I first started drawing before I went to school, as I suppose most children do. By about fifth grade I was more engaged and serious about artwork, and would spend hours copying the stylized artwork of comic book artists like Gil Kane (to me, still the inventor of the Graphic Novel), Neil Adams and Jim Steranko. In junior high school I branched out and spent more time painting, particularly acrylic and watercolor (although to this day, I have a fondness for the smells of oil paint and its mediums.) Through Commercial Art in high school to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, I continued my artwork, often cars, sometimes for commercial purposes like the Pittsburgh Vintage Gran Prix, sometimes just for me. By my forties and into my fifties, though, I had largely abandoned drawing or painting for the enjoyment of it, as I worked as an art director, graphic designer and later, educator. My creative time was spent more with a guitar and a Moleskine, writing songs, than sketching. Fast forward to 2020. Cue the pandemic, and my freelance work – primarily music-, arts- and theatre-related design work essentially dried up. I just wasn’t feeling it with songwriting, but I needed a creative outlet. So I started doing illustrations again. I am drawn to the simplicity, the organic feel of graphite on paper or board… I am drawn to reflective surfaces, and… just like in high school, I am drawn to, well, drawing cars and motorcycles. I am currently working on a series called “Shiny Bits,” with the hope to garner a gallery show somewhere in Central Pennsylvania in the post-pandemic world.
