FIGURE DRAWING

19" x 25"  Charcoal on Strathmore paper

Early work from 1992 done at Peggy Oneal's studio in North Bend Oregon.  A group of us would meet once a week at Peggy's studio, chip in ten bucks for a model and really learn how to see and draw.

PORTRAIT OF DAVID HOCKNEY

18"x 24" Acrylic on canvass

Inspired by artist Linda Tennant I've decided to post some of my earlier work even though it may be chock full of honest mistakes.

BOBBY FISCHER GENIUS OR MADMAN?

24" x 36" Mixed media on Strathmore Bristol paper

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

14" x 17" Ink and brush on Canson Bristol paper
" The scene at the outdoor chess tables in Washington Square Park was a melange of urban vitality and color. In contrast to the subdued, almost meditative pairings at the Brooklyn Chess Club, the park's contests were waged by a fast talking and disparate group of chess hustlers, Village bohemians, and tournament strength players who enjoyed competing in the open air, sometimes from sunup to sundown. Intriguingly, the chess tables crossed class barriers: One might find Wall Street bankers playing against homeless men from Skid Row, or Ivy Leaguers facing down high school dropouts. As for the park itself, it was an American version of a Middle Eastern bazaar, with folk singers, storytellers, beggars, political dissidents, soapbox orators, and even the occasional snake charmer. The "anything goes" atmosphere encouraged audacity and inventiveness." - ENDGAME by Dr. Frank Brady

I WANT A LAWYER

18" x 24" Acrylic, India ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush pens on Canson Bristol

STUDY OF PETTIBON JACKIE ROBINSON

18" x 24" Ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush on Canson Bristol paper

SAINT PETER IN A DREAM

 24" x 18" Acrylic on paper
I keep a dream journal and the other morning I woke up from a vivid dream of this guy who called himself Simon Peter. He spoke plainly in this dream and told me he and a bunch of other lazy bums were just laying around when they met God. "They call me a saint but I'm just a screw up, hell I even pulled a sword on someone." He caught me staring intently at his face in order to remember the details to paint him and he suddenly said "Look, a saint isn't some goody two shoes, a saint is someone who messes up but keeps on trying." Then I woke up.
Vincent van Gogh painted his dreams. If it's good enough for Vinnie, it's good enough for me. They called him crazy but they spend millions on his paintings!

EPIC COMB OVER

From sketchbook

EPIC COMB OVER WITH POEM

18" x 24" ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush pens on Canson Bristol paper

Hymn to the Comb-Over

BY WESLEY MCNAIR

How the thickest of them erupt just

above the ear, cresting in waves so stiff

no wind can move them. Let us praise them

in all of their varieties, some skinny

as the bands of headphones, some rising

from a part that extends halfway around

the head, others four or five strings

stretched so taut the scalp resembles

a musical instrument. Let us praise the sprays

that hold them, and the combs that coax

such abundance to the front of the head

in the mirror, the combers entirely forget

the back. And let us celebrate the combers,

who address the old sorrow of time’s passing

day after day, bringing out of the barrenness

of mid-life this ridiculous and wonderful

harvest, no wishful flag of hope, but, thick,

or thin, the flag itself, unfurled for us all

in subways, offices, and malls across America.

STUDY OF FRANK MILLER SIN CITY PANEL

24" x 18" Ink, Fude brush and acrylic on Canson Bristol paper

SELF PORTRAIT PUSHING WOOD

60" x 48" Oil on canvas

JULIE'S WHITE HORSE

36" x 24" Acrylic on paper

JULIE'S TIGER

40" x 30"  Acrylic on canvass

PORTRAIT OF JOYCE MACDOUGALD

10"x10" pencil and ink on Canson paper

BACK TO BASICS

 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"  Ink and Fude brush in Moleskine sketchbook

Just a little reminder that we all need these days.

BUDDHA NYC SUBWAY

36" x 24" Ink and Fude brush on MTA paper

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

BILL AND THE DONALD CONSPIRE TO HELP HILLARY

18" x 24" Ink on Canson Bristol paper

In May 2015 Bill hatched a brilliant plan to make sure the GOP nominated someone Hillary could beat in the election. He called his pal Donald and planted the seed. It's a win-win for The Donald. He gets to rant, rave and entertain during the campaign saying whatever he wants...then, if he loses he cashes in! And that's how we got to this point. You heard it here first!

PORTRAIT OF TY

14" x 17" Pencil on Strathmore Bristol paper

PORTRAIT OF WYATT

14"x17" Pencil on Strathmore Bristol paper

PORTRAIT OF TY AND WYATT

14" x 17" Pencil on Strathmore Bristol paper

SKETCHING BEN HORTON STYLE # 2

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Fude brush and Pentel brush pen in Moleskine sketchbook

SKETCHING BEN HORTON STYLE

10" x 8" Fude brush and Pentel brush pen in Moleskine sketchbook.

PORTRAIT PAINTER

8" x 10" Fude brush and Pentel brush pen in Moleskine sketchbook

PORTRAIT OF TY MASSEY

PRELIMINARY SKETCH 9"x12" pencil on Strathmore paper

A WALK IN MY OWN LANDSCAPE

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Faber-Castell big brush pens in Canson Sketchbook.
Preliminary sketch for a painting.
I saw a documentary about Willem De Kooning's art in which he talked about the need to be free of any "ism"...one should be free to just paint a picture. All these terms...expressionism, abstract expressionism, realism, cubism, futurism are, for a painter, just things for a book. He said it was necessary to just talk a walk in your own landscape. I agree, so I do.

PORTRAIT OF JAMES JOYCE PAGE ONE OF ULYSSES

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber-Castell big brush pens on paper.

Happy Bloomsday!

PORTRAIT OF WRITER TONI MORRISON

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber-Castell Big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook.
From Paris Review # 134:
INTERVIEWER
What do you appreciate most in Joyce?
MORRISON
It is amazing how certain kinds of irony and humor travel. Sometimes Joyce is hilarious. I read Finnegans Wake after graduate school and I had the great good fortune of reading it without any help. I don’t know if I read it right, but it was hilarious! I laughed constantly! I didn’t know what was going on for whole blocks but it didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to be graded on it. I think the reason why everyone still has so much fun with Shakespeare is because he didn’t have any literary critic. He was just doing it; and there were no reviews except for people throwing stuff on stage. He could just do it.

PORTRAIT OF WRITER PETE HAMILL

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Faber-Castell Pitt big brushes and Fude brush in Moleskine sketchbook.
One of my favorite writers. His book on Diego Rivera is a masterpiece. Here is a little story about him to remember if you ever get writers block :
" Moderator Pete Hamill, a journalist, editor and author, said the night that Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, he was about 5 feet from the candidate.
Hamill was so devastated by the death that he suffered writer's block for months.
He went to an old friend and big New York Democrat, Paul O'Dwyer, about his problem.
``You're not important enough to have writer's block,'' O'Dwyer said. Hamill chuckled and soon was back on the writing keys. Hamill went on to write several books, including his memoir ``A Drinking Life.''

PORTRAIT OF JAMES JOYCE ON LAST PAGE OF ULYSSES

11" x 8" Faber-Castell big brush on paper

PORTRAIT OF CORNEL WEST

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"   Uniball pen, speedball ink and Faber-Castell big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook

FROM SKETCHBOOK TO LARGER DRAWING

FROM 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketchbook to 18" x 24" drawing.  Sketchbook was Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook.  The drawing was Faber-Castell Big brush pens on Strathmore Bristol paper.

JULIE AND HOSS

54" x 48" Oil on canvas

THE CUT MAN

THE CUT MAN - 18" x 24" Oil on canvas (Private Collection)

PORTRAIT OF RICHARD McDOUGLAD

PORTRAIT OF RICHARD McDOUGLAD 1923-2016
Our dear sweet friend passed this May 18th at age 93. This is a portrait I did of him in pencil back in 2006. He was one of the good guys yo meet in this life. Thank you so much for all the fun times and life lessons Mac. Save a spot for us.

PSYCHEDELIC DUDE

18" x 24 " Oil on canvas digital enhancement

PAINTER LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen, Faber Castell big brush pens and Pentel pen in Moleskine sketchbook

VINCE

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"  Quick sketch Pentel pen and ink wash in Canson sketchbook

HULT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Preliminary sketch - 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber Castell big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook

DOC MARTENS

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook

JULIE AND BABY RIO

 18" x 24" pastel on paper

BIKING

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook

I FORGIVE YOU - God

11 1/2" x 17" Pencil and ink in Canson sketchbook

JAZZ PLAYER

 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Ink and brush in Canson sketchbook

PORTRAIT OF ARTIST FRANK AUERBACH

16" x 20" Acrylic on canvas

PORTRAIT OF ARTIST/MUSICIAN KEEGAN ARIEL

9" x 12" Uniball pen and watercolor on Arches paper.

IDEAL NEIGHBORHOOD

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"  Uniball pen, fude brush and Faber- Castell big brush pens in Canson sketchbook

PORTRAIT OF ARTIST CHUCK CONNELLY

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"  Uniball pen, fude brush, Faber-Castell big brushes and acrylic in Moleskine sketchbook

PORTRAIT OF ARTIST KOOSJE KOENE

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brushes in Moleskine sketchbook

MAIN STREET PARK

MAIN STREET PARK 18" x 24" Acrylic, watercolor, gouache and ink on Canson watercolor paper.

BLOWING OFF BRITTANY

BLOWING OFF BRITTANY 8/12" x 11 1/2" Fude brush, Uniball pen and Faber-Castell big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook.


From 2000 to 2004 I worked in the Dignitary Protection Unit at the Oregon State Capitol. This unit provided protection for the Governor and family as well as for all visiting dignitaries to the state. In 2002 the Governor was scheduled to be at some event at the Rose Garden in Portland and my assignment was to check out the venue about a week before his appearance there. When I got up to the Rose Garden one of the head honchos gave me the grand inside tour. It was getting to be late afternoon and I had all the advance info I needed but he insisted on bringing me to the stage where there was a sound check going on for some kind of show that evening. Technicians were scurrying around miles of lights and cables while musicians and dancers were doing their various things. I was introduced to some hip entertainment type who asked if I would like some backstage passes for the show. I was in kind of a hurry and wanted to beat the rush hour traffic back home so I declined. Then he introduced me to some young woman who asked if I was coming to the show that night. As I told her no I noticed a shiny diamond type thing stuck in her navel. I'd never seen anything like that before. I checked my watch and as I started to leave the head honcho looked as if he'd seen a ghost. I thanked him and drove back to our office in the Capitol building in Salem. As soon as I walked in one person after another said things like "You blew off Brittany Spears?" "You turned down free tickets?" "I can't believe you did that!" I didn't know what they were talking about. What kind of spears? Apparently after I left the Rose Garden the head honcho had called our office and wanted to know what was with me. My boss assured him that I just wasn't up on pop culture. Later some prankster would occasionally leave a People magazine on my desk. I rarely recognised anyone in it. Fame is a wart!