SOLEIL ISSUE 2

oth of my parents were
artists, so as a kid I was
surrounded by all types of art
from all periods in history, on the
walls, in art books, etc., and was
also exposed to museums and
galleries on a regular basis. I
graduated from Parson’s School
of Design in New York City,
where I majored in illustration,
but I decided to pursue a career
in special effects and character
makeup for the film industry. I’ve
always loved movies, especially
horror, fantasy and science
fiction. This made for a rich foundation
resulting from not only the
influences of my artistic home
surroundings but also my own
imagination sparked by the pulp
fantasies of pop culture.
So of course for me it made
sense to move to Los Angeles
and get into the movie industry.
After almost twenty years working
in films I became interested
in exploring my own point of
view and began producing personal
art. I now live and work in
New Jersey.
I would classify my work as
mixed-media. I use the camera
and the computer as artistic
tools like any other. I typically
begin a piece by drawing
and working out ideas on paper.
This is followed by sculpting and
constructing a series of miniature,
doll-like characters or maquettes,
as well as a variety of
intricate handmade objects that I
then photograph. My photographs
are then processed in
the computer along with my
scanned drawings.
Each composition is made up of
a number of these visual
fragments, all edited using Adobe
Photoshop software. I print
out sections of my imagery, and
using collage techniques, build
what will become the final
assemblage. The printed pieces
are cut, torn, altered, rearranged,
etc. The work is constructed with
these layers of printed imagery,
as well as paint mediums and
other media on a panel. Although
I usually have a definite composition
worked out, the piece
evolves and changes as aesthetic
passages are revealed.