PAINTING
I returned to a dedicated painting practice after a long hiatus in an attempt to process the loss of my wife, Julie Novak, to stage 4 breast cancer in August of 2024. The act of painting became both refuge and revelation—pulling me through the hardest period of my life and helping me make sense of a world that no longer felt familiar. What began as an instinctual response to grief has since evolved into a fully realized body of work rooted in abstract expression and emotional truth.
My approach to painting is intuitive and emotionally driven. I work with acrylics, oil sticks, oil pastels, molding paste, fiber, and collage—often incorporating fragments left behind by my wife—to create richly textured surfaces that hold memory, mystery, and movement. I am drawn to abstraction because it mirrors the experience of searching for life and vitality while navigating grief: nonlinear, layered, and resistant to tidy explanation. I am not seeking resolution in this work. I am seeking connection to myself and to all that exists that we cannot see.
TRAINING
My training began at Hunter College, where I studied under American abstract artist Joanna Pousette-Dart and graduated cum laude in 1997. I later refined my practice at the Woodstock School of Art with Hongnian Zhang, whose disciplined approach to classical painting grounded me in technical skill, and Melanie Delgado, who helped me reconnect to the intuitive, emotive power of abstraction. These influences continue to guide my work, especially as I explore the layered terrain of grief, identity, and transformation through color, form, and texture.
COMING SOON
Stay tuned for information about upcoming exhibits, workshops, and online sales.