Portraiture Blog
Portrait of Dr. Valarie Parisi
Dr. Valarie Parisi Recognized with a portrait I’ve been working hard, putting the finishing touches on this portrait. I love this painting and am very excited about it being presented in May. The portrait honors Dr. Valarie Parisi for her years of service as Dean of...
Quench Project Update
I am setting up exhibition dates beginning May 1 and speaking dates for after March 1. I am beginning the painting phase now. The recent influx of commission portraits has lead to a delay from my target date. But of course, I'm not complaining. I am blessed and...
Rite of Passage Portraits
Graduating Sisters In yet another Christmas 2014 portrait, this one celebrates the graduation of Hannah (from college) and Lillian (from high school). This is a wonderful time to have an oil portrait. This rite of passage portrait celebrates the graduation of two...
The Young Family Portrait
I wanted to capture the energy and playfulness of these energetic children and the fun of being on the beach. I enjoy the juxtaposition of formality against the relaxed casualness of informal poses in a natural setting. The glimmer of late summer sunlight shimmers...
Retro Portrait
Among the many portrait commissions I'm finishing in time for Christmas is this little gem. "Dodo" was created from a photograph taken in the 1930s. I wanted to capture the feel and painting sensibility of that period as I worked. The client has in mind a whole...
Holiday Portraits
Charleston Portrait Painter carries the torch his father lit 45 years ago! I am blessed this year with some great holiday portrait commissions. Here is one of them finding its happy home, delivered by none other than Santa himself. Gene and Georgie Wambold are one of...
The Last Supper
More rough draft from my journal in Haiti. . . I was in lock down at the Watermission compound in Porta Prince for the weekend so I decided to make the best use of time by painting a 12' mural knockoff of da Vinci's The Last Supper (slightly less than actual size) on...
Haiti, Into the Light
I am working on the picture book, chronicling my personal experiences in my recent trip to Haiti. The working title is, "Haiti, Into the Light." I took over 1,600 photos and wrote pages of notes in preparation for the next phase of The Quench Project. Here are are...
Are You a Tetrachromat?
How would you like to be able to see 100 million colors? There are those among us who have this super power, called Tetrachromacy, which I'm guessing, many artists would give their right nut to have. Unfortunately, it is a women only thing. Men cannot be...
Art Is Where You Find It
Chalkboard art makes a comeback! I love discovering beauty where others see only a mess. Some of my favorite artists use found objects as their sole medium. What a great way to recycle trash. These are a couple of the endless examples of the amazing things and...









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The figures in "A Walk in the Park" are the inner cast you carry everywhere—the fool who leaps, the doubter who drags his feet, the dreamer who stares past the horizon, the judge with crossed arms, the child who still believes. They bicker, whisper, revolt and reconcile, but together they make the one you call “I.” We are all onstage at once, caught in the thin light between meaning and emptiness—a reminder that your chaos is not a flaw, but the chorus through which your true voice finally emerges. ... See MoreSee Less
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."Identity and Self"
Opening Reception and Exhibition at
Park Circle Art Gallery
4820 Jenkins Ave.
North Charleston, SC 29405
The Exhibition runs through April 26
Gallery Hours: W-F 10:30-5:30, Sat 12-4
The collection will center on how identity interferes with our true self, our true freedom, which is a central value for an artist, as well as any self-actualized individual. For instance, when I draw my idea of a thing, rather than opening myself up to the full potential contained in the thing itself, I am limiting my creative potential.
So, who are we at our core, after we strip away the names we call ourselves, the parties with whom we affiliate, the causes for which we are fighting? After all, these are all inventions of the ego, which separate us from God and the infinite. Existence consists of light on form. Light is my medium as an artist. I am a painter of the self. I am looking always for something deeper than the surface representations in my subjects. It is the true self I am looking for when I paint, whether it is an orange, a sky or a judge. ... See MoreSee Less
“The Fantasy” oil on canvas 36" x 48", invites you into that lucid dream space where imagination feels more vivid than reality. In this oil painting, a solitary figure drifts through a dreamlike landscape of softened edges and impossible light. But the story is not fixed—you’re handed a doorway.
This piece lives in the uncertainty between escape and awakening. At first glance, it feels like a beautiful dream: rich color, fluid forms, and a sense of effortless drift. But stay with it, and you begin to notice the undercurrent—a quiet question about what we run toward, and what we’re trying to leave behind.
For the thoughtful collector, “The Fantasy” becomes a mirror for their own inner world. It speaks to anyone who has ever built a private refuge in their mind: the daydreamer, the creative, the survivor, the seeker who knows that fantasies can be both sanctuary and trap. The painting doesn’t judge that impulse; it honors it, and gently asks what new possibilities might emerge when we begin to bring those inner visions into the light of our real lives.
Hung in a living room, bedroom, or reading space, “The Fantasy” doesn’t just decorate a wall—it opens a conversation. With its layered symbolism and emotional depth, it’s the kind of work people return to, again and again, discovering new details and meanings as their own story evolves. ... See MoreSee Less
"Three Little Buds" is a framed #oilpainting looking for a new home. “Three Little Buds” captures a tender moment of becoming: three rosebuds held in that brief, luminous stage before they open. The dew on their petals hints at fresh beginnings and quiet resilience after the rain. This piece speaks to anyone who feels on the edge of a new chapter—honoring both the vulnerability and the promise of what is about to bloom.
“Three Little Buds" is about beginnings and the quiet power of what hasn’t fully unfolded yet. I painted them at that in-between moment—still closed, but clearly full of life and color, with the dew clinging to them after a fresh start.
For me, the three buds might suggest three children / three important relationships / three versions of ourselves at different times, held together in the same space of light and nurtured by potential energy. The droplets are a reminder that renewal often comes right after the storm; there’s a softness and resilience there.
It’s a painting for someone who connects with the idea of growth, protection, and the beauty of what’s just about to bloom or has bloomed in their own life. ... See MoreSee Less
Here's the entire portrait. I love judicial portraits. What do you think of this portrait? Know anyone who wants a portrait legacy created? A portrait is how people know us when we're gone. ... See MoreSee Less