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 Immediately on graduating college, in the summer of 1968, I was drafted. As a 1A
category male with a college degree, I was on my way to becoming a six week
wonder in the US Army. My father’s illness, and my status as the sole support of
the family, allowed my Draft Board to reclassify me as 3A. My father died in
November 1968, my mother became a widow and I began a commute that lasted for
many years. My art output began to grow. It was a time of confusion, unlimited
possibilities and creative discovery.
Under the
tutelage of my major professor, Victor Kord, I switched from working in oils
with brushes to painting with an air brush and acrylics, a liberating step. My
paintings grew in size and complexity, as works of a graduate student often do.
It is there that I made lasting friendships with Tim Volk and Richard
Artschwager. My time at UW was the core of sensual, intellectual and artistic
change, and I flourished there as an artist and a budding educator.
My works grew less sensually obvious and more subtle and evanescent in their
surfaces and colors. My first triangular paintings made their appearance. I was
lucky to have my works shown, including jewelry, in solo and group exhibitions
around the state.
Before leaving for a position at the School of Visual Arts in New York City one
of my paintings was included in a group show mounted by the Richard Gray and
Allan Frumkin galleries in Chicago. Despite Frumkin’s suggestion that I stay in
Chicago, I left for New York.
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