Featured II
“San Francisco MOMA” - As a resident of San Francisco of over 50 years, the MOMA and its evolution as a premium museum has been an important focal point for me as an artist. This painting is a study of interior space and the relationship to the exterior and the surrounding building outside. How the viewer gets from the interior space to the exterior space sets up a dialogue between our inner and outer selves. It's a journey best told through the visual medium of painting.
— Oil on Canvas, 36” x 36”, 2017 - SOLD
“Homage to Books - The Art Of Painting ” - This painting, as the second in the series, was also influenced by the French painter of the seventeenth century Chardin. I love the composition but in this version I created a longer field of view by adding in the window and a view of San Francisco. I adore books, especially art books and pride myself on a deep knowledge of noted painters and their paintings. These paintings are based on scenes from my life and this is from Project Artaud, my home since 1972, where I have lived, loved, and made life-long friends, some who have since passed and most of the paintings which are still in my collection.
— Oil on Canvas, 32” x 36”, 2018
“Homage to Music” - This painting was influenced by the French painter of the seventeenth century Chardin. I used to have several LPs before the age of CDs. Before I got rid of them l wanted to do a painting that incorporated them into a composition. The result is my painting called “Homage to Music” with most of the LPs being contemporary with some from the Baroque period. This painting is the first of two versions l did of the subject.
— Oil on Canvas, 32” x 36”, 2015
“Lorraine and Samba” – This painting is a special portrait of Lorraine and our dog Samba. Lorraine and l have been together since 2011. Samba passed away a couple of years ago just after I finished this painting. I say that it’s a special painting because we both met each other through Samba. I was dog sitting for a friend of mine who was friends with Lorraine, so the dog brought us together in an indirect way. In the painting I was attracted to the way the white blouse and Lorraine’s arms hold the shape of the dog in place. Samba is not very happy in the painting. If you know anything about dogs, you know that when their ears are back against their head, they are uncomfortable. My main influence in doing the painting is from a painting that l saw in the Milwaukee Museum of Art by Dutch artist Kees Van Dogen, a 20-century artist who lived in Paris with Picasso. It’s of a woman holding a cat and is much more abstract than my painting of Lorraine and Samba although l believe that the feelings are comparable in both paintings. Although our days with Samba are over, our love for him remains in our hearts and this painting.
— Oil on Canvas, H” x W”, 2015
“Self Portrait as a California Driver” – I didn’t learn to drive until the age of fifty. It was an important step in my life, so I did this large painting of my newly issued driver’s license. I changed the ID numbers on the painting to prevent forgery but other than that everything is accurate in the painting. There are several ways of expressing oneself in a self-portrait outside of the traditional manner. Over the years l have done several self-portraits but this is probably one of the best.
— Oil on Canvas, 48” x 60”, 1999
“Fishing in Northern Michigan” -This painting was done from a photograph taken in 1946. I was trout fishing with my grandfather in the woods of Michigan, at a beautiful river so peaceful and full of life. I believe that my father took the photo. I liked the way that the two poles crossed because of the line it creates and the expression of togetherness. l based the composition on that. It’s always interesting to see how much color and tonality one can get with a limited palette. I hated trout fishing, but i always loved being with my grandfather.
— Oil on Canvas, 62” x 48”, 2020
“Jerome” - While on a trip with Lorraine I saw this old man sitting on a bench outside of the post office in the town of Jerome Arizona. I don’t know who he is or what his name is, but I named him Jerome after the town that l was visiting. Jerome is an old copper mining town, and he could have been a retired miner or just another tourist visiting the town. This painting brings together what I most love about representation painting, creating an experience for the viewer that presents both the realism of objects and the expression of the character of the person. The way the light plays across the barrel and the metal lid and his face, hands, and clothing. We don’t know who he is, but we can see so much life in this captured still moment.
— Oil on Canvas, 32” x 38”, 2012
“John & Charlie” - Charlie Ware and John Morita are two old friends of mine. Charlie is unfortunately no longer with us having passed away in 2007. He was a printmaker and painter who was a true romantic in the tradition of the romantic movement of the 19th century. John and Charlie met at the Hansa Hotel on Bush Street next to The ChinaTown Gate in San Francisco in 1971. John and l were students at the San Francisco Art Institute at the time. John was in photography and printmaking and l was in painting and printmaking. For his class project John took on the documentation of Charlie’s life with his family, a Boswell Johnson fascination. In this painting l want to express the life long friendship that these two dear friends of mine had for each other.
— Oil on Canvas, 84” x 36”, 1998
"Hawaiian Couple" - I love to travel and love to meet people, other travelers and locals. ON this trip to Hawaii I met this couple on the beach. They were very friendly and are a part of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. They live on the beach and every month the state police come by and force them to move. The beach belongs to them and their ancestors so they feel that they have every right to it, however the capitalist interests have their own idea of ownership. I was drawn to the contrast of her dress and the background and of course their warm and friendly expressions on their faces.
— Oil on Canvas, 36” x 24”, 2007
“Melanie and Addy” - This is a double portrait of my daughter Melanie and her mother Addy. I was influenced by the Dutch masterpieces of Rembrandt and Frans Hals. The couple addresses the viewer to come to the table and join them for a meal. I liked the texture and pattern of the table cloth with the starker backdrop of the wall and their hair, one subdued and one popping with color. They were in a Chinese restaurant near my house in the Mission district of San Francisco.
— Oil on Canvas, 40” x 46”, 2011
“Paint Brush Keys” - I have been concerned with paintings about the tools and methods of the painter’s craft for the past few years. This is a painting of my friend’s cloth brush holder which he was going to throw out, but before he did I told him I wanted to do a painting of it. The painting should be read from left to right much like a musical score would be read. The red and green brushes break into the horizontal division of the canvas.
— Oil on Canvas, 24” x 30”, 2017
“Underpass Golden Gate Park” - This underpass breaks up the painting into two separate spaces. The space in the foreground and the distant space of the landscape through the tunnel. These two spaces are unified by the tunnel itself. The painting invites the viewer to follow the path through the tunnel into the distant landscape. In the painting I’ve tried to create an exciting path for one to follow. For anyone who has visited Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, this very recognizable landmark is often filled with the sounds of musical instruments and the notes that flow from them.
— Oil on Canvas, 24” x 30”, 2012
“The Night Light” - I love to paint night scenes although I haven't painted too many of them. This one, I believe, is the most successful of the night scenes that I have attempted. I always like the mystery that the darkness brings. The yellow light creates a ray of hope in the painting. The influence for doing this painting came from Van Gogh's night scenes that he painted when he was in Arles. I tried to take advantage of the compliments of purple and yellow as a sort of marriage of the two colors.
— Oil on Canvas, 36” x 36”, 2017 - SOLD
“Self Portrait Of My Feet” - In this character portrait of my feet and their refection, from the bathroom at Project Artaud, I want the viewer to float in the painting, not knowing exactly where they are in three dimensional space. The mirror at an angle reflects my feet, against the tile floor with it hexagon shape meeting the subway brick formation tile to bring depth and pattern. Once asked if I could paint my feet as they looked at 78 years old, “I replied, I can but who wants to see that.”
— Oil on Canvas, 36” x 30”, 2019 - SOLD
“Old Straw Broom” - This still Ife is one of my favorites as it is so simple yet complex. The pallet is just a few colors but the flat background brings the complex straw patterned, held in pace by red rope, to life. I grew up with these in my house and used them to help my mother tidy up. Those were more simple days and I feel this painting brings a peacefulness not found in today’s world.
— Oil on Canvas, 14” x 20”, 2017
“Bern aka Bernie Rauch” - I have been friends with Bern since the early 1970s. We are neighbors, just down the hall from each other, in Project Artaud. In this painting I tried to capture his spirit and the reflection of Project Artaud’s windows in his eyes. Those eyes tell more than words can say, the gentle soulfulness of his manner and the warmth of his friendship are among the qualities I wanted to capture. Bern is a great friend and a character of note. His art is political in nature and he and I have grown up together and shared so much.
— Oil on Canvas, 32” x 26”, 2018