The advantages of working on a series

Not a TV series

Last week when I took out my Cow pictures for another look I was reminded how many series I’ve worked on; Canada Geese, Baseball in Heaven, The Rhino, Saint Barbara, New York City Firehouses, Staircases. When you work in a series it’s like the ideas are waiting in line for you to take them. Finish one and say, NEXT?

Here’s another series that gave me a lot of joy.

When Jessie was about three she asked me, “Why don’t homeless people just get jobs?” Good question. She understood that you need money to support a home and she understood that you earn money with a job. Well, what do you need to get a job? I started thinking. You need a place to rest, to sit and think,

so a chair. You need to be clean,

so a bathtub.

You need to eat, so a stove,

and a table. It’s nice to have friends,

so extra chairs. I worked on this series at the League and when I came in with this plate the teacher, Michael Pellitierri, said, “Oh, good, you need dining room chairs.”

You need to get warm.

At the end of the day you need a good sleep. This is Max’s bed from “Where the Wild Things Are.” Maurice Sendak took it from the Little Nemo cartoons he read as a child so it’s a legacy and a reminder that Art comes from Art.

and you need to celebrate.

It turned into a meditation on Home and the ideas lined up, ready for me to bring them to life. I was furnishing an imaginary house, one of my favorite day dreams.

Three of these little etchings will be in the show titled:

“Serene and Exuberant Color”

El Barrio’s Artspace PS 109, 215 East 99th Street

June 4–June 26, 2025

I love this photo by Cheryl Aden.

This is where it will be. Look what a beautiful building this is.

It began as a Public School, built in a time when our government respected education and treated students and teachers with dignity. In 2013 it was converted to housing for artists with two beautiful exhibition spaces.

Here are scenes from the opening Wednesday evening.

This is also a shout-out to the New York Artists Circle. We mostly work alone, so having a place where we can meet and share our work, congratulate and encourage each other and just schmooze is a treasure.

Speaking of work, I’m still at an in-between stage—I won’t call it waiting for inspiration—getting ready for the next large drawing, thinking about blue, the sea, looking over old drawings, saying, Okay, Muse, I’m ready.

Meantime I’m framing a lot of pictures for my solo show at Saint Francis Gallery.

Here’s a preview: