About Me

My photo
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. My educational history is as follows: Long Beach High School, School of Visual Arts, C.W.Post College, M.A. in Humanities, Hofstra University. A two year stint in the U.S.Marine Corps as a illustrator eased my entrance into civilian life as a commercial artist in N.Y.C. My teaching career of twenty five years began at the State University in Farmingdale, N.Y. and ended as a Professor of Fine Arts at Herkimer County Community College, where I was awarded The New York State Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. I now paint full time in Portland Maine where I live with my wife Sharon. I paint all subjects from portraits to landscapes but I especially love painting the sea. Last year marked the end of forty straight years of teaching workshops on Monhegan Island, Maine, I now conduct three day classes in Kennebunkport every spring and fall. My work can be seen at The Wiscasset Bay Gallery, Wiscasset, Me., Dowling Walsh Gallery, Rockland, Me.,Camden Falls Gallery, Caamden, Me. and here in my studio in Portland. I am a signature member of The American Watercolor Society and the New York State Watercolor Society.

Friday, October 6, 2017

Crucifix, Maple Wood


  1. I carved this crucifix many years ago. It was carved from Maple wood.
  2. I glued five pieces of maple lumber until I had one large block of wood.
  3. Without a drawing or model I simply carved from the "picture" in my mind.
  4. After the main corpus was done I now had the problem of making the arms and fitting them so that they flowed correctly from the deltoid muscles in one smooth motion.
  5. I cut the edges of the corpus clean and flat then made the arms in wax as a model.
  6. Drilling holes in the body larger than then the peg of wood which extended on the end of the finished arms.
  7. I knew that I had to have play in affixing the arms to the corpus. Once I knew how it would fit I filled the hole with newspaper and Elmer's Glue then held the arms with bungee cords until the glue dried. I made sure the end of the arms where they joined were left unfinished so as to carve and sand them so they  would flow together.
I carved this crucifix many years ago. It stands around three feet tall and is made from maple wood. I've never carved anything before and I was very excited about the final results. I would never have attempted to undertake such a challenge however it was a commissioned piece and I had to follow through. I was paid the agreed price of $800, however it took me eight months to finish it.
I began by gluing five pieces of maple wood purchased from the lumber yard which gave me a simple large block of wood and went from there. Except for the "picture" in my mind I did not do any preliminary drawings or planing.