People
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	"Benji" Graphite 1994 - 14" x 17" Lydia & Brandon Gray collection As you will see throughout my portfolios, my children, Benjamin, Lydia, and Matthew, and their mother, Barbara, became important resources for developing my skills in graphite and pastel.		"Matthew" Graphite 1989 - 23" x 24" personal collection Even though I've drawn many portraits, there is always, for me, a great deal of anxiety and fear attached to them - which is exactly why I do them. This drawing is of my son Matthew with soap in his eyes. My newly acquired 35mm camera helped me capture the fleeting moment. It is an image that every parent knows well.
	"The Old Chair" Graphite 1991 - 14" x 18" personal collection Subject matter, composition, and texture were the motivating challenges of this drawing of Matthew asleep in our old chair with our cat So Forth. There is a kind of classical feel to this drawing.		"Arab Woman and Child" Graphite 1992 - 14" x 17" personal collection The challenge here was to accurately depict the sheen of the black burqa and its white flower embroidery. The image is from a National Geographic article about Muslim women .
	"An Armful" Graphite 1992 - 14" x 18" Lydia & Brandon Gray collection		"Karen Allen" Graphite 1993 - 19" x 24" personal collection This drawing became an important milestone in my development as an artist. It presented challenges that would press upon all of the graphite skills I had acquired. The result of my solutions far exceeded my expectation. This, and the positive responses from viewers, has been a great source of inspiration and excitement. This drawing was rendered from a photograph of the actress.
	"Barbara" Graphite 1994 - 17" x 14" Lydia & Brandon Gray collection		"Dorothy" Graphite 1995 - 17" x 14" Jack & Lisa Grisbrook collection To accurately depict hair, you essentially must draw the shadow of the hair and to draw blonde hair presses this technique to its limit. The rich black and mid-grays of the lips and eyes contrast nicely with the blonde hair. This drawing also led to a commission for two portraits, one of which is shown below ("Commission II").
	"Lydia" Graphite 1997 - 14" x 17" Lydia & Brandon Gray collection The lost edges, the eyes, and the flowers in her hair contribute to the tenderness of this drawing of Lydia.		"Sour-Faced Lydia" Graphite 1998 - 14" x 17" Lydia & Brandon Gray collection Ah, the scowl of a thirteen year old! Now I know what a pain I must have been to my parents.
	"Commission I" Graphite 1998 - 19" x 21" private  collection		"Commission II" Graphite 1998 - 19" x 24" Jack & Lisa Grisbrook collection
	"Commission III" Graphite 1998 - 17" x 14" Gary & Christy Land collection		"Commission IV" Graphite 1998 - 23" x 18" Lee Thurman collection
	"Self Portrait II" Graphite 2006 - 24" x 18" After a long hiatus, I decided to do something easy and obvious in the technical sense. I also wanted to cultivate a boldness in using deep black since I always worry about using too much of it. I employ other similar strategies in the planning stages of every drawing.		"Mike" Graphite 2006 - 19" x 25" The drawing was done in memory of my brother, Mike, who passed away in 2000. He was one of my best friends.
	"Self Portrait" Airbrushed India Ink 1996 12 x 8 personal collection This is my first airbrush piece. I was thrilled by the outcome and intend to develop more and more pieces that use this unique and satisfying medium.		"Ben, Lydia, Conan, Matt, & Barb" Pen & India Ink 2005 20 x 26 personal collectioN I had always been terrified to try to draw people in pen and ink. In fact, I drew the entire background, their clothing, and hair before finally taking a deep breath and starting on their faces. I'm not so terrified anymore. I'm glad I did this piece.
	"The Girl in the Fancy Frame" Colored Pencil/Graphite 1993 - 19 x 24  Jack and Lisa Grisbrook collection This piece was drawn first with colored pencil and then the ribbons of the fancy frame and the girls face were overlaid with graphite to define the subtle shadows.		"Self Portrait III" Colored Pencil on Black Illustration Board 2006 - 19 x 14  personal collection I took this picture of myself  next to the window and a hanging plant. The blue hat just pops next to the warm green of the plant. My face, my neck, and my shoulder serve as a transition into the black background.
	"Waiting for the Bus" Pastel 2000 - 10 x 8  Lydia & Brandon Gray collection		"Benji II" Pastel 2004 - 18 x 24  personal collection
	"Fourth at the Lake" Pastel 2004 - 36 x 24  personal collection		*** New Work *** "Waiting for the Train" Colored Pencil on Black Illustration Board 2008 - 13" x 18" I
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