmire'. this was during the first gulf war and daddy bush and his buddies were saying things like, "we don't want to get bogged down in a quagmire." now its an 'exit strategy'.

quietus

"quietus" screenprint, woodcut, on arches creme paper. 65 x 50 cm. edition size: 11 with 1 artist's proof

the latin roughly translates to: your goods are safe

few saved

"few saved" screenprint, woodcut, gold leaf on johannot paper 65 x 50 cm. edition size: 8


"few saved" screenprint, woodcut, gold leaf on johannot paper 65 x 50 cm. edition size: 5 with 1 artist proof

the latin translates to: few saved many damned. 2 versions from the same woodcut.

librairie et moderne

artist's proof


"librairie et moderne" screenprint, woodcut on arches creme paper 65 x 50 cm. edition size: 7 with 1 artist proof

indefatigable

"indefatigable" acrylic, cement, pastel, oil paint, crayons, on canvas 183 x 132 cm. 1986 artist's collection

in the mid 80's i became intrigued by the battle of jutland which took place on the north sea in 1916. much has been written about it, by scholars, historians, military analyst, as well as eye witnesses. my aim in doing these works, was to re-define the genre of 'maritime art", to take it to a more expressionistic and emotional level: away from the traditional, romantic photo-realism which had always defined it and still does to this day. see also the posting PERISCOPE VIEWS. the english painter j.m.w.turner was an influence at that time. (1775 - 1851)

indefatigable was a british battleship that was blown in half and sunk. there is a photograph of her in both half sticking straight up out of the water, resting on the bottom of the north sea like a pole. she was therefore more than twice as long as the water was deep. i always thought of the folly of this, like kids playing with toy boats at a pond.

apollonia

'apollonia' lithograph on paper. 1990 collection museum of fine arts, boston


"apollonia" acrylic, press type on canvas with image on photo sensitive canvas mounted and bolted to the painting. 188 x 128 cm. 1991 private collection

from the martyr series. the image in the background is an antique dentist chair, appropriate i feel, for the patron saint of dentists!

saint sebastian

"saint sebastian" acrylic, cement on canvas with wooden box containing arrow. 188 x 132 cm. 1990 private collection

here is my caravaggio inspiration. i wanted to work with the human figure on a large scale and light dramatically from a single source. historically, st. sebastian many times has been depicted with his eyes looking skyward, in a serene gaze towards the heavens while roman soldiers take pot shots at him with their arrows while he's tied to a tree. (they found out he was a christian)
i tried to imagine the horror of it. not fun! trying to protect your face, twist away. next to the painting nestled inside a pretty wooden box lying on black velvet is a modern hunting arrow. from the martyr series.

resurrection

"resurrection" acrylic, cement, on canvas 188 x 132 cm. 1989 private collection

a 'study' from a painting by el greco that led to the martyr series from 1990 -91.

shallow grave

"shallow grave" acrylic, cement, spray paint, lit x-ray, various debris on canvas 217 x 91 x 10 cm. 1982 artist's collection

from the death series. successful in the physicality of the work. the x-ray was completely covered in the wet acrylic/cement mix then scraped away to reveal the "body" lying just beneath the surface.

x-ray man

"x-ray man" acrylic, sand, x-ray lit from behind, assorted debris, on canvas 61 x 66 x 10 cm. 1983 artist's collection

my father died unexpectedly in 1982. we were close and i was devastated. unbeknown to myself at the time, i grieved through my work, laboring non-stop on this body of work: the death series. this highly creative period lasted exactly one year resulting in 26 paintings, most of them light boxes as pictured above: only 9 are left as i destroyed most of them. the gems survive and this is one of them.

night fishing at antibes

"night fishing" acrylic, cement, plaster, spray paint on canvas 127 x 76 cm. 1987 private collection

i was inspired by picasso's painting of the same title.

periscope views

"sinking" acrylic, cement, oil on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1985 artist's collection


"dive!" acrylic, cement, oil on paper. 101 x 70 cm. 1985 private collection


"periscope view" acrylic, cement, spray paint on canvas 106 x 188 cm. 1986 private collection

i used periscope images as a way to draw the viewer into the piece, to turn him into an eye-witness of an impending drama. the dichotomy of two worlds comes into play as well, the silence of the deep and the turbulence above. maritime art needed to be re-defined as a means of expression.

hendrick

"hendrick" screenprint on arches creme paper 72 x 56 cm. 2003 edition size: 6 with 1 artist proof

i like to bicycle from amsterdam along the inland sea to marken, a spit of land jutting out into the markermeer. besides good apple pie and hot chocolate, there is a tiny church in the middle of the village that was founded by frisian monks in the 9th century. there are unusual symbols carved into the stone floor. when i inquired as to their meaning, i was told that people were buried beneath so long ago, that they did not have surnames, only symbols to represent families. i found them profoundly beautiful and did a series of charcoal rubbings, as in tombstone rubbings. by combining a multitude into a single composition, resulted in this piece.

increduality of st. thomas by caravaggio

"doubting thomas" screenprint with heavy tracing paper stitched to rives BFK paper 65 x50 cm. edition size 5

the words are from the thomas gospels, parables spoken directly to thomas by jesus. i did 2 versions of this print, both editions of 5, the top version is completely gold leafed. this is the piece inspired by caravaggio's painting.




michelangelo caravaggio (1571 - 1610) is one of the most influential painters in western art. he was a rogue and a street fighter, having killed a man in a brawl over a ball game in 1606. fleeing rome with a price on his head he headed to malta where he sought refuge within the order of the knights and exchanged paintings for protection. however, by 1608 he was expelled by the order "as a foul and rotten member." on the run again, he landed in naples where he died of fever on july 18, 1610 aged 39. he may have been a pain in the ass, but what a painter. he worked quickly, drawing directly onto the canvas which was unheard of at the time, posing people he met in the street or in bars and lighting the scene dramatically from a single source of light, a large grouping of candles with a make-shift reflector. he directly influenced succeeding generations of artists such as rubens, vermeer, rembrandt, velazquez and de la tour.

knowing christ was dead, thomas refused to believe he has risen until, "i can thrust my finger into the wound." the position of the finger which i highlighted above, inspired me to do a print based on this painting.