Subject matter
Still life is my primary subject matter. I usually depict single objects placed against or hanging from a background wall surface. Objects that especially appeal to me are ones having personal significance or containing images and themes pertaining to adolescence. I am also drawn to subjects that present opportunities for interesting two-dimensional design, and subjects that have been well-used or might otherwise be ready to be discarded. I also tend to incorporate letterforms into my subject matter, for example license plates, street signs, old pennants, etc. Recently I have begun adding still life elements into my background surfaces as well, depicting repeated images reminiscent of wallpaper motifs. Another current interest is depicting objects in an oversized format. This was a result of my viewing of the 1998 Chuck Close exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (although my paintings are not nearly as large as Close's works.)

Technique
I work very slowly, painting in oil on masonite panels prepared with gesso. The surfaces of my completed paintings usually show signs of having been re-worked repeatedly, indicating my struggle to achieve a high degree of finish. As the painting progresses I depend increasingly on glazes and dry brush scumbles over earlier layers of the painting. In the latter stages of a painting I also find myself using my fingers almost as much as my brushes to manipulate the paint surface.

The control of edges is critical in achieving the level of optical credibility for which I strive. I consider the background of a painting to be just as important as the actual subject matter being depicted. My work has been described as being of the "trompe l'oeil" tradition, but I do not consciously attempt to "fool" anyone with my paintings. I instead attempt to transpose onto my painting surface as successfully and completely as possible the same set of relationships of light, color, texture, and space that are evident in the live subject matter.

Artistic influences
My instructors at the Art Students League were the main "functional" influences in my painting career. I have also been inspired by the work of many artists, both past and present. The first painter whose work I studied seriously was Norman Rockwell, and he continues to be one of my favorites. Rockwell's reputation for depicting homespun scenes of Americana belies his remarkable ability to manage paint. In early 2002 I attended the Rockwell retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum and found the quality and absolute mastery of the works displayed there to be astonishing.

But perhaps my main artistic influence has been Thomas Eakins. I believe that the study of realism in painting could, conceivably, begin and end with Eakins. I also greatly admire the work of Carel Fabritius, Jusepe de Ribera, Peter Bruegel, Jan van Eyck, Johannes Vermeer, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, Jack Levine, Antonio Lopez-Garcia, and the aforementioned Chuck Close. Other, perhaps less expected favorites include Maxfield Parrish and Grandma Moses. I also admire the landscape paintings of John Frederick Kensett. I have not yet made any sustained efforts in landscape painting, but wish to in the near future.

Concluding thoughts
I believe there is far too much pomposity in art. Although painting is, and should be, a serious subject of study, no true artist can ever be seduced by the allure of his or her own self-importance. Craftsmanship and commitment are the important things in art, not ego, not artistic arrogance, and not intellectual or aesthetic elitism. I would be more than happy, and would consider my efforts to be unqualified successes, if a viewer of one of my completed paintings would stop for a moment and say simply, "Wow, look at that", and then, after perhaps admiring it for a moment longer, move on to the next artist if they so choose. I would be gratified by nothing more than this and strive to achieve nothing less.

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