Grey Wolf Playing Cards

Most of the artists I know took lessons, or went to school to become artists. I did not. Some would say that it shows. Oh well. Many have remarked that my collection of works is diverse; not confined to any one style. I have mentioned that I stumbled upon monochromatic painting by doing two pieces in two days, then discovering what the term ‘monochromatic painting‘ meant. Classically, artists would start drawing, sketching, shading, objects, then move on to painting still life. These are arrangements of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and some household objects. The idea is that one learns about perspective, light and shadow, texture, etc., before moving on to more complex subjects. One learns how to keep the rules of realism, before one breaks them for abstract art or cartoons. I started with a cartoonish self-portrait, and went on from there. I started late, so had to make up for lost time. Many people, who know some of the subjects of my portraits, have told me that I have really captured their essence. I don’t always hit it out of the park. I have canvasses I am painting over. Yet, my works have been used in several lecture series & plays at several universities around the US. Some of them are hanging on walls across the Atlantic. They can be seen in homes or dorm rooms in seven or eight states. People tell me they like the bird mural. I call this painting “Still Life” because it was an exercise for me in emulating a couple of artists’ styles; not slavishly, but paying homage nonetheless. The bright, fall colors on the hill behind the Mexican Gray Wolves and in the turning leaves of the tree are a nod to Vincent Van Gogh’s post-pointilism. More subtle yet, there are scribble lines through two thirds of the painting that pay tribute to Jackson Pollock. The title is also a play on words, of sorts. This family of wolves are on a wolf reserve for endangered species and breeds of wolves. They still have life, thanks to some extraordinary measures taken to save them. A photo of them went viral on the web. That photo is the basis of the composition of this painting.