The Aerial Knight
11 x 14" Pencil on paper
I began painting when I was thirteen, in the first year of school at high school. We had a student intern teacher, a young woman who was only four years older than we were. However, her love of art was contagious, and she recognized and nurtured my unknown interest and ability in art.
I started off exploring various forms of art, and found that oil paints were most suited to me. For my first painting, to reflect my interest in Roman history, I painted a bust of Julius Caesar based on the basalt statue shown in Will Durant's Story of Civilization. It came out halfway decently. Shortly after that, a friend of my mother's gave me a nice set of oil paints, and I was allowed to take over a room in the attic as my very own studio. Man, was it hot up there! But that summer, I began to paint in earnest. Years later, I discovered colored pencils after reading a book by Bet Borgeson, and found them quite suitable for my style. They are very convenient, requiring no set up or clean up effort. Now I work in both media.
I don't have pictures from most of my earlier works, but here are some pictures of works that I do have.
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