This
series of drawings, now in its tenth year, was inspired by a dream I had a while back. In my dream I was swimming in pools
that were connected to each other, at night. I was in my childhood neighborhood, Levittown in Pennsylvania, an early example
of the archetypal American suburban development. The houses were all dark, and the illuminated pools were casting an ethereal
glow over the entire neighborhood. I was drifting from back yard to back yard without another soul in sight. I found this
dream a little odd, since I am not a particularly good swimmer, but the vivid colors really stayed with me.
We moved to Juniper Hill in the early
60’s when I was six years old. The houses were newly built. As far as the eye could see there was the same house, in one of three alternating
colors, in a gently curving and undulating artificial landscape. The trees were mere sticks, and no one had put up fences. Surrounded by plowed
fields, on which Levittown was built, the visual impact was compounded when approaching this community of 17,000 homes in
a car. As a first grader having previously lived in a country house, this experience was profound. I remember much from this
time. It may be that our early impressions are made more vivid by the simple fact we have had fewer of them. Our
brains are uncrowded with decades of memories. I can remember the smell of mint as I was trying to catch a Praying Mantis
in the garden next door when I was 7 years old, but I can’t remember what I was doing at a specific time last week.
Because of this,
I became interested in the idea of the subconscious and working from memory. I pulled my soft pastels out of storage, not
having used them for years and started drawing from memory. The pastels turned out to be the perfect medium, the powdered
pigment being so pure of color, and the softness of the pastel captured perfectly the feeling of the dream. I am also interested
in the fact that most Americans have lived in a place like this at one time or another, and of the social ramifications of
living in such a manner.
I
don’t care to deconstruct any of the dreams, but I am interested in tapping the imagery. I am not concerned with historical
accuracy, but in the emotions caused by living in such a place at an early age. I am not interested in making a specific social
statement. I like to keep aspects of the drawings ambiguous, to allow the viewer their own interpretation of what it means
to live in American Suburbia.
The longest shadow ever cast Pastel on paper
32" x 40" Available
It kept me thinking all the time Pastel on paper
22.5" x 12" Sold
Blue Sunday
I guess the air is clean
Pastel on paper each 20" x 32" Sold
Roam outside the walls The opposite of celebrity
each 20" x 32"
both sold

Wish you were here Pastel on paper 32"x 40" Available
Like the beekeeper with his can of smoke Pastel
on paper 34" x 46" Sold, but similar available

Don't get any big ideas, it's not going to happen
Pastel on paper 34" x 46"
Sold
You can watch the grass grow
Pastel on paper 30" x 38"
Sold

Counting stars Pastel on paper
32" x 40" Sold
We've been there Pastel on paper
27" x 34"
Blue velvet Pastel on paper 36" x 48"
Sold
Waiting for the light to change Pastel on paper
27" x 34" Sold
I used to sleep at night Pastel on paper
34" x 27" Sold