In the spring of this year, I was commissioned to paint three murals for a dining room in Newport. One wall was reserved to hang an antique tapestry of a stylized forest scene. The concept was to create a forest scene to match the pattern of the tapestry that will encompass every wall in the dining room. The final effect was a perception of the forest scene that extended beyond the tapestry and around the room.

Matching the colors of the tapestry was a substantial challenge. The tapestry had a limited color palette and the mural had to appear "antiqued". Since glazing would have created a n unwanted sheen, I needed to get the colors exact, simply by mixing latex interior house paint.

After a few trial and errors, I mixed a large amount of paint for what I considered six major colors I found in the tapestry. Mixing an extensive amount of paint in the beginning allowed me to use it throughout the entire room, creating continuity to each section.

Although the tapestry was the inspiration for the murals, original detailed drawings were created for each wall. The drawings were then set on a grid and a larger grid was drawn on the wall in proportion to the sketch. The drawing was then transferred by redrawing the sketches with a water soluble conte crayon.

A commissioned portrait of someone's pet for a christmas present. The drawing medium is simply pencil on hot press heavyweight stratmore paper. Large dark areas were made by relentless crosshatching with a soft lead pencil.

Here are a few examples of figure drawings I have drawn in the past few years at AS220, an art organization in Providence, RI.

Another pet portrait drawn for a christmas present. Although I had a poor quality photograph as my reference, I found it easy to improvise with the dog's natural long hair.

Once again, another commissioned portrait for Christmas. Although I enjoy drawing, Portraiture is one of the most challenging endeavors I have ever faced.

The two child portraits were not commissioned, however were given by me to a few friends of mine as Christmas presents. As you can see, I really had fun drawing textures such as in the denim overalls.

The second portrait in the series.

A series of painted backdrops for a non-profit interactive theatre organization from Providence, RI. Although I didn't receive much of a commission from them, it was great fun.

The idea behind this series of backdrops was to paint an old television where a sitcom backdrop would fit into the television screen. The heads of the actors were to be cut out and with everything freestanding, volunteers from the audience were able to go in back and act out the characters.

Third sitcom painting in the series.

Fourth sitcom painting in the series. The canvases were 4' x 5', much larger then what I was use to painting. Afterwards, I found it very liberating and evocative to paint large.

The television painting that surrounds the sitcom backdrops.

One of a few backdrops I painted for Community Development Recreation, a non-profit organization I worked for as an artist and arts and crafts instructor. The painting is Santa's living room and was used as a backdrop for Santa to take pictures with children.