45 Years: Then and Now

Reflecting on My Personal Style

Claudia, 1978, 10B pencil. For a few months, Claudia was a fellow artist with whom I shared a Dutch fisherman’s house on the dunes, just 30 seconds from the North Sea. Her mother, a famous Dutch writer, mocked my paint-smeared pants. 🙃 Looking back at my drawing of Claudia and comparing it with 7th Day, 2023, oil on linen, 64x48", I notice a consistency in my style over 45 years. From the beginning, my style was never forced but developed intuitively, organically absorbing reality in a way that feels both natural and uniquely mine. Both works exhibit variations in line quality and natural proportions of the figure. There is also transparency and an absence of over-polishing in both pieces.

A few differences stand out in the latter work. 7th Day features more anatomical detail in the lit areas, and the subject matter is more thoughtful and dynamic. While transparency has always been a part of my approach, it is more fully realized in the recent piece, both symbolically and technically. It was fortunate that I was self-taught and gravitated toward universal fundamentals early on, which I have continued to use in my work today.