These are my abstract charcoal and/or pastel drawings. Most of them stem from drawings I did in the mid '80s in my Chestnut Street studio next to the Ben Franklin Hotel. During that time the shapes in the drawings changed from geometric to organic. I called that series Chestnut Park to indicate creatures that might be found in a park. The name was meant to indicate a conscious decision to include rather than exclude references to the natural world in my art. Though all of these drawings are more recent than that series they show the expanded use of organic shapes and deeper illusionistic space that I first used in the last Chestnut Park drawings.
'Pigeone in Citta', 2007, is my only recent abstract work. Though probably not evident it was my first attempt to combine birds and abstraction. The small object at top center was based on a pigeon on the roof of our house. 'Flea Beetle Falling Through the Empty Cart of Mr. Avant-Garde' was a comment on the emptiness of much contemporary art, particularly that which relies on a written explanation for its value. I do not believe that good art needs accompaning explanations. I was drawing insects at the same time and wanted to combine them and abstraction in one drawing. So like the more organic shapes that appeared in the 'Chestnut Park' series this was a further step into naturalism. But it would take another 10 years or so before I became fully naturalistic.
'Pigeone In Citta', 23x29, pastel and charcoal.
'Flea Beetle Falling into the Empty Cart of Mr. Avant-Garde', 23x38, pastel.
23x
'April', 23x29, pastel and collage.
'Odalisque', 32x40, charcoal/pastel.
'Cotelydon', 23x29, charcoal/pastel.
'Mummery', 32x40, charcoal.
'Bridge', 23x29, charcoal.
'Timpani', 23x29, charcoal/pastel.
'Elephant', 23x29, charcoal/pastel.
'Sierras', 28x43, charcoal/pastel.