Painted this self portrait because, 1) always wanted to do a self portrait “my way”, and 2) there’s a few portrait/self portrait competitions I haven’t been able to enter because I haven’t had work to enter. When you think of someone, your view of them is formed on the context by which you know that person – we only know a facet or 2 or 3 of that person. Impossible to capture all of a person in a “snapshot” self portrait. Wanted to do better. Wanted a portrait that captured as much of me as possible – the dad, the husband, the son, the brother, the uncle, the gas company executive, the teacher, the classmate, the friend, the teammate, the artist – all in one painting. And, I’m a product of so many influences and have been developed and changed by so many great people that I wanted a self portrait to celebrate those others as well – my family (my wife and kids, mom, dad, sister, brother, grandparents, niece, nephews, and others), my friends (Dave Carswell, Don “Elmo” Mothersbaugh, John “Gonzo” Kyriazis), my mentors (Clayton Leach, Bill Roberts, Jeff Palmer), just to name a few. I’ve included macro influences as well – artists Frank Frazetta and Salvador Dali, other creative influences like MADD magazine, a King Kong comic I wore out as a kid, the music of my youth (Bowie, The Smiths, REM, U2, New Order, James Brown), and other creative influences (Mr. Roger’s, Bob Ross, Rankin Bass, The Muppets). I’ve included my favorites – food to make (eggs benedict w/ my mushrooms, pickled jalapeños), food to eat (golumpkies, pretzels, Tastykakes (especially their lemon pie)), color (yellow), movies (Godfather 1 and 2, Wizard of Oz), books (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The Lord Of The Rings series), sports teams (anything Philly, when I was a kid, Yankees, Steelers, Dolphins), athletes (Mean Joe Green, Ali, Mike Schmidt, Dr. J), restaurant (Pappasito’s). Painting includes childhood memories (club feet/wearing leg braces, “The Barracks”, Bozo The Clown, the air show, my toy dinosaurs, my Hot Wheels cars), places (The Silo, work locations The Gap and York Steak House), activities (FBLA, racquetball, going to live boxing matches), sports (baseball, football), pets, things I’m known to say, and tons of other personal stuff. Penn State, Lehigh, Delta Sigma Pi, “Lefty”, nickname “Shemp”, my time living in Houston, my Mont Blanc pen, “The sun is shining, the birds are singing.” Those who know me, hope you enjoy seeing yourself or something about our shared past in the details. And, hope you enjoy this attempt at a different take on portraiture/self portraiture. Hope you like.
