About the Artist—Artist's Statement
I started doing watercolor painting around 2001, after I retired from 42 years of practice as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. I also had a brief career as a pediatrician. During these many years I had no experience or formal training in studio arts. However, I always had a keen interest in art history, visiting museums, art galleries, etc. Also, while working with my patients I often had a mental image of two people going up to a blank canvas and simultaneously painting. I realized that the "finished product" was the result of a joint effort and that what I put on the canvas was strongly influenced by my patient.
Early on, when I was a student at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, I frequently had the opportunity to spend weekends at the home of Hans Hoffman. I was fascinated by his use of color as an expression of emotional states. Later, I became acquainted with Wolf Kahn, who studied with Hoffman. And yet, during all this time, I did not pick up a brush.
Finally, upon retirement, I decided to try my hand at painting. I accidentally ended up in a watercolor class and somehow stayed with that medium. Rather quickly, my own style emerged as reflected in the paintings you are about to see. Often I have tried, unsuccessfully, to find a way to explain or describe my creative experience. Most of the time I am surprised by the finished product, not knowing when I start what will happen. I have come to realize that I have an intuitive ability to utilize color and it is a reflection of feelings which frequently I am not fully aware of while painting a particular scene or object. I have been told, including by a graphologist who analyzed my handwriting, that somehow I have kept alive a part of childhood and it is reflected in the wonderment, whimsy, play and color of these paintings. I hope that these works bring a smile to your face.