FINE ARTS

F.I.N.E A.R.T.S

20th Century Modern European art is the foundation of my contemporary fine art as I intend to carry on those traditions in my own unique vision. In 1984, when I began to specialize in traditional Gold Leaf craftsmanship, I took on the task of reviving three lost gilded arts: Medieval Panel Painting, Verre Eglomisé (etched gold leaf on glass) and Gilded Bas-Relief. The combination of both traditional craftsmanship and modern art was all I needed to transform the traditional gilding arts into an exquisite fresh contemporary art form.

GILDED PANELS

In the gilding tradition, water gilding yields the finest quality finish, radiating the most brilliant mirror image. In these panels, I have chosen to revive the 3,000 year old craft of traditional gilding as a fine contemporary art form. MORE

SCULPTURE

Working in three dimensions was always natural to me, even at a young age. I continued to execute sculpture in several media: bronze, terracotta clay, wood, as well as bas-relief. When I learned the fine art of gilding, I commenced gilding these materials. MORE

VERRE ÉGLOMISÉ

Verre églomisé is an ancient technique of coating the reverse of a piece of glass with gold or silver leaf, etching patterns into it, sometimes adding color to create vibrant, reflective images.
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GILDED BAS-RELIEF

Bas-relief is artwork that is sculpted, carved or molded such that it barely protrudes from its flat background surface. This traditional medium has been brought forward into stunning 21st-Century bas-reliefs gilded with 23K gold leaf on embossed metal.
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PAINTING

John McCrady, my first art teacher, introduced me to his modified version of the traditional under-painting of Rembrandt; thus began my lifelong fascination with New Orleans architectural history and European painting. MORE

DRAWING

While attending John McCrady's Art School in the French Quarter, I learned about line and form as well as the use of color. In the 1970s and 80s, as an activist in the New Orleans artist movement and in association with contemporary artists, I began to explore Matisse, Picasso and the cubists and introduce their forms into my work. MORE

BRUSHWORK

In the ink paintings, I seek movement in emptiness as in Asian calligraphy, where the line expresses energy and is considered to be the highest art.
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LINO CUTS

Cutting into a flat piece of linoleum feels like drawing energetic lines with a knife. Faces are a favorite subject of mine, working to keep them interesting and challenging.
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PHOTOGRAPHY

If I like what I see in my lens, I just click the shutter. I am, however, less conscious of time passing than I am of the utter non-existence of time. Consequently, my pictures feel permeated with some invisible presence which exists beyond the senses. MORE

VIDEO PROJECTS

When I returned home after New Orleans was drowned by flood water in October, 2005, I drove through the city, neighborhood by neighborhood, visiting old familiar haunts. This video is a surprising, provocative historic record from a native's eye of a city crushed by flood. MORE