Portraiture Blog
Thinking and Feeling
"Think on your palette, feel on your painting." rm This is a theme that comes up often in the lessons that I teach on painting and drawing. People often ask me how much of what we do as artists is feeling and how much is thinking. The simple answer is both. ...
Paint What You Know
"Paint what you know," is a common piece of advice to those entering any artistic discipline. That's why my first novel (The Fishfly) was semi-autobiographical. I write (and paint and act) about things I know. But I also write and paint and act about things I want...
Luke Immortal
Natalie Becknell was the lucky winner of our recent pet portrait raffle at Doolittle's. She was very excited to get this beautiful 9" x 12" oil portrait of her best friend Luke. Keep your eye out for future specials and freebies from Charleston's favorite portrait...
Recent Portraits Presented in Detroit
Here are a couple portraits presented in Detroit recently. The "big wig" on the left is now part of a series of graphite portraits of his predecessors, many created by my father over his long career of his predecessor. I'm not at liberty to reveal his identity until...
Democritization of Art
In response to my recent posting on FB of this Stella Adler quote and describing those who don't have something to contribute as fillers, a very wise, dear friend responded privately: "''Fillers?' Not true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, or kind. It takes courage to...
Alex in Charcoal
Celebrating Childhood I love that I have a job where I can help people capture the feeling of a time, which we all know too well, inevitably will slip away. I feel like a time traveler and it's awesome. Now those who love, and will come to love Alex, will always...
Dr. Barbara Tilley Portrait Vernissage
Dr. Barbara Tilley Returns to the Department she chaired for ten years at MUSC, now the Department of Public Health Sciences. I am very grateful that Barbara had faith in my work nine years ago when she became the first to commission me to create portraits at MUSC,...
PR – Maniscalco Wins 2014 Artprize Portrait Competition
Robert Maniscalco Wins 2014 Artfields Portrait Competition For more information please email Robert or by phone at 843-486-3161 Robert Maniscalco won the 2014 ARTFIELDS portrait competition on May 3, 2014, selected from a field of 23 very talented and creative...
ARTFIELDS Winning Portrait
Made my Daddy Proud The big news is that I won the ARTFIELDS portrait competition on May 3, 2014, from a field of 23 very talented and creative artists. It was pretty exciting. But whatever the outcome, it was an awesome opportunity to turn people on to the art of...
Charleston Living – A Softer Touch
A Softer Touch Here is a readable .pdf of the recent article in Charleston Living, beautifully written by fellow art spirit, Jason Zwiker. Or if you prefer, just scroll down. I hope you will read and share the message of the article, which I think describes our...


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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